The Plympton Board of Selectmen met remotely on Monday, September 13. The Board of Selectmen voted during the meeting to approve a Host Community Agreement (HCA) with marijuana distributor Sweetgrass Farms, LLC. Town Administrator Liz Dennehy said she and Selectmen Vice Chair Mark Russo had taken the lead on the negotiation with Sweetgrass owner and area native Nick Rizzo. The cultivation site would be at 77 Spring St. Russo said, “the industrial park is the exact right place for this project.” Russo also said, “I feel really good about this end product… I think this is a document that is fair to both sides.” He also called Rizzo a “fair but energetic negotiator” and said, “I think we’re dealing with really respectful, talented people who want to do the right thing.” Built into the contract is a $5,000 annual contribution to a local charity or non-profit to be selected by the town.  Rizzo said that he considers that to be a minimum noting that he hopes to be able to contribute even more. The Selectmen voted unanimously to approve the agreement.

Police Chief Matt Clancy attended the meeting to share with the Selectmen his review and analysis of the Department’s use of force over the last year. The review is a requirement for a certification and accreditation program Clancy has entered into. “It’s just another piece of the transparency that we’re building,” Clancy explained. He said he expects to see it become a requirement in Massachusetts eventually.

Clancy told the Board the Department has reviewed their use of force policy three times in the last two years, noting that the amendments were minimal as their policy was already progressive. He said that Massachusetts has come out with what they consider to be a model policy and that the Plympton Department’s policy was nearly identical. The report is generic and includes incidences but does not include names. Clancy told the Selectmen there were no complaints of excessive force and no injuries. Drawing a taser and engaging in a pursuit both qualify as use of force. “I’m very happy with how things were handled… I think the officers showed a tremendous amount of restraint in a number of situations,” Clancy said. The Selectmen thanked him for his hard work on this initiative. Selectmen Chair Christine Joy said, “You think this stuff doesn’t happen in Plympton, it does… it’s nice to know that it was handled so well by our officers.”

Clancy will be leaving the Plympton Police Department to serve as Chief of the Bureau of Capitol Police in Maine. The Selectmen voted to appoint Scott Benton to serve as interim Police Chief as of October 4.

Joy provided an update on the Carver Urban Renewal Plan as she attended the meeting that was held on the project on Sept. 7. She said her main takeaway was that Carver still has quite a lot of work left to go in the process. She said the developer performed a balloon test that revealed the extent of the scope of the project. Joy said that they estimate that 75 households in Plympton will be affected by the project. Carver has promised to keep Plympton abreast of all meetings.

Selectman John Traynor requested a discussion on the uses of the Old Townhouse. He was particularly concerned with it being utilized by the Council on Aging (COA) for fitness classes. He said he would like to see the building outfitted with a better Wi-Fi lock. Director of Elder Affairs Colleen Thompson called the current lock “kind of a farce.”

Joy suggested that there may potentially be better places to hold such classes noting that the town has a pending lawsuit against them from someone that fell. Russo said that they should discuss appropriate uses for the building further during another meeting. Thompson argued that building needs to be used if insurance is being paid on them. She countered Joy’s argument saying that it felt like a town group was being asked to seek a private location to engage in town sponsored events. Resident Shannon Maxwell said, “You’d have a group of very, very happy women if we could go back to working out in a building this winter and not in our bedrooms.” The Selectmen voted to approve a three-month trial use of the building for the COA fitness club from October 1 through December 31.

Dennehy provided the Town Administrator’s update. She said that she met with the Kingston Town Administrator, the Plympton and Kingston Police Chiefs, the Plympton Highway Superintendent, Police Officer John Sjostedt, and the Kingston DPW Director to discuss possible heavy truck traffic exclusions on Ring Rd. Plympton would need Kingston’s approval to move forward with the process. Dennehy said Kingston said they are not interested at this time as they had concerns that it could result in such traffic being redirected down other roads in their town, particularly Elm St. She said they are, however, open to future conversations. Regarding the Main St. component, Dennehy said that the Highway Superintendent wants to verify with MassDOT that implementing the exclusion would not preclude them from grant opportunities including roadwork.

Dennehy said she had a successful meeting with Habitat for Humanity. She said they have an environmental professional on their team who will look through some of the town’s data on possible lots in an attempt to narrow it down to a piece of land in order to proceed with a project. The town would need to verify before moving forward on a project that there were no other non-profits who might be interested in the land.

Dennehy said she has been in communication with The Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA) in order to iron out what the level of service they would provide would look like. She noted that the town would need to be sure they could afford it. Finally, Dennehy told the Selectmen that the town was still hovering around a three percent positivity rate for COVID.

During their traditional rants and raves, John Traynor said that the COA is having an issue getting enough drivers for their Meals on Wheels program. He called his rave a sad one saying, ““Chief Silva and his crew did a wonderful job on the 9/11 ceremony.” Both Russo and Joy said their raves were for all of the work being accomplished in town and the progress being made. Russo said, “with patience, progress comes.”

The Silver Lake High sports teams have plenty of talent coming back this upcoming school year, including some athletes who received league wide recognition last fall.

Each of the fall teams had Patriot League All-Star games last year and while some of them are no longer members of their respective teams due to graduation, others of them are back once again. That said, here is a look at who the returning Patriot League All-Stars are for the Silver Lake High varsity sports teams this fall.

Cross Country

On the girls’ side, the Lakers have a pair of Patriot League All-Stars returning: Samantha Faherty and Summer Bejarano. Both of them are seniors this year. Bejarano was the Patriot League MVP last year as well as a Boston Globe and Boston Herald All-Scholastic selection.

Field Hockey

The Lakers lost 15 seniors to graduation at the end of last season, but they do have one of their four Patriot League All-Stars coming back: senior Toni Ierardi. She led the team with seven points last season.

Football

The Lakers lost their only Patriot League All-Star to graduation: quarterback Ben Lofstrom.

Golf

The Lakers don’t have any returning All-Stars this season. Their lone All-Star last year, Tyler Brown, was the Patriot League MVP.

Soccer

On the girls’ side,the Lakers have two returning Patriot League All-Stars. That includes senior outside back Lauren Dwyer and junior forward Shea Kelleher. Kelleher was also an All-Star in hockey as a member of the Whitman-Hanson/Silver Lake girls’ hockey co-op.

Girls Volleyball

The Lakers had one Patriot League All-Star last year, and she will be back once again: senior outside hitter Abigail Grace. She has 44 kills, 169 digs, and 35 aces in 101 sets played headed into this season.

With school getting back in session, many of the Silver Lake High sports teams will soon be playing regular season games. 

For many of the Silver Lake High fall sports teams, the regular season starts next week. Here is a look at when some of those teams will be starting their respective regular seasons.

Cross Country

The boys and girls cross country teams have their first regular season meets of the season at the same time and location. They will host Scituate on Thursday, September 9 (4:00 p.m. start time).

Field Hockey

The Lakers start their season on the road against Duxbury on Thursday, September 9 (4:00 p.m. start time). 

Football

The Lakers open up their season on the road against the Plymouth South Panthers on Friday, September 10 (7:00 p.m. start time).

Boys Golf

The Lakers have the first regular season varsity event of the school year. They will host Hingham High School at the Country Club of Halifax on Tuesday, September 7 (3:30 p.m. start time).

Boys Soccer

The Lakers will kick off their season with a home game against the North Quincy Red Raiders on Friday, September 10 (4:00 p.m.).

Girls Soccer

The Lakers will kick off their season with a road game against the North Quincy Red Raiders on Friday, September 10 (4:00 p.m.). It will take place at North Quincy High School.

Girls Volleyball

The Lakers are set to start their season a little later in volleyball than they are in some other sports. Their first scheduled regular season game of the season will take place on Wednesday, September 15 at home against the North Quincy Red Raiders (5:30 p.m. start time).

The Halifax Board of Assessors has conducted a comprehensive reassessment of all classes of properties in the Town of Halifax as mandated by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.

The Assessors have received Preliminary Certification from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.

The proposed assessed values reflect the estimated market value of properties as of January 1, 2021, based on sales in calendar years 2019 and 2020.

The revaluation resulted in typical Residential value increases of 10% to 14%.

As part of the Public Disclosure Period the proposed Fiscal Year 2022 valuations will be available for review beginning Monday, August 23, 2021, through Friday, August 27, 2021, in the Assessors’ Office in Town Hall daily from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Friday.  The valuations are also available online at https://www.halifax-ma.org/PRST.

Taxpayers may contact the Board of Assessors with questions regarding the proposed assessments at (781) 293-5960.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on August 10. Fire Chief Jason Viveiros met with the Selectmen to discuss COVID. “Obviously things have not gotten better, they have gotten worse during the last few weeks,” Town Administrator Charlie Seelig said. He further said that the number of cases in Halifax have increased to the levels last seen in April. He said the Board would need to reconsider whether they wanted to review policies related to COVID including the masking policy in town buildings. Selectman Chair Gordon Andrews updated the Board that the schools made a decision to follow the recommendations of DESE, the CDC, and the DPH in requiring rather than mandating masks.

Seelig provided vaccination statistics for Halifax youth saying that for 12–15-year-olds the rate stood at 38 percent and 49 percent for ages 16-19. The rates tended to increase with the age of the residents. “A quarter of the population of Halifax is not vaccinated yet,” Seelig said. Andrews said he was not comfortable making a change to the masking policy at the moment. Viveiros said he was watching different towns that were starting to implement mask mandates. “I think waiting another week or so and reevaluating it is fine,” he said. Viveiros also discussed the possibility of receiving tests from the State to be administered. The Director of the Council on Aging said that as of today they have begun recommending masks as they are meeting in small quarters. She said everyone was very receptive of it and masks were available on site.

Andrews recused himself but the rest of the Board unanimously voted to appoint Chris Carmichael as Alternate Building Inspector for Certificates of Occupancy. The Board also voted to appoint and reappoint the list of election workers through June of 2022.

There was also a continuation of a discussion on the Zoning By-Law Review Committee from a previous meeting. It was agreed that the Board would like to see as part of that Committee, the Building Inspector, a member of the Finance Committee, a member of the Board of Selectmen, and two members at large.

Andrews recused himself from the rescheduling of a new public forum for a Host Community Agreement (HCA) with Green Earth Cannabis. Andrews’ father owns land within close proximity to the proposed site. The Board had previously voted in June not to enter into an HCA with the company but agreed to rescind its previous vote and hold a new public forum to avoid litigation against the town. The Board agreed to hold the forum on Monday, August 30 at 7 p.m.

Seelig told the Board there was a petition article submitted by August 10 with more than 100 signatures. The proposed zoning by-law amendment would restrict the number of marijuana dispensaries in town to one. Seelig said the Selectmen could submit it to the Planning Board that night but noted it would still need a public hearing. “It’s doubtful it’s going to be voted on at the Town Meeting on September 8,” Seelig said. The Selectmen voted unanimously to send it onto the Planning Board.

Seelig told the Board that the Council on Aging (COA) was interested in potentially increasing its number of members. Seelig also told the Selectmen that he had received a talent bank form for Ivy Matheny who was interested in working with the Council on Aging and potentially as the Veteran’s Agent.

Town Accountant Sandra Nolan and Recycling Co-ordinator Sue Johnston met with Selectmen to discuss the recycling fee process including abatements. Nolan said that one of the big issues is that they want to ensure that residents are recycling. Nolan said that this year they had at least 12 households who had their recycling fee abated and then tried to use the recycling center halfway through the year. “I think that people don’t understand that that recycling fee is not just for curbside; it also supports the whole functioning of the recycling center,” Nolan said. She continued, “It is really a huge benefit to the townspeople as far as having a place you can go with your old couch.” She called the fee “nominal.” Andrews summarized the conversation saying it would be a $50 recycling bill for FY2022 with a 60-day abatement window.

Library Director Jean Gallant and the Library Trustees had an appointment with the Selectmen in order to vote to fill a vacancy on the Trustee Board. There were two candidates interested. The Library Trustees made a motion to appoint Susan Hill. Both the Selectmen and the Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Hill to fill the remaining vacancy.

Seelig went over some of the articles on the upcoming Town Meeting warrant including one by the Chief of Police to take the town out of civil service. There is another for additional money needed by Silver Lake in the amount of $130,890. Seelig said it was the difference between what was appropriated at Town Meeting and what is needed. The Water Department also needs to put more money in their return line item. Article 17 would remove the buffer between marijuana establishments and liquor pouring establishments. Article 19 is in regard to traffic safety. Seelig said he would need to speak with Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward to find out what exactly the article would and would not cover with respect to things like sidewalks.

Tyler Nordgren met with the Selectmen regarding his application to be appointed to the Historical Commission. Asked by Selectman Ashley DiSesa why he wanted to apply, Nordgren explained, “I like historical sites and I would like to help preserve them as they are important to the community.” Nordgren, who has lived in town since he was 8, said he hasn’t recently attended Town Meeting but plans to attend the next one. The Board voted unanimously to appoint him to a three-year term.

The meeting ended with the official swearing in of Michael Boncariewski as a full-time Police Officer.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen held a brief meeting on Friday, August 6 to reconsider a previous vote. Selectmen Chair Gordon Andrews and Selectman Troy Garron were in-person and Selectman Ashley DiSesa was participating remotely.

Aside from Executive Session, on the agenda was the reconsideration of a vote from their June 11 meeting not to enter into a Host Community Agreement (HCA) with Green Earth Cannabis, Inc. Andrews recused himself from the initial vote as well as the reconsideration as his father owns property within close proximity to the proposed lot. On June 11, Garron said that he had heard from many residents who opposed the establishment.

Director of Operations for Green Earth Cannabis Robert Maker had appeared before the Board of Selectmen during their July 13 meeting to plead his case and ask them to reconsider their decision. Maker said he has lived in town for 27 years and asked the Board to consider his ties as well as his contributions to the community over those years. Maker had also said that they hoped to create jobs for local Halifax residents. “We are preparing to mitigate whatever impact the facility may have on the neighbors,” Maker had also said at the time.

Town Administrator Charlie Seelig explained at the Friday meeting, “If the Board rescinds its previous vote from June 11, we’re basically starting from that point where the Board has not made any decision. A person or entity is entitled to appeal an action taken by a municipality within 60 days of said action. As the 60-day deadline is this week, Green Earth Cannabis does not need to file suit against Halifax as long as the Board of Selectmen vote to rescind their decision not to sign the HCA. This saves on legal costs for both sides.

DiSesa confirmed with Seelig that if after going through all the motions, they could still decide against entering into an HCA with Green Earth. Seelig assured her that they could. A public forum/ hearing on the HCA will likely be scheduled for later this month. If, after that forum, the Selectmen still decide not to sign the HCA, Green Earth will have the opportunity to appeal the decision. Garron made a motion to rescind their previous vote and DiSesa seconded making it unanimous.

MILTON — Curry College congratulates roughly 1,000 students who were named to the Spring 2021 Dean’s List including:

Kayla Knudsen of Halifax, Samantha Duffy of Kingston, Trevor King of Kingston, Bruce Nobles of Halifax, Valerie Willette of Kingston, Allyson Colanino of Halifax, Sarah Busby of Kingston, Rachele Bouchard of Kingston, and Melanie Stoltz of Halifax.

Curry College, founded in Boston in 1879, is a private, co-educational, liberal arts-based institution located on 131 acres in Milton, Massachusetts. The College extends its educational programs to a continuing education branch campus in Plymouth. The College offers 22 undergraduate majors in specialized and liberal arts programs, as well as graduate degrees in accounting, business, education, criminal justice, and nursing to a combined enrollment of nearly 2,500 students.

The student body consists of 1,700 traditional students and nearly 800 continuing education and graduate students. The College offers a wide array of co-curricular activities ranging from 15 NCAA Division III athletic teams to an outstanding theatre and fine arts program. Visit us on the web at www.curry.edu.

MIILTON — Curry College is proud to announce that Allyson Colanino of Halifax, has been inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society.

Curry College’s Chapter, Theta at Large, began in 1953 when it was chartered as only the seventh Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau. A group of nurses attending Boston University set out to establish an organization that would represent the best of what nursing offered in this part of the world. Boston University would stand tall for the ensuing 37 years, as the “institution of record” for the Chapter, until 1990 when it was re-chartered to include Curry College in Milton, Mass., and Simmons College in Boston – thereby establishing an “at-large” distinction.

Today, the chapter has over 900 active members linked among three unique institutions. Theta at Large has many reasons to be proud as it forges into the new millennium.

We are active in supporting local nursing scholars through our ongoing research and academic awards program. Our fall and spring programs offer members an opportunity to connect with each other and engage in scholarly educational discourse. We are thrilled to routinely send members to destinations around this country and abroad, to leadership conferences, academic events, member forums, and the biennial convention during which representatives from all chapters from around the world gather.

About Curry College

Curry College, founded in Boston in 1879, is a private, co-educational, liberal arts-based institution located on 131 acres in Milton, Massachusetts. The College extends its educational programs to a continuing education branch campus in Plymouth. The College offers 22 undergraduate majors in specialized and liberal arts programs, as well as graduate degrees in accounting, business, education, criminal justice, and nursing to a combined enrollment of nearly 2,500 students. The student body consists of 1,700 traditional students and nearly 800 continuing education and graduate students. The College offers a wide array of co-curricular activities ranging from 15 NCAA Division III athletic teams to an outstanding theatre and fine arts program. Visit us on the web at www.curry.edu.

The Halifax School Committee met in-person at the Halifax Town Hall on Thursday, July 1. They began the meeting with a reorganization of the Committee. Summer Schmaling was nominated to serve as Chair and the vote was unanimous. Schmaling then went on to nominate Gordon Andrews as Vice Chair. New Committee member Lauren Laws asked for a brief description of each of the roles before nominating herself to serve as Vice Chair. She cited Andrews’ many responsibilities including his role as one of the town’s Selectmen as a reason. Both Andrews and Laws received seconds to their nominations so the Committee then voted. Andrews narrowly bested Laws for the role of Vice Chair. Laws was instead nominated and voted in as secretary. Jim Keegan was named to the Pilgrim Area Collaborative.

Schmaling opened the floor for public participation. A member of the audience expressed frustration that she would not be allowed to speak later in the meeting during a discussion on a particular topic. “I’m here because I’m extremely upset with the climate and I don’t want to add to the negative climate within town and I have a few requests of the Board that I would like you to take with an open mind and would like the community to take with an open mind,” the resident said. She went on to say that Superintendent Jill Proulx was aware of the situation.

She continued, “I have requested all of the public documents and emails regarding the practice.” After being asked for clarification, she said she was referring to the dispute surrounding the peace flag being hung in classrooms. She said, “I thought the Pride event was wonderful; I look forward to it next year, but with the Peace flag, I have two children in the school, they were currently in second and fourth grade this year. I don’t believe the administration handled it very well and I requested, as I can, everything publicly available… there was over 1,000 emails.” She said that the price tag for obtaining all of this documentation is over $1,000.

“What did come to my attention, and I think that the public deserves to know, is that although individuals may not personally wish to have litigation or sue when they contacted the Attorney General’s office; the Attorney General can bring litigation and lawsuits forward to the town. I believe that is something that the general populace of the town of Halifax deserves to know…. As a parent I can tell you that my own son attempted suicide on April 7 of this year and it was in regards to what was going on at the school; it wasn’t another student, it happened to be the way the administration handled something incorrectly over the years and a staff member at the school.” She identified herself as a Girl Scout leader and said that half of her troop self-harms or has suicidal ideation. “This is a problem that we need to address,” she said. she also went on to urge understanding, inclusion, and appropriate accommodation of those that identify as LGBTQ+.

“I know that there are multiple staff at the school, teachers, paraprofessionals, administration that in the past have taken the youth mental health first aid course. I would like to request from the Board that the paraprofessionals be required to take it and if… you guys need to have negotiations with union staff and other things to have step raises as they do at Town Hall and other things for those that have different certifications and such, that those discussions happen.” She cited an unfortunate incident between her own son and a paraprofessional at the school as her motivation for wanting to see them all trained properly. She mentioned the mental health challenges that are sure to be seen once school resumes in late summer saying, “We have wonderful staff at the school… but I don’t think the district is ready; honestly I don’t think any district is ready.” She also requested that those on recess duty have their simple CPR training.

Before concluding her remarks, she added, “I’m also really bothered, as a parent in 2021, that students that have invisible disabilities are not addressed more… I never should have had to hire an attorney to get my kid what he needed.” She also criticized the behavior, particularly on social media, of some of those currently sitting on the Diversity and Inclusivity Subcommittee.

Director of Business Services Christine Healy provided the Committee with a financial closeout. Healy acknowledged that there were some “unusual events” but said, “thank goodness we made it successfully through the year.” She listed some of the savings including regular transportation and homeless transportation. Special education transportation, however, was a deficit of nearly $28,000. Healy said that she requested a line-item transfer to move funds from the regular day budget. “We do have money left in the special education portion of that to offset these costs,” she explained. She acknowledged that they struggled with their Circuit Breaker funds and said that they will be going into next school year with $100,000 less in these funds than usual. Healy told the Committee that the regular day budget will be ending with a surplus of $84,000 before the $28,000 line-item transfer. Healy also said there was a surplus of over $36,000 in out of district vocational.

Before adjourning, the Committee turned their attention to the Subcommittees. Schmaling provided an update on Youth and Rec saying that they did a STEM program through June at the Elementary School. She also said that the gym floors will be re-sanded, re-lined, and refinished this summer and referred to it as a total makeover. “We are very fortunate that we have such a strong Youth and Rec department here in Halifax because they really do provide a lot for our kids in terms of sports which is great,” she said. Schmaling also said that the department will be looking to replace the existing tennis and basketball courts behind the schools at some point as well.