The Silver Lake Regional School Committee met virtually on Thursday, Dec. 3. The financial impact of COVID 19 on the district’s budget were discussed as were the continuing need for funding COVID related positions at both the middle and high schools through the end of the school year. CARES Act funding was used to pay for the addition of three building level substitute positions at the high school as well as two long term building substitutes and one long term custodian at the middle school. That funding runs out at the end of December so Silver Lake Regional High School Principal Michaela Gill and Silver Lake Regional Middle School Principal Jim Dupille were seeking approval from the Committee to maintain those positions.

In addition to the three building-based substitutes, Gill said she was also looking to increase the 10-month custodian position at the high school to a 12-month position to assist with sanitizing and other COVID related duties. The building-based substitutes would come at a cost of $12,600 each and the increase in time for the custodial position would be an additional expense of $8,000.

Dupille said he was looking for $47,460 to cover the cost of continuing the two long term building based substitutes and the one long term custodian position. He also said that due to fluctuation between cohorts, the school has had to support some of the students on IEPs in additional classes. As a result, the building-based substitutes have had to take on the role of paraprofessionals in those classrooms. Dupille said he would like to see a paraprofessional hired to free up the substitutes who are needed elsewhere. This request would come with a cost of approximately $11,000.

Committee member Eric Crone said that similar issues were tackled at the Kingston Elementary School meeting and noted that they were looking at savings in other areas of the budget in order to repurpose for the continuation of positions previously funded through the CARES Act. Crone said that it would be difficult to go back to the three towns to get a supplemental budget and Director of Business Services Christine Healy agreed. Committee member Christopher Eklund said that he believed the E and D fund to be their only option.

School Committee member and Halifax Selectmen Gordon Andrews said that since the towns had declared a state of emergency, they can deficit spend and therefore, the schools can ask at the special town meetings in March to amend their budget. Andrews also recommended that Silver Lake Regional vote to declare a state of emergency as the district is considered its own municipality. Assuming approval by an attorney, doing so will be an item on the next meeting’s agenda.

The Committee voted to support the positions totaling approximately $104,344 but decided not to change the budget until March. Healy noted that the school district is different than a town in that the budget is voted as a singular number so the focus doesn’t have to be on individual line items. She said that wish list items may have to be sacrificed in favor of more necessary expenditures like these positions.

Healy told the Committee that back in June, she was told that the region would receive an allotment of $146,000 from a COVID-19 relief funding house bill done under Representative Kathy LaNatra. She said that after receiving approval she was in touch with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to find out about obtaining the funding. The money was designated through representatives and went through the Executive Office for Administration and Finance (EOAF). EOAF apparently believed it was being administered through DESE.

Healy said obtaining the funding was complicated by the fact that Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton were receiving their funding through Plymouth County and not the state. Andrews, however, said that it was his understanding that Plymouth County did not receive all the funds for the County and that some were held back by the state. He said he believed the allotment should be coming from EOAF.

Healy went on to tell the Committee that in late November she received a letter saying that Silver Lake would only be receiving an Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) in the amount of $58,000 instead of the house bill allotment of nearly three times as much. Healy said she spoke with Representative LaNatra who is trying to find alternative funding to compensate.

Many of the Committee members expressed their outrage that the schools were not being granted their share of the funds. Crone pointed out that the bill was used in political advertising leading up to the election and said, “It’s completely ridiculous that this is happening right now… I’m just beyond disappointed and annoyed.” Hatch agreed saying, “I’m being polite by saying I’m floored.”

A motion was made to send a letter from the Committee to Plymouth County Treasurer Tom O’Brien as well as another “strongly worded” letter to the Governor and the EOAF secretary. Healy said she believes the issue will get resolved and the schools will see the money that is owed to them.

Special Education Presentation

Administrator of Special Education Marie Grable gave a presentation on the state of special education in the district just as she had done earlier at the most recent Halifax Elementary School Committee meeting. “Special education means specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability,” Grable explained. She also described the purpose of special education saying it is “to provide equal access to education for children with disabilities ages 3 through 21.” Programs for Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton include the Developmental Learning Center (DLC) and Pathways, The Structured Learning Center (SLC) or Therapeutic Learning Center (TLC), and the Language Based Learning Center (LBC)

Grable said that the number of students receiving special education services at Silver Lake Regional (grades 7-12) stands at 243 or 15.1 percent for FY21. This number is only slightly increased over what it was in the previous four years and the percentage is below the state average.

Grable explained that out of district placements (ODP) occur when the needs of a student are greater than what can be provided by a school. There are 48 students across Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton currently in ODP. Grable said there were 74 when she first started and said the reduction was a direct result of “the programs that we’ve developed, the enhancements of the services that we’ve been providing over the years, the support of the community members and school committees to really promote and encourage our in-district programming.”

For FY21, ODP tuition for Halifax is $1,857,409 while ODP transportation costs are $473,800, ODP tuition in Plympton is $553,106 and ODP transportation $97,650, and in Kingston ODP tuition is $2,779,011 with ODP transportation coming in at $568,173.

Grable went over the funding sources for the special education services including the state’s Circuit Breaker program which provides reimbursement for a percentage spent over $48,000 per placement. The percentage allocated is dependent on the resources available and the state’s ability to share the wealth with local communities. Anticipated reimbursement for FY20 for Halifax is $598,008, for Kingston $568,173, and for Plympton $67,934.

Other grants include Fund Code 240 in the amount of $974,700 for Silver Lake Regional across Grades 7-12 and Fund Code 262 for preschool aged children in the amount of $7,097. Two grants to return this year for the first time since 2017 include Fund Code 274 in the amount of $14,105 for Silver Lake Regional and $38,209 across all three towns and Fund Code 298 for $2,553 for Silver Lake Regional and $6,352 across all towns.

Grable also said that the special education department is working to establish what forms of recovery and compensation might be needed given the fact that some students may not have had access to necessary services to make progress with their IEP during the closure last spring.

Goals include the possible expansion of the Silver Lake Integrated Preschool since the school is currently at capacity. There is also a plan to open an additional DLC classroom at KIS.

Committee member Leslie-Ann McGee said to Grable, “You walking in our door 5 or 6 years ago was a godsend; you’ve done amazing work.” McGee also advocated for the value of early intervention. She asked Grable to make the basic rights training held by SEPAC available outside of the SEPAC meeting saying she wanted to be sure that parents fully understand what their needs are and what the school offers. Grable said she would make it available as a PowerPoint on the district website.

Superintendent Jill Proulx asked the Committee to take a vote on whether to allow students in substantially separate programs to be able to attend school in-person on Wednesdays. Currently those students are often not able to access services remotely on Wednesdays because of their unique needs. The vote would need to include the Silver Lake staff on both the Kingston and Silver Lake campuses. Crone said, “we were told that quite often those kids are marked absent on Wednesdays.” He also noted that the more that can be done in-person with these students with special needs, the more money can be saved down the road. The Committee voted to allow it.

Superintendent’s Update

In addition to the vote to allow certain students access to in-person learning on Wednesdays, Proulx also asked the Committee to vote on whether to eliminate traditional snow days in favor of an additional remote day. Proulx said that the Committee should consider student and staff access to power in the event of a snowstorm. Most of the Committee was in favor of keeping the traditional snow days and voted against the remote learning day. McGee said it was “good to have it in our toolbox if we need to.” She recommended revisiting the vote in February to see how the winter was going.

Proulx also asked the Committee to consider Governor Baker’s November request that communities designated as gray, green, or yellow return students to full, in-person learning where feasible. Proulx explained that the first of the three biggest obstacles to a full, in-person return would be limited bus availability as well as significant cost to expand bus usage. The second is the 6 ft social distancing requirement for lunch as it would be very difficult to maintain that distance and still schedule lunch for all students. The third is the social distancing requirement in general. While 3 ft is an option, 6 ft is still recommended by the CDC and the state. “More students means less social distancing,” Proulx said. She explained that a change in these requirements would likely need to take place prior to Silver Lake considering a return to full, in-person learning. Proulx said that she did, nonetheless, also ask Gill, Dupille, and Healy to access the feasibility.

Jon Lay spoke on behalf of the Silver Lake Education Association (SLEA) thanking the Committee members for their support and asking them not to relax any of the protocols currently in place. He said that Silver Lake had been fortunate to avoid any large outbreaks of the virus thus far and said that while a vaccine is on the horizon, things are likely to get worse before they get better.

Principal’s Report

Gill told the Committee that she has been having discussions with junior and senior class officers regarding the fate of the junior and senior proms. Both were cancelled last spring. With heavy hearts, a decision was made to cancel the junior prom this year.

Gill called the likelihood of holding a senior prom “slim” but said that they are still investigating possible venues. She said that senior officers are also looking into possible alternatives such as an outdoor red-carpet event. Gill also noted the difficulty of fundraising for both events, even in a normal year and said that a decision may be made in the future to combine the two events.

Gill also said that based on a suggestion by McGee, the senior class president reached out to South Shore Landscaping in Rockland about donating a large boulder to the school. The intent is to allow the senior class an opportunity to paint and decorate it. The hope is for it to become a senior tradition with each class getting to repaint the rock when their turn comes.

Gill said that only 3 percent of families requested a learning model change for the second term. She said that an equal number of families opted to switch from hybrid to remote and remote to hybrid which allowed for very little changes to be made to the schedule or staffing.

Gill also asked the Committee for their opinion on an in-person visit in the spring by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges which was supposed to happen this fall. A self-study is first given with the school grading themselves on various national standards. A team of 6 then come in and determine whether they agree or disagree with the school’s assessment of themselves. The visit would occur from March 7 to March 10. She said the team makes suggestions that help drive things like the school improvement plan and the budget. She said the last visit drove funding for the second assistant principal and the head nurse. While schools don’t have to participate, it is highly encouraged. The Committee agreed to reassess their comfort level with the in-person visit at their January meeting.

Student Recognition

Superintendent Jill Proulx told the Committee that on behalf of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (M.A.S.S.) she would be presenting two certificates of academic excellence to two graduating seniors. “This award is given to two seniors who have distinguished themselves in the pursuit of excellence during their high school careers,” Proulx said.

Both Sarah D’entremont and Brendan Haas are in the top 5 percent of the graduating class of 2021. D’entremont is a student athlete and a part of the Allied Health program. She won the Patriot League Sportsmanship Award. Haas is a member of the National Honor Society and a member of the math team. In addition to his other accolades, Haas performs charity work for veterans.

Committee Chair Paula Hatch said, “You’re both very accomplished and it sounds like you’ve laid the groundwork for your future so incredibly well and I wish you wonderful things in the months and in the years to come.”

Fire Chief Jason Viveiros, Police Chief Joao Chaves, and Board of Health Agent Bob Valery were all present at the November 23 special meeting of the Halifax Board of Selectmen. These meetings have been held weekly since the onset of the pandemic.

Valery began by saying that for the previous week there had been one confirmed case on Thursday, two suspected cases and one confirmed case on Friday, and one confirmed case on Saturday. At the time of the meeting, there were no hospitalizations from cases in town. Selectman Tom Millias asked how many total cases there were in town. Valery said that there were 18 active cases and estimated eighty something total cases since the beginning of the pandemic. Valery also told the Board that the first responders are notified of cases every Monday.

“Stores were pretty painless over the weekend; they were busy but seem to be handled pretty well,” Valery said of local shops. Millias agreed saying that the stores he drove by had counters out front calling it “encouraging” and adding “they’re at least trying to keep track of how many people were in the store.” Millias said that this would be a difficult time of year with the holiday season.

Valery recommended that people try to avoid shopping during peak hours like 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. when possible. Both Millias and Valery recommended using curbside pickup where available.

Chief Viveiros gave an update on the testing program in town. The program will begin by administering antigen tests to town employees on December 1 and 8. Tests for this population have already been paid for through the town. Employees with symptoms or known exposure are asked to receive a PCR test through a drive up at the fire station.

A community testing event will be held on December 5 and 6 at the Halifax Elementary School. Those wishing to be tested should provide their health insurance information. According to Viveiros, if they don’t have health insurance, they can provide their social security number and the test can be billed through the federal government as money has been set aside for that purpose.

Chief Chaves told the selectmen that according to the state, a first responder who has had contact with a known case of the virus, can still be expected to report to work as long as they remain asymptomatic. Chief Viveiros said that in spite of the guideline, his department would still be erring on the side of caution. He said that as long as there wasn’t a shortage of personnel, any member of the department with a known exposure would be asked to stay home.

Millias provided an update on the Pope’s Tavern roof project. The Building Committee said they have had discussions with the contractor and that the plan is to start work on the roofing membrane and the ice and water shield. They are, however, reluctant to put shingles on the roof during the cold weather. Millias said as with the spray foam insulation, the shingles need warmer temperatures to adhere properly.

Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward was in attendance to speak to the toy drive that will take place on December 5. The event will be two-fold with a drop off option as well as a pickup one. Santa will be driving through the town from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and several cars with Girl Scouts will be trailing to pickup donations from people’s homes. The drop off portion will be a drive up at the town barn with volunteers taking the items directly from people’s trunks. More information is available on the town website.

Hayward also told the selectmen that he was now in possession of the necessary equipment, acquired through CARES Act funding, to spray disinfectant at certain street crossings as well as park benches. He asked if the selectmen would like him to begin spraying the HOPS playground. “If we have the capacity to do it, I can’t see saying no thank you,” Millias said. Hayward said that the playground at the school is being sprayed between recesses. While the HOPS Playground can’t be done as frequently, Hayward said it could likely be done once a day.

SMITHFIELD, RI– Bryant University President Ross Gittell, Ph.D., is very proud to announce the 2020-21 members of the University’s Bryant Senior Advisory Council (BSAC).

In a year like no other, this distinguished group of students representing the Class of 2021, including Brandon Fontaine of Kingston will meet monthly with the President and members of his Cabinet to reflect and learn together during these unprecedented times for Bryant and for all of higher education.

The students will gain significant professional experience and exposure, and a deeper knowledge of their University, and the leadership team will benefit through this substantive forum by hearing the perspectives of those who, in many respects, know Bryant best.

In announcing the appointment of the BSAC members, President Gittell said, “During these challenging times and in the first year of my presidency, I have learned a lot about and from our students. I have been particularly impressed by their strong support of each other, and their commitment to their personal, academic and professional development and to our University.

“Their insights and perspectives, which we will receive through the Bryant Senior Advisory Council, will provide an invaluable resource as we plan for the University’s future.”

Here is a look at how the Silver Lake High varsity sports teams fared last week.

Cross Country

The Lakers competed in the Patriot League championship meet on Wednesday, Nov. 11. Samantha Faherty won the race on the girls side (19:53.3).

Field Hockey

The Lakers picked up a win in the Patriot Cup tournament last week. They beat Hingham 1-0 on Saturday, Nov. 14. In their win, Haley Beatrice scored the goal, and goalie Allison Dahlen had nine saves for the Lakers.

Boys Golf

The Lakers did not compete last week.

Boys Soccer

The Lakers picked up a pair of wins in the Patriot Cup tournament last week, improving their record to 5-3-5 on the season. They started the week off with a 2-0 win over Quincy on Tuesday, Nov. 10 and two days later, they beat Plymouth South 2-0.

Girls Soccer

The Lakers competed thrice last week in the Patriot Cup. They picked up a pair of wins, but also a loss that marked the end of their season. They started the week off with a 5-1 win over Quincy on Monday, Nov. 9. Two days later, they bested Marshfield with a 1-0 win. However, they fell to Pembroke 2-1 on Friday, Nov. 13. With the loss, the team finishes their season at 6-7-1.

Volleyball

The Lakers season came to a close in their first round Patriot Cup matchup. The Lakers fell 3-0 to Hanover on Tuesday, Nov. 10. They finish their season at 1-12. Previously, they beat Hanover 3-2 on November 5.

College Commitments

A pair of Silver Lake High students committed to schools to continue playing their respective sports at the next level. For field hockey, Caitrin Hazley-Collins committed to Franklin Pierce (NCAA Div. 2). And for equestrian, Laurel Smith committed to Texas Christian University (NCAA Div. 1). Silver Lake does not have an equestrian team, but there are equestrian facilities in Halifax.

When you look at the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases, we in Plympton are lucky to have few compared to neighboring towns.  But it’s not just luck.

The smallest town by population in Plymouth County, Plympton was among the first to re-open its Town House on June 1, Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy said, and prior to that date with all of the departments working from home, “we were still able to successfully serve everyone who contacted us, while we were fully remote.”

Plympton’s Emergency Management Director, Fire Chief Steven G. Silva leads a coalition of departments within the town to bring things back to some semblance of normal.  Team members include Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy, Board of Health Chairman Arthur Morin, Board of Health Assistant Cathy Ferguson, and Police Chief Matthew Clancy.  Silva said he is heartened to see how people have come together to work things out.   Peter Veneto, principal of the Dennett School, Debbie Batson, Library Director, Patricia Detterman, Town Clerk, and more – have all worked to document protocols for delivering services to the community in a safe manner.

Working in concert with the Board of Health Silva has introduced a new Community EMS Program that will takeover the duties performed by the Cape Cod Visiting Nurse Association.  In the midst of the pandemic, the Cape Cod Visiting Nurse Association, who had formerly served several South Shore towns including Plympton, stopped services to towns off Cape giving towns six months notice to find other sources.

Chief Silva, after a September presentation to the Board of Health, has announced that the plan for Community EMS program has been submitted to the Department of Public Health and is awaiting approval.

What will Community EMS do for Plympton?

It uses personnel we already have, Silva explained, and gives a plan for implementing public health nurse  services to the townspeople, working with Plympton’s Board of Health. Fire Captain Cheryl Davis, who has interacted with Plympton’s citizens on many occasions, will oversee the program.  Davis has been with the Plympton Fire Dept. for 14 years and was recently brought on full time.  Before accepting her position as a full time Captain and EMS coordinator, she was also a Lieutenant and shift commander with the Fall River Fire Dept. EMS division.

In addition, the Plympton Fire Department has also been trained in the use of MAVEN, a computer program that tracks cases of COVID and other infectious diseases, so up to date numbers of cases in the state as well as in the area are available to work out preventative measures.

Opening the Town House to Plympton residents was done safely June 1, according to Dennehy.   Now, a member of the Plympton Fire Department signs you in, records what office you are seeing, does a thermo scan of your forehead to make sure you are fever free, and calls ahead to see that the office is available so proper distancing can be observed.  Arthur Morin, Chairman of the Board of Health, says that to date, there have been no cases of COVID-19 attributed to the Plympton Town House.

Dennett Elementary copes with COVID

Peter Veneto, principal of the Dennett Elementary School, has been key in getting the school open safely this fall.

“We have made a number of changes here at Dennett to try to keep everyone as safe as can be.  We have installed touchless faucets in all of our learning spaces and rest rooms as well as touchless paper towel dispensers.  We have sanitizing stations outside of every space and by the recess doors.  Students “pump in” and “pump out” when entering the building or leaving a room.  We have had Plexiglas installed in the office, cafeteria and Nurse’s Office.  We also have Plexiglas shields for any students receiving one to one instruction or special education testing.  Our Director of Maintenance, Matt Durkee, assisted with getting the Plexiglas installed.  He also helped with signage in the building and floor decals to help students maintain a six- foot space when waiting in lines.”

Veneto continued, “Most of these items were paid for through CARES Act funding.”  In our classrooms, all students sit six feet apart from seat edge to seat edge.  Students eat lunch in the cafeteria six feet from one another.  It looks and sounds a lot different but the students are still able to talk and interact with one another.  Everyone has done a great job wearing masks.  Teachers try to get outside multiple times per day for mask breaks for our kids.

“From a procedural standpoint a lot has changed as well,” he said.  “The vast majority of our students are dropped off in our car line in the morning.  Using the Pick Up Patrol web based program, parents complete a health assessment every morning.  An aide will stand in the hallway and confirm that students have no Covid symptoms before they go down to class.  Once in the building, students have specific waiting areas and hallway directions to prevent a lot of face-to-face contacts.  Playground equipment is sanitized every morning and the students line up 6 ft. apart coming back into the building.  During lunchtime, students who have brought their lunch enter the cafeteria first and sit at the front of the room.  Students who are buying lunch wait in line, get their lunch and fill in the open seats.  Dismissal procedures are the same as drop off just in reverse.”

Those are the very general changes to our day.  Each classroom has some smaller details specific to their grade level.  The staff has done a nice job with these tweaks and our students have been phenomenal.”

“We’re well positioned now”

“Those of us in the Emergency Management Committee, I feel we’ve done a really good job getting things up and running,” Dennehy said.  “Not that we’re looking for credit,” she continued, “People in town should be proud.  We have made it reasonably safe for people to be more connected to the positive things going on here… We’re well positioned now.   Obviously we will react to any new circumstance needed to keep people safe.”  She continued that being a small town in this case seems to be an advantage in that we can change direction and implement new procedures more easily than a larger town might.  She also said that she appreciates all the helpful people who have stepped up to volunteer wherever needed. “The Board of Health has been very quick to react to help keep us up to date on the state level,” she continued, and Plympton has been able to develop protocols adapted from neighboring communities.  “Everyone is willing to accept new information,” she said.   “It’s been a good learning experience.”

Library continues to provide services

Debbie Batson, library director, admits that it has been a challenging time to bring library services to the community.   “We had to throw out all of our ideas for summer, and find other activities for kids.”  The pinwheels on the library lawn, indicating how many books people have read were one way to encourage reading for all age groups.

“Back in June we were able to continue our book clubs via ZOOM,” Batson said.  The adult book group meets on the second Tuesday of the month by Zoom.  Contact the library at [email protected] to get sign-in information.   They are always looking for new members.

Story time for little ones continues through ZOOM, and each month there is a challenge.  October’s was making a paper tube creature; bring it in to the library and get some “library loot”, a gift bag of library-inspired goodies.  November’s challenge is creating or building something you’re thankful for.  Challenge items will be displayed at the library.

In September there was a story walk outside the library where young patrons walked around outside to read the story.  October saw a tiny “Jack be Little” pumpkin challenge,”I Spy … pumpkin search” where kids were given a printed list to search around outside to find each pumpkin with the required number, letter, or symbol on it.

Now through Dec. 17, join the Fall Book Harvest, a virtual reading challenge.  Sign up at plympton.beanstack.org, log your reading online to earn virtual badges and chances to win a $10 gift card to Barnes & Noble.  This challenge is open to kids through grade 6.

“Adult activities, that were held in the library – pre COVID – aren’t coming back so far, like Genealogy and knitting groups.  We do offer ZOOM but they’re not interested right now.  Maybe as the fall and winter limit outdoor choices, these activities will come back.   We listen to our people and try to bring them what they want,” Batson said.

New Seniors Pantry and Freezer

Acting Council on Aging Director John Traynor has seen services to seniors continue without a hitch and there has been considerable progress made in the food pantry.

Due to the pandemic we made a decision to separate the joint use of the entranceway pantry by the Council on Aging (COA) and the townhouse staff. The townhouse staff now uses the pantry that was formerly used by the Police Department before they moved to their new headquarters. This has freed up the entranceway pantry to be solely used by the Council on Aging.

To abide by the Board of Health guidelines we put in place a new protocol for seniors wishing to access the pantry. When a person accesses the townhouse, they will be greeted by a Fire/EMS person who will perform a forehead thermal scan and ask what department they want. For the pantry they should ask for COA receptionist Jean who will then come to the entrance and escort them to the pantry to see the foods we stock. Only one senior at a time is allowed in with Jean. Then Jean selects the foods the senior  chooses, takes them from the shelf or freezer and packages them. At no time is the senior allowed to handle the food. This is both for the safety of the senior and Jean.

We are grateful that the COA has been the recipient of a grant through Old Colony Elder Services that has allowed the COA to purchase a commercial size freezer from North American Restaurant Equipment in Smithfield, RI. This has enabled us to significantly enlarge the amount of frozen foods that we carry for seniors. The frozen and canned foods, plus vegetables, are obtained through the South Shore Community Action Council in Plymouth. We value their service.

Many thanks to Fire Chief Steve Silva and his wife Debra, who along with Fire Captain Cheryl Davis and Fire/EMS Amira Kim came in over the weekend of the freezer delivery to move and reinstall all the shelving and product. A special thank you also to Assistant Treasurer/Collector Christine Kelly and her son Sean for volunteering to come in over the weekend and restock the pantry.

Chief Silva is enormously pleased with the success of the work his committee has done to bring services to Plympton during this pandemic.  It couldn’t be done without the help of volunteers.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, Oct.r 27, for their regular, non COVID specific weekly meeting. Selectman Troy Garron was absent.

The selectmen had an appointment with owner of High Hopes LLC Russell Bogartz, who hopes to open an indoor marijuana cultivation facility in Halifax. Bogartz, who said he spent 20 years as a business analyst, also introduced his CFO as well as the cultivator that would run the proposed facility.

“We are a small company. We don’t have a multi-state presence… we do have a decent investor pool to make it all happen and we do have big plans for the future and are hopeful that Halifax can be a part of that,” Bogartz explained. Currently, High Hopes has spent the last two years working on opening a cannabis dispensary in Hopedale, MA which is set to open in March of next year. Bogartz said that the hope would be to start with a cultivation site in Halifax and eventually open a retail store there as well. Bogartz confirmed with town administrator Charlie Seelig that Halifax does not have a limit on the number of retail marijuana stores that can take up residence in the town.

Selectman Gordon Andrews asked about location and was told they are looking at a few vacant lots near Dunkin Donuts on Route 106. Bogartz said the plan is to construct a building that is roughly 3500 – 5000 sq. ft. In addition to saying that there would be no pesticides or harmful chemicals used in the facility, Bogartz also ensured the selectmen that there wouldn’t be an odor. “You could literally have people be next door and not even be aware it’s there,” he said. “Our goal is to have the smallest footprint possible,” he added.

When asked what the benefit to the town would be, Bogartz answered property taxes. Andrews asked if the facility would even bring in the average amount in taxes as a typical residence in Halifax. Cities and towns can subject marijuana retailers up to a three percent tax on gross sales, but this does not extend to growing facilities.

Bogartz said he wouldn’t want to pay 3 percent to Halifax as he will already be paying it to the town of Hopedale for the retail establishment. Andrews pointed out, “We’ve had growers tell us they’re going to give us a percentage of what they’re grow business is.” “What we could do, there’s lots of flavors of compromise that would make it worthwhile but doesn’t make us get zinged twice for three percent,” Bogartz said.

Seelig told Bogartz that property taxes would likely not be enough of an incentive to abutters to make it worth whatever sacrifice they would have to endure. He said it was unlikely that the abutters would go to a hearing and support the idea if the additional property taxes were the only benefit to the town. “You’ll have to build political capital with the abutters,” Andrews said.

Selectman Tom Millias told Bogartz to come back when they have something more definitive. Bogartz agreed to nail down a location and a plan. Andrews also recommended that they watch the presentation Bud’s Goods and Provisions gave to the town and they agreed.

The selectmen also met with a representative of Area 58 Community Access Media to discuss a new contract. The current agreement between Area 58 and the towns of Carver, Halifax, and Plympton is set to expire soon.

Millias said that the only issue he has is the same one he has always had – a lack of transparency in what people are paying for the service. Millias said that Comcast subscribers are paying for the service on their cable bills and noted that the service is not coming from the town and therefore, they are not paying for it via taxes.

Millias also noted that the service is not clearly labeled on Comcast bills and said he believes it is referred to only as a franchise fee. According to Millias, there is no opt out clause. “I had less of a problem with it before it became available on Youtube… so now the subscribers are paying for everybody,” Millias explained.

Andrews said he would like to see Area 58 begin to provide the towns with a list of which meetings they plan to cover. The representative told the selectmen that if there are any specific meetings that they would like to see covered, they can put a request in through Seelig and Area 58 will do their best to cover it.

It was also said that Area 58 has the ability to host Zoom meetings in order to livestream it for viewers. This is something that has been done for many meetings in Carver. “We are always looking for additional ways of serving the community and are proud to do so and have enjoyed the relationship we’ve had with Halifax and Plympton over the years,” the representative said. Area 58 said they don’t anticipate any changes to the contract other than amending the dates.

The selectmen also engaged in a lengthy conversation about whether to grant recycling abatements for a number of different cases. They denied all those that missed the deadline but were less sure what to do in other situations.

Some claimed to never have received their first bill while others said they mistakenly believed an abatement was good indefinitely. Despite being “sympathetic,” Millias said, “I always think everybody knows this comes around once a year like your taxes.” The selectmen agreed to carry the recycling abatements conversation over to a later meeting.

Seelig told the selectmen that the option to sign up for a Webinar subscription is available for $450 per year. This would help in holding meetings virtually during the pandemic. Seelig noted that if they chose to go this route, if accepted by Plymouth County, CARES Act funds could only cover the cost for the next two months.

Seelig also told the selectmen that the Pope’s Tavern roof project is scheduled to being in the middle of November. The Council on Aging has already been moved over to the police station for the time being.

Since Election Day is coinciding with a global pandemic this year, Massachusetts has provided voters with a number of alternatives to voting in person on Tuesday, Nov. 3. If you are a registered voter in Massachusetts, you should have received a vote by mail application. Mail-in ballots may either be mailed back or placed in ballot drop boxes that are located within individual municipalities. Halifax voters can find a ballot box bolted to the front porch of the Town Hall.  Plympton voters have a ballot box in the entrance of the Town House.  Kingston ballots can be dropped off at the Kingston Town Hall, 26 Evergreen St., in the locked “Ballot” box or delivered to the Town Clerk.

It should be noted that ballot boxes will be closed on Oct. 31 from 5 p.m. Halloween night until 7 a.m. the following day as ordered by the Secretary of State.

Early voting is an alternative to mail-in ballots that will allow voters to circumvent crowds and lines. Early voting runs through today, Friday, Oct. 30. Both early voting and Election Day voting will be held at the Plympton Townhouse located on 5 Palmer Rd. for Plympton residents. The Plympton Townhouse will be closed for regular business on Election Day for voting and the day after for deep cleaning.

Halifax residents can cast their votes early at Town Hall while Election Day voting will take place in the gym of Halifax Elementary School.

Kingston voters can cast their votes early today, Oct. 30, from 8 a.m. until noon, the last day for early voting.

Plympton town clerk Patricia Detterman said that as of Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 27, 394 voters had elected to vote early in-person while 497 voters had submitted their ballots by mail.

Halifax town clerk Barbara Gaynor told The Express that she mailed out an excess of 1600 ballots to voters who requested them. She noted that some of those who received their ballots by mail elected, instead, to come to the Town Hall for early voting. Gaynor also said that while early, in-person voting has been somewhat steady, there have never been any lines. She estimated that on the busiest day of early voting thus far in Halifax saw about 100 voters cast their ballots.

Both Gaynor and Detterman confirmed that in Massachusetts ballots postmarked on or before November 3 will be counted as long as they are received by 5 p.m. on November 6.

Both Plympton and Halifax will have special accommodations in place to ensure a safe voting experience on Election Day. Detterman said that an EMT or Paramedic from the Plympton Fire Department will be at the door of the Town House to direct voters and check their temperatures with a forehead thermal scan.   All precautions from the May local election and the September primary will also be in place. Detterman said that voters will be encouraged to bring their own pen and that the pens at the town house will be single use. Masks will be mandated as will social distancing. Voting booths and other high traffic areas will be sanitized throughout the day.

Gaynor listed similar precautions for Halifax noting that pens will not be single use but will be sanitized between voters. Hand sanitizer will be available throughout the voting area and plexiglass shields will separate poll workers from voters as they check in and out.

The Plympton Board of Selectmen met on the evening of Monday, Oct. 19. Chair of the Finance Committee Nathaniel Sides made a brief visit. Sides told the selectmen that he was looking for their support in getting better budget monitoring and reporting from the various departments in town as they prepare for the next fiscal year. Sides said that there was in influx of last-minute requests to the Finance Committee this year.

“I think that a formal letter would be helpful,” Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy said. Dennehy agreed to draft a letter to the departments to be signed by herself, Sides, and Selectmen Chair Mark Russo. Sides said he would also like to see regular updates coming from the revenue side as well. “We surely hear you. Some of this is structural and systemic and may take a while but moving in that direction surely makes sense,” Russo told Sides.

Continuing with the new tradition of meeting with a different department head at their meetings, Highway Superintendent Rob Firlotte attended Monday’s meeting. The topics of discussion included the two safety zones which would reduce the speed limit to 20 mph, initial research on restricting heavy truck traffic, and a redesign of the intersection at Main St. and Ring Rd.

Firlotte said he had received an estimate that day from an engineering firm for much of the work. Russo said that he didn’t believe that all of the services listed in the estimate were necessary and proposed saving money by asking for a lesser scope particularly for the safety zones. Russo said he was, “just wondering if we have to spend that much, at least initially.” He proposed signage and painting of the road as an inexpensive first step. Firlotte said he would reach out to the engineer again and ask for the quote to be amended. Russo said that should they decide to move forward with a redesign of any of the intersections, he would hope that there would be a funding source available. Before Firlotte left the meeting, Russo said of him, “Rob’s been doing an amazing job.”

Chair of the Plympton School Committee Jon Wilhelmsen was also in attendance and told the selectmen that himself, Mike Antoine, and Jason Fraser had interviewed two candidates for an open spot on the Silver Lake Regional School Committee to be filled with a Plympton resident. Wilhelmsen sang the praises of both candidates saying, “I wish we had two spots because both were excellent candidates.” In the end they chose Lukasz Kowalksi to come before the Plympton selectmen.

Kowalksi told the Board that he is originally from Poland but has spent the last twelve years in the United States. Kowalski, who doesn’t have any children but said he is a former teacher, said, “I love this place so far and I would like to do something for the school.” In closing, Kowalksi said, “I’m a tough guy. I’m a fighter and I will fight for kids and especially for Plympton kids.”

Kowalski was appointed to a 1-year term with the position to appear on the ballot in May for a 2-year term. Since it is an elected position, it can only be filled until the next election.

While there were no specific issues at the Dennett, Wilhelmsen said that since Kingston has been in the red zone for COVID infections for the last two weeks, the data that comes out this week will be significant. Back in September Governor Baker urged communities to use three weeks’ worth of data to make decisions regarding changes in school models. Should the trend continue in Kingston, the affected school committees will have to at least consider moving to a fully remote model.

Wilhelmsen also told the selectmen that they are continuing to struggle with securing substitutes at Dennett Elementary. He said there are more staff absences than normal as staff is being encouraged not to come to work if they are feeling unwell in any way. Wilhelmsen said they have been encouraging members of the community to step up and offer to substitute. The Dennett may need to hire a full-time building-based substitute as was done at both Halifax Elementary and Silver Lake Regional. CARES Act funds were used to order laptops for teachers at the Dennett as the chromebooks were proving inadequate for their needs.

Selectman John Traynor, who is acting as the interim director of the Council on Aging (COA) provided an update on the COA to his fellow selectmen. Traynor said he plans to get a newsletter out to older residents to alert them of what services are available to them such as plowing and handyman services.

Traynor said he is putting in 25 hours per week into the job currently and stated that once the position is filled, it should be recognized that it requires more than 10 hours per week despite that being all that can be paid out. “Thank you so much for jumping into the breach,” Russo said to Traynor.

There was a request for use of town owned property for Sunday, Oct. 25 from 2-4 p.m. for a Track or Treat program put on by Plympton Athletic Youth Sports (PAYS). Initially the Board of Health rejected the idea but PAYS has since put extensive efforts into making sure it would be both fun and safe. The Board of Health has since signed off on the event. “I know a considerable amount of thought went into this,” Dennehy explained. The selectmen agreed to the event pending a sign off from both the Police and Fire departments.

Dennehy said that in conjunction with the emergency management team and the Board of Health, it was decided that the townhouse would be closed to regular business both on election day and the following Wednesday. The intention would be to minimize the number of people in the building on election day and then have it professionally disinfected the day after. Dennehy also said that a ballot box has been bolted to the ground outside of the townhouse and that residents can drop their ballots off at any hour of the day. Dennehy’s final update was that the Fire Chief had submitted $173,000 in CARES ACT expenditures to be submitted for reimbursement.

The selectmen ended their meeting with their raves of the past week. Christine Joy said her rave was for PAYS for coming up with a safe alternative to Halloween. Russo said his rave was for the Bylaw Review Committee for how willing and eager they are to volunteer for things. “It’s so refreshing,” Russo said, adding, “It’s quite beautiful.” Russo’s second rave was for the Walt Whitman poem, Election Day, November, 1884. Traynor said his rave was for the volunteers of the town referring to them as Plympton’s “backbone.”

Dennehy also had a rave that she wanted to share. Fire Chief Stephen Silva, his wife Deb Silva, Captain Cheryl Davis and Amira Kim, also of the Plympton Fire Department spent their Saturday evening rearranging and organizing the COA pantry at the townhouse. Council on Aging Administrative Assistant Jean Pacheco said she was nearly brought to tears by how good the pantry looked.

Want to attend a high school sporting event at Silver Lake High this fall?

That might be tough, depending on the circumstances. The school recently released its guidelines for spectators at high school sporting events — and it depends on the sport and one’s association with the team.

As far as indoor events at the school go, due to the pandemic no fans will be allowed to attend games, according to the guidelines put out by the Lakers athletic department. In this case, that means varsity, junior varsity, and freshman volleyball.

Only athletes and game management will be allowed in the gym while those games are going on, but the games will be livestreamed by Silver Lake online.

Outdoor sports are different. this fall, that means soccer, field hockey, and cross country.

At home, it works like this: every athlete on those teams gets two badges on a lanyard, and they pick who they give those to.

Then, the people who have those badges/lanyards may attend the game. There is an exception to the rule: if a younger relative cannot stay home alone, they can come with a family member.

In other words, students aren’t really allowed to attend games. Everyone in attendance at these events is expected to not only social distance, they are required to wear face coverings to prevent the spread of the virus.

Silver Lake honors lanyards from other Patriot League schools, and some other schools in the league are confirmed as doing the same: Duxbury, Whitman-Hanson, Hingham, Marshfield and Plymouth North.

At the conclusion of games, fans are expected to leave the premises and asked to not congregate.

It is possible that the Lakers end up revising these guidelines at some point before the end of the season; the guidelines do say they are hopeful that some students will be able to attend games by the end of the season.

The Silver Lake Regional School Committee met virtually on Thursday, Oct. 1. The committee was told that there were two positive cases of COVID-19 in the district, one in the middle school and another at the high school. Building principals had already sent out notifications as of last Thursday’s meeting. Principals worked with the school nurses and Boards of Health regarding the notification of close contacts. Superintendent Jill Proulx said that she also sent out a notification on October 1 that included reminders about effective practices for reducing the spread of the virus. Chair of the school committee Paula Hatch said, “I hope they have a speedy recovery and we wish them well.”

Much of the relatively short meeting was spent discussing what share of the three towns’ CARES Act funding has been used for school related purposes. Committee member Laura Tilton said she would like to see a running list of what had been purchased with CARES Act funding for the towns of Kingston, Plympton, and Halifax as well as what had been purchased for the region.  “I think that would be helpful just to sort of make us feel good that there are things that the money has been spent on,” Tilton explained. While one was not readily available, it was said that they would try to compile the list.

Director of Business Services Christine Healy said, “All of the three towns have been very willing to work with the elementary communities… there’s just a little disconnect between the region and the towns.” Healy did note that Kingston was looking to pay some invoices for school related expenses, which she said she had sent that that day. Committee member Eric Crone said he had spoken with the town of Kingston and noted that the schools account for fifty percent of the town’s budget and should receive a proportionate amount of the CARES Act funds designated for Kingston.

Proulx noted that there have been several COVID-related expenses for the schools that have been sent in for reimbursement. “I don’t want that to get lost in the shuffle that we are making purchases,” Proulx explained. Chromebooks, additional staff including maintenance personnel, and cleaning supplies were amongst those listed by Proulx. Halifax selectmen previously voted to use a portion of their town’s CARES Act funds to pay for the additional maintenance workers at Halifax Elementary School, Silver Lake Regional Middle School, and Silver Lake Regional High School per the request of Director of Facilities Matthew Durkee.

Crone said he wanted to take a moment to recognize the efforts of Durkee saying, “He’s really stepped up and really done quite a bit to get our schools ready and continues to be responsive… I just really think he deserves a pat on the back.” School committee member as well as Halifax selectman Gordon Andrews made a point to second what Crone was saying of Durkee.

At last month’s school committee meeting, the region voted to send letters to the Boards of Selectmen as well as the Finance Committees of the three towns asking them to allocate the proportionate amount of CARES Act funds received for use by the region to reimburse Covid-19 expenses. Since those letters went unrecognized, the committee decided that a better approach might be to plan a small group meeting with the town administrators, Healy, and possibly some members of the regional school committee. Hatch said the intention would be to get a proportional commitment discussed and agreed to by the towns. Hatch did note that the letter to Halifax included an acknowledgment and “thank you” for their funding of two long term substitute positions, one for each school.

The refunding of the school’s debt was also discussed at Thursday’s meeting. Healy and Lisa Lombard led the discussion. Back in 2015, some bonds from 2009 were refunded and with rates low, it is now a good time to refund more bonds from 2010. Doing so required a vote of the committee to approve reward of the bonds to JP Morgan Chase. The vote was unanimously in favor.

Finally, the committee voted to approve the donation of surplus culinary equipment. While cleaning out their stockpile the CT department found equipment that was no longer needed by the schools. The hope is to make it available to the three towns’ senior centers.