The Plympton Police Department has rescheduled its Open House to  Saturday, Nov. 13, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. after the ravages of last week’s storm forced cancellation of the event.

Plympton people and friends are all invited to stop by to meet the new interim Chief Scott Benton and the new officers on the force, including Acting Sgt. Dan Hoffman and Acting Sgt. Matt Ahl.

Benton was selected to fill in as Plympton Police Chief after Chief Matthew Clancy accepted a position in Maine.

Refreshments and donuts will be served.

The Plympton Police Dept. is pleased to announce that Scott D. Benton has begun his new role as Interim Police Chief.

Chief Benton, who most recently served as Chief of Police in Whitman, assumed the role on Friday, Oct. 15.  He brings with him a 33-year career in law enforcement.

Chief Benton grew up in Whitman and graduated from Whitman-Hanson Regional High School in 1982.   He studied law enforcement at Massasoit Community College and holds a bachelor’s degree in law enforcement from Western New England College.  In 2014, he earned his master’s degree in criminal justice from Curry College.

Throughout the years, Chief Benton fulfilled several roles and responsibilities for the Whitman Police Department, including sergeant, detective, shift supervisor, evidence officer, 911 coordinator, liquor license inspection agent, police prosecutor and deputy chief.Benton retired as Chief of the Whitman Police on Sept. 16, 2019.

“I am excited to be joining the Plympton Police Department as the interim Chief today,” Benton said.   “Through my years of experience, I know that any successful departments relies on the cooperation and passion of an entire team of supervisors, officers, and support staff.  I am looking forward to working with the members of the department as we serve the residents of Plympton.”

Chief Benton assumes his new role following the departure of Chief Matthew Clancy who recently took another job out of state.

Put it down as a comeback for the Silver Lake High football team.

The Lakers trailed for much of the game. It looked like their opponent could shut them out. However, the Lakers played tough defense throughout the contest which kept them in the game. When their offense strung together a couple of positive drives late in the game, the defense continued to hold strong. As a result, the Lakers beat the Whitman-Hanson Panthers 13-6 at home on Friday, October 8. With the win, the Lakers improved to 2-3 on the season. It was their first Patriot League win of the year.

Whitman-Hanson got its first touchdown of the game in the second quarter. It came on a 12-yard rush and put the team up 6-0. Whitman-Hanson attempted a two-point conversion following the touchdown, but it failed. This was Whitman-Hanson’s only touchdown of the game.

The Lakers offense was quiet for much of the game, but the team put up two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

The first one came on a four-yard rush from Austin Smith. He was the team’s leading rusher in the win; he ran for 120 yards. The Lakers took a 7-6 lead on the extra point kick from Seth Wakefield. It’s a lead the Lakers never relinquished either. Rather, they extended it. Ryan Carroll would later catch a four-yard touchdown pass from John Dickinson to put the Lakers up 13-6. The Lakers tried to kick an extra point following the touchdown, but it was blocked.

The Lakers shut Whitman-Hanson out offensively in the second half

Coming off a win, the Lakers will face their toughest challenge yet this Friday night. They will host the Duxbury Dragons on Friday, October 15 (7:00 p.m. start time). Duxbury has not lost a Patriot League game since the 2000s.

The Silver Lake High football team faced a challenge, and came up short. After getting their first win of the season against Norwood the week before, the Lakers resumed their Patriot League schedule (they will face Patriot League teams for the remainder of the regular season). The Lakers faced off against the Plymouth North Eagles on Thursday, Sept. 30 and while the game was competitive, the Lakers came up short in it. They got beat 28-12 by Plymouth North and fell to 1-3 on the season.

Plymouth North struck first in the game. They had a 73-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter followed by a two-point conversion on the ground to go up 8-0. Plymouth North also had an interception early in the second quarter. However, the Lakers would score in the first half. The Lakers got a turnover on downs at the Plymouth North 36-yard line and capitalized. Austin Smith primarily moved the ball forward on the ground for the team and scored a two-yard touchdown with 4:27 left in the half; the two-point conversion attempt was no good.

The Lakers got a stop at the two-yard line with 11 seconds left in the first half, but Plymouth North would end up extending its lead in the second half. Plymouth North had a 22-yard touchdown catch with 1:13 left in the third quarter and a 44-yard pass shortly thereafter after forcing a Lakers fumble. That put Plymouth North up 20-6.

Plymouth North had a one-yard touchdown run and a successful two-point conversion run with 3:07 remaining. While the Lakers got a 28-yard touchdown catch from Seth Wakefield with under a minute left, they did not have enough time to make a comeback.

The Lakers next game will take place this Friday, Oct. 8 at home against the Whitman-Hanson Panthers (7 p.m. start time).

The Plympton School Committee met virtually on Monday, Sept. 20. Director of Business Services Christine Healy provided an update on the new playground at the Dennett. Healy said that excluding the surfaces, the balance of the equipment was delivered Friday. Healy said that the only foreseeable issue might be the installation of the surfacing as maintaining a temperature of 50 degrees is necessary during the process. She said that getting further into October may present a problem. Healy said that originally they were not able to afford to do the entirety of the playground with the preferred surface but noted that there was money available through State Representative Kathy LaNatra’s office. “It will be going through DESE to apply for the grant; It’s one of the Ed grants and it is the full $25,000,” Healy explained. She said they should have access to the funds as soon as they are ready to use. “My goal is to get as much of the surfacing as we can,” she said. Healy also said that $3,600 would be needed from the school budget, once they had exhausted other funding, in order to complete the playground. “I look forward to the ceremony when it opens,” she said. Chair of the School Committee Jon Wilhelmsen added that he really likes the area where the playground will be installed saying, “I think it has a much nicer feel.” Healy said that they would be working that week on a realistic schedule for completion.

Future Meeting Locations

There was a brief discussion regarding whether to meet in-person for future meetings. Some members expressed their desire to keep joining the meetings remotely. Wilhelmsen said that were the meetings to be held in-person, if a quorum was reached inside the building, a member or two could still join the meeting remotely. Committee member Jason Fraser said he was in favor of keeping the meetings remote until more data could be acquired. It was decided that the November 1 meeting would be held remotely and they would revisit it at that time.

Dennett Fields

A discussion was held regarding the Dennett sports fields. Committee member Daniel Cadogen said he had been to the fields recently and they looked clean. There had previously been a problem with dogs going the bathroom on the fields.

Solar Project

Wilhelmsen provided an update on the solar project at the school. “There were some back and forth concerns regarding prevailing wage particularly with the installation of the solar panels,” he explained. He said that the solar company took the position that prevailing wage did not apply while Plympton’s solar attorney said it did. He said that it could add up to 30 percent to the total cost of the project. Wilhelmsen further said that two provisions were written into the contract. The first stated that at the end of 20 years the solar panels would be left with Plympton during which time they would inherit the property. The second was that if the solar company decided to sell the system, Plympton would be given first priority to buy. Wilhelmsen said that removing those provisions meant that the company was merely renting the rooftop and therefore there is no procurement eliminating the prevailing wage concerns. He said they can now move forward with the project. “Like everything else, it is not as straightforward as we would like it to be,” he said.

Legislative Update

Fraser provided the legislative update. He said that back in December of 2020, the House received a special report on transportation. “Some of the findings might pertain to us specifically because we are responsible for pre-k through 22 students and our vocational education students,” he explained. He said that some of the provisions were to allow pay directly to parents to transport their students to vocational schools and alternative special education settings. He pointed out that right now Healy was responsible for finding and paying vendors to transport those students. “Another interesting finding was pushing the legislature toward greening our school bus fleet away from diesel buses to hybrid or fully electric fleets sometime in the 2030s,” he said.

Fraser said that the previous week a bill had gone through reconciliation and one of the items included in that was hundreds of billions of dollars for school infrastructure. Fraser said he was hopeful to see some of that money trickle down to Massachusetts in the form of Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) funds noting that the Dennett will need a new roof in the next 5-10 years. He said that currently they would not qualify for MSBA funds for the project but said that he was hopeful that this additional money might change that. Wilhelmsen added that what is able to be granted out with respect to school construction costs is not aligned with the increased costs currently. “The amount of dollars going out from the community to be able to do building work is really, really significant,” he explained. He noted that this applies to all municipal buildings.

Principal’s Update

Dennett Principal Peter Veneto said that they currently have 232 students enrolled saying, “for us, that’s actually pretty large.” He spoke about some recent projects saying that the entire driveway has been seal coated. There is also a new blue vinyl exterior wall. Veneto also said that all open teaching positions have been filled. He spoke about the CASA enrichment programs and said that last week they had a professional bike trick rider come to speak at the school. “The kids – they listened politely but they really wanted to see the tricks; it was awesome,” he said. Laughing he said that the school has about six classrooms that may have to pull the shades due to the excitement of watching the machinery install the playground. Of the playground, Veneto said, “It’s been interesting to watch and it’s been a lot of fun to see it come to life.” Veneto also said that all specials like art, music, etc. are now back in their original classrooms saying, “the custodial staff did an amazing job putting everything back together… there is definitely a strong feeling of normalcy.” Wilhelmsen chimed in with praise for Facilities Manager Matthew Durkee.

Assistant Superintendent Update

Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch said that the Plympton teachers joined the rest of the district for opening day where they focused on relationship building amongst other core values. He said they were making progress with the new K-5 literacy program pilot. “We’re excited to see what is the best fit for Dennett and the district,” he explained regarding the program. Lynch also provided an update on the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. He said that they were required to check in with stakeholders for the ESSER III grant application. There were 605 responses across the district regarding how to best use those funds to meet the needs of students. Lynch said that top priorities from the survey included academic support and intervention, mental health supports, social and emotional learning, and technology support. “When we submit the grant, the proposal would be based on the input from our Plympton families… roughly 40 percent of our entitlement would be for closing gaps like tutoring, summer programming, supplies,” he said.

Superintendent’s Update Including COVID Guidance

Superintendent Jill Proulx began with an update from Nutrition Director Megan Ahrenholz saying that from June 23 to August 18 across all three towns, 25,998 meals were served. “I just wanted to thank the school nutritional staff,” Proulx said. She told the Committee that vaccination clinics will be held throughout the fall in coordination with the Kingston Board of Health. Proulx said that vaccines are the primary mitigation strategy this year.

She shared with the Committee updates regarding COVID guidance from the Department of Health and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). She said that unlike the previous year, in-person learning rather than remote learning is considered time on learning. Proulx said that the Education Commissioner was granted authority to mandate masks this year for all public K-12 students and staff. Exceptions are made for those that cannot wear masks due to medical or behavioral needs. Unmasking as of October 1 may potentially be an option for schools that meet certain vaccination rates. Proulx said that the school website has a tracker for COVID cases and noted that close contacts are still notified by the building principal.

Proulx said they have signed up to participate in the new test and stay program that got off to a delayed start. The program will allow caregivers to give permission for their student to stay in school and be tested daily using a rapid antigen test if they are a close contact as long as they remain asymptomatic. This would be in lieu of needing to quarantine at home.  Close contacts are defined as individuals who have been within 6 feet of a COVID-19 positive individual indoors for 15 minutes during a 24-hour period. Exemptions include those who are masked and 3 ft apart, those who are masked on a bus with windows open, and those who have been diagnosed within COVID-19 in the last 90 days. All exemptions would be based on the individual remaining asymptomatic.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on Tuesday, September 14.

Charles Rogers of Monponsett St. requested to appear before the Board. He said he lives on the water and told the Selectmen, “The weed growth this year has come back to what it was pre the treatment, maybe 10 or 15 years ago.” He shared several photos with the Board to demonstrate the extent of the overgrowth. “That has become not only just unsightly but a dangerous hazard,” he continued. He shared an anecdote of his fins getting tangled in weeds when trying to swim. He said that when the issue last came up, they were told they had only two years before it would be impossible to cross the lake in a canoe. Town Administrator Charlie Seelig said they had money in the budget to do another treatment and said they hope to go out to bid in early February and do the treatment at the correct time in the early spring.

The Selectmen had an appointment with the Board of Assessors for the fiscal 2022 classification hearing where the Selectmen need to vote on how to adopt the tax rate policy.  A decision would have to be made regarding the percentage of tax burden among the property types including residential, open space, commercial, industrial, and personal property. Ninety percent of properties fall into the residential category in Halifax. The Board of Assessors voted unanimously to recommend to not split the tax rate due to it putting a burden on the commercial properties. The average single family tax bill for fiscal 2022 went up 5.23 percent. The average condominium tax bill went up 6.28 percent. Halifax Solar, Halifax Mobile Home Estates, Walmart, Stop and Shop, and Haseotes and Sons were the top taxpayers in Halifax. The Selectmen voted unanimously to approve the tax rate policy as outlined by the Assessors.

The Board also had an appointment with Allan Palmer who submitted a talent bank form for the Zoning By-Law Review Committee that is still absent one at-large member. Palmer who described himself as “almost retired” said he has lived in town since 1986. He said he is eager to get involved in helping the town and has interest in this area. He was appointed unanimously to the Committee by the Selectmen.

Seelig told the Board that the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) was seeking to fill the alternate member position. He further told them that he had a letter from the ZBA recommending that the former Chair of that Committee, Bert Gaynor, be appointed to fill the vacancy as one of the alternate members. Selectmen Chair Gordon Andrews recused himself from the discussion. “Attorney DeRensis does recommend filling the seat by the normal procedures,” Seelig told the Selectmen. Selectman Ashley DiSesa said that after speaking with town counsel she preferred that they open the interview process once again and speak to the other residents who had previously applied to the ZBA. Selectman Troy Garron instead moved that they appoint Robert Gaynor to the alternate position on the ZBA. DiSesa disagreed and Seelig moved on to the next topic.

The Board had an appointment with resident Diane Bradford to discuss the obstruction on the shoulder on the south side of Hayward St. Andrews read a letter from multiple residents in the area requesting immediate removal of the stakes on the road. The letter read, “The stakes located in front of the cranberry bog at the address of 136 Hayward St… are a safety concern for us residents… the stakes are making it nearly impossible to move over to avoid potholes.” It also pointed out a number of other concerns regarding the stakes. They requested proof that the owners demonstrate that the stakes are on the property owner’s property rather than on town owned property. Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward confirmed that the stakes are in the right of way but said that there is nothing in the town’s bylaws stating that the town owns that right of way. The residents complained that the owner has a temper and that police needed to be called on one occasion during which they were told that the town would need to handle the issue. Hayward said that after a conversation with the Police Chief, it was decided that if the stakes are three feet back from the road, they would be allowed to stay. Garron recommended checking with town counsel before making any decisions. There was also some discussion about having a land survey performed. The Selectmen told the residents they would be notified of next steps, if any.

The Selectmen met with the Planning Board. Chair of the Planning Board Gordon R. Andrews said, “We’re voted by the people; we’re one of the only boards in town that we do not have jurisdiction over our own secretary. I just don’t think it’s the right way to do it. I know that in the past it was done in a way to just get a secretary in, but I think even the Finance Committee, who is not elected, they hire their own secretary, they train their own secretary; the secretary falls under them.” He went onto say it felt like their secretary was being dictated to by the Building Inspector or the Building Inspector’s secretary. “I’m not complaining about our secretary; it’s just the system that our secretary gets hired under,” Andrews clarified. Planning Board member Amy L. Troup asked, “where is it in writing that the Building Inspector would be in charge of the Planning Board and the Conservation secretary?” Seelig responded, “We met with various boards and committees about 15-20 years ago and this agreement was reached. It’s an artificial construct; there’s no legal standing for it – it’s simply a way of operating.”

The Building Inspector spoke saying that he was of the opinion that the Planning Board and Conservation should have their own secretary, but noted, “I would leave Zoning under my purview.” Seelig asked Building Inspector James Perry if he had spoken to anyone on the ZBA regarding the matter and he responded that he had not. A member of the ZBA spoke and said from their perspective, it made sense for the ZBA secretary to be left under the jurisdiction of the Building Inspector who also acts as the Zoning Enforcement Officer. He noted that the Zoning secretary has always worked with the Board without issue. DiSesa recommended doing more research before finalizing a plan that would work best for the Planning Board, Conservation, and the ZBA.

She recommended putting the topic on the agenda for the October 8 Board of Selectmen meeting.   

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.”