Quentin Climer created flowers with tape that was easily moldble into shapes and stretchy in texture. (Photo by Stephanie Spyropoulos)

With various art media displayed throughout the Silver Lake hallways- this week students will observe and participate in a noticeably different method of creativity -in the form of tape art.

Founder of Tape Art Crew Michael Townsend carries over three decades of art experience and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Rhode Island School of Design.  Artist Leah Smith and Tape Art instructor also has over a decade in creating public art.

The pair generated inspiration with the SL students during a brief brain storming session prior to the application of the tape on Tuesday.

The students were encouraged to create and envision their story and then pairing up in groups they taped their portions of the story as it would unfold along the bare white wall.

Strictly pictorial each detail of the wall art was made of tape. Flowers, grass, lines both leading and finishing, cat ears, tiger bodies and a story unfolded about within various stages.

The green and blue artistry tape is easily removed and repositionable.

The idea of creating a scene together incorporates everyone. Coming into a space and seeing something new is exciting and when it is removed it will be missed and leaves room for new ideas to spring up, said Smith.

Several students stood on a table and stools to work on the top portions of the mural each had a shared task.

In recognition of March – Youth Arts Month this event was made possible by the generous support of the Kingston, Plympton and Halifax Local Cultural Councils and the SLRSD PTO.

Hannah Close Art teacher at the Silver Lake Regional High School was first introduced to the Tape Art Crew when she attended a professional development workshop in spring 2018. The event was hosted by the Massachusetts Art Education Association MAEA at UMass Dartmouth featuring the Tape Art Crew and led by two of the crew members.

Similar to the students the teachers at the workshop were given a prompt and coaching on how to manipulate the blue and green painter’s tape and all were paired in groups to create a temporary tape art mural.

‘The Tape Art Crew members posed thoughtful questions about imagery, communication and visual problems while we worked. The results were as exciting as they were varied,’ said Close.

Close who also spent class time Tuesday with the Tape Art Crew was excited about the opportunity to bring working artists to SLRHS because of the conceptual thinking, exposure to the media of temporary tape art murals and allowance for her students to develop visual communication skills. Her hope in what the students will gather from the experiences this week is:  development of interpersonal and problem solving skills.

‘They work together to create large scale murals that will be shared by the whole school and community,’ said Close.

The Tape Art Crew hails from Rhode Island and has hosted their workshops all over the world. Internationally they have traveled, creating tape murals throughout the US, Hong Kong, Greece, and Tokyo.

In their final home game of the season, the Silver Lake High boys’ hockey team clicked on offense, defense and in net. As a result, they trounced Blue Hills 7-2 on Saturday, Feb. 16, improving to 7-10-4 on the season.

Kevin Cardarelli led the way, putting up a hat trick. In addition to his three goals, senior captain David Marani had a pair while Andrew Johnson and Cameron Cavicchi each found the back of the net as well. Plus, Nicholas Solari dished out a team-high three assists in the win. Freshman Grady Sullivan picked up the win in net and once again gave the Lakers exactly what they needed.

The game was also senior night for the Lakers which means they honored their five seniors prior to the game. This season, such names include: Sean McNeilly, Ryan Sullivan, senior captain Alex Heffernan, Marani and Johnson.

The win was also crucial for the Lakers as it kept their playoff hopes alive. While the Lakers will not win 10 games this regular season, beating Blue Hills put their record against fellow Div. 3 opponents on the season at 3-4-1. This meant that if they won their bout against Rockland on February 20, they would earn a spot in the MIAA Div. 3 playoff bracket thanks to the Sullivan Rule. This also explains how the team made the playoffs in each of the past two seasons.

This season, the Lakers scoring effort has been spread out. Headed into this week, their top-three scorers had the exact same point total on the year. Marani, Heffernan and Cardarelli had each put up 23 points apiece. Plus, Johnson was just behind them with 21 points.

That said, the Lakers will have to replace three of their top four scorers on offense next season but in terms of defense and goaltending, they will be loaded with experience.

Shannon Murphy, from the Blue Hills Trailside Museum, pictured with the museum’s Broad-winged Hawk. 

Shannon Murphy, from the Blue Hills Trailside Museum, kept her audience in rapt attention as she told the tales of various tails at the Plympton Public Library on Saturday.  Shannon brought the program Nature Tales: Habitatsto her listeners, young and older.

Shannon is pictured with the Museum’s Broad-winged Hawk.  Miranda Bloom of the Trailside Museum in Milton explained that they don’t name their resident wildlife to remind people that these are wild animals, and not pets.  “This is particularly applicable to the Broad-winged’s story, because that is part of how he came to us,” she told The Express. 

“All of the animals that reside at the Blue Hills Trailside Museum are not able to be released into the wild for one reason or another, whether it be because of injury or imprinting.  In this hawk’s case it was due to imprinting.  He was found by a family as a baby and kept as a pet until they learned it is illegal to keep wild animals in captivity.  The family tried to release the hawk back into the wild but it didn’t know how to catch its own food by that point. “

“He kept returning to their deck,” Bloom continued, “allowing other birds to peck his head, injuring him, while he waited to be fed.  After being rehabilitated he was brought to the Museum and now helps with our education programs.”

The Blue Hills Trailside Museum is operated in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.  It is the interpretive center for the state-owned Blue Hills Reservation and features a natural history museum and outdoor exhibits of native wildlife.  The animals on display – including Snowy Owls and a River Otter – have been rescued and would not survive in the wild.

It is located at 1904 Canton Ave., Milton and is open Thursday through Sunday, and Monday holidays, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  Outdoor exhibits are open daily from dawn to dusk.

To learn more about the Blue Hills Trailside Museum and its programs, go to https://www.massaudubon.org/get-outdoors/wildlife-sanctuaries/blue-hills-trailside-museum .

Team 2364B of the Silver Lake Middle School VEX Robotics after school club, won the qualifying tournament last Saturday, Feb. 2, in North Scituate, RI, for the New England VEX Qualifying competition. They will go on to compete in the New England Regional Championship Feb. 23 in Framingham. From left are JD Keegan, Max Colombo, Wes Hawley and Sami Areski, with their certificates and trophy. Not pictured are Gavin McKenna and Dylan Whittemore. (Photo by Julie Walker)

By Julie Walker
Special to The Express

Silver Lake Middle School VEX Robotics Club is accepting congratulations on their recent victory at the New England VEX Qualifying Competition, Turning Point, held Saturday, Feb. 2 in North Scituate, Rhode Island.

Team B from Silver Lake, after a grueling day of matches, won the tournament!  This is the first time a team from Silver Lake has accomplished that feat.  In addition, they also won the design award.

Robotics is big at Silver Lake.  There are two after school robotics clubs: VEX Robotics and LEGO Robotics.  The VEX Club builds robots using VEX parts, and VEX sponsors the competition. 

The Silver Lake VEX Robotics Club has four teams of students who competed in the Turning Point qualifying competition.  Of the four, Team 2364B will advance to the New England Regional Championship Feb. 23, at the Walsh Middle School in Framingham.

Team B members are JD Keegan, Max Colombo, Wes Hawley, Sami Areski, Gavin McKenna, and Dylan Whittemore.

The “Turning Point” competition began with nine ranking qualifying matches for each team.  Once the teams were ranked by how many points they scored, the top teams chose their alliance partner team to compete with in the elimination rounds.

The Turning Point game has very specific ways to score points.  In this game their robot had to flip caps to their color, turn flags to their color, raise caps with their color on top to the top of posts, and park on their color in order to score. 

Each match consists of red and blue alliance partners competing against each other. In the ranking qualifying matches, alliance partners are randomly selected for each team. Each team then plays in a set number of ranking qualifying matches. Once the ranking matches are complete, the top ranking teams have the privilege of choosing their alliance partner for the final elimination matches. 

Each match lasts only two minutes. The first 15 seconds is an autonomous portion of the game, where student-written computer programs are run to score as many points as possible. The alliance with the highest score during “autonomous” are granted the autonomous points.  Then there are 1 minute and 45 seconds of driver-controlled competition. This portion is both offensive and defensive with the ultimate goal of scoring the highest number of points in your alliance color. The alliance team with the highest points wins the match.

On Saturday, Silver Lake Team 2364B was ranked 4th and they were chosen by the 3rd ranked team from North Andover to be their alliance partner. 

Students from Silver Lake designed their robot to flip the caps, turn the flags, place caps on the posts and park on the platforms.

Each Silver Lake Team has students who worked primarily on the robot design, others who worked primarily on the programming, and some who were involved in both. 

This year, VEX introduced a new Robot platform, V5, with a smart brain and smart controller that required the use of a new programming language C++.

“Silver Lake didn’t receive their new V5 kit until January 3.  Students on Team 2364B  built a new V5 robot and learned the new programming language in less than a month,” said a proud Julie Walker, club advisor.

Congratulations, teams, for an outstanding performance!

Silver Lake Middle School offers Automation and Robotics (AR) to 7th graders as an elective. AR is a Project Lead The Way (PLTW) course that utilizes VEX robotics for mechanical builds and automation through programming using RobotC.

Ray Scott, a member of the Carver TRIAD gave thumbs up as he enjoyed lunch prior to the event. (Photo by Stephanie Spyropoulos)

Lock your doors. The message was strong, straightforward and imperative to personal safety.

How to avoid becoming a victim was the message sent in  a number of ways through the topics discussed at last week’s Senior Safety presentation.  Plympton police officers Dana Smith, and Doug Mazzola, Carver TRIAD members, Plympton Council on Aging, and members of the Plympton fire department, all brought their expertise to help senior citizens avoid becoming victims.

The messages at the luncheon held last week at the Plympton Town House were eye-opening for many who attended.

Financial scams, not offering personal information on the telephone and being aware of exits in buildings and large crowds were several topics that were touched on at the assembly.

Mazzola repeated the ‘see something say something’ phrase that has been adopted in this day and age when there can be questionable actions in everyday life.

“If you are alerted to the sensation that something doesn’t feel right use your instincts,” he said.

Plympton Fire Captain John Sjostedt III spoke about the upcoming changes to cell services. The regional call centers are now able to receive text messages for an emergency when there is no other way to communicate. Text 911 and include your physical address.

Among other heavier topics were recent mass shootings, lockdown and shelter in place drills, and student and staff training exercises and strategies that Smith has practiced as resource officer at the Dennett Elementary School. 

“Creating distance by moving yourself away from an unsafe situation is the best option,” said Smith.   Be aware of the exits when you are in a crowd.  Know your location.

He briefly shared his feelings on the Sandy Hook School shooting and drew on his experiences and knowledge that active shooter and safety drills afford to staff and students.

Smith also offered effortless alternatives that everyone can use to avoid potential unsafe situations such as not using an ATM after dark. Locking the car door when you step away from the vehicle is a simple thing to do; thieves look for any opportunities and prevention can make all the difference.

Smith also reminded the group to use their body language.  Perception can send a strong message to a perpetrator.  Carrying yourself with confident body language keeps you from appearing to be an easy target.

Seniors came away with a new awareness of some of the safety issues that they might encounter and some valuable strategies to employ.

Claire Müller of Boston, who grew up in Duxbury not far from the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, voices concerns about a license transfer for the power plant at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission public input meeting in Plymouth Jan. 15, 2019. (Photo by Abram Neal)

PLYMOUTH — Officials gathered Tuesday, Jan. 15, at Hotel 1620 in downtown Plymouth for a public input meeting regarding the decommissioning of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station and a potential license transfer from the current license holder to another company which is promising a significantly faster decommissioning process.

Representatives were present from the federal United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Louisiana-based Entergy, Inc., which is the nuclear plant’s current owner and license holder, New Jersey-based Holtec International, which is seeking permission from the NRC to take over Pilgrim’s license from Entergy, and Comprehensive Decommissioning International– a joint venture formed in 2018 between Holtec and Montréal, Canada-based SNC-Lavalin– which would, according to plans, be Holtec’s subcontractor for decommissioning the station.

Pilgrim, the commonwealth’s only currently operating nuclear power station, located off Rocky Hill Road in Plymouth, will cease to produce power at midnight May 31, 2019, according to an Entergy representative and will then move into a decommissioning phase.

Officials presented two NRC-approved plans to the public in a contentious, three-hour meeting. Entergy’s plan, known as SAFSTOR, would see spent radioactive fuel rods moved into dry storage on-site, with the plant being maintained and monitored in a manner that allows radioactivity to decay over time. It is then moved into what is known as DECON, where the plant is dismantled and the property is decontaminated. The process can take up to 60 years before the NRC finally allows the license to be terminated.

Holtec, which, said Joy Russell, a Holtec senior vice president, is the world’s leader in spent nuclear fuel management and storage, promised that her company could decommission the plant much faster. Through efficiencies created by using Holtec products, CDI could decommission the site, moving it through SAFSTOR into DECON much faster, they say, with plans to restore most of the site by 2026.

An NRC monitored trust fund is maintained by the license holder to ensure that enough money for the decommissioning process exists. If the license transfer is approved, Holtec would receive the decommissioning trust fund from Entergy, worth over a billion dollars as of the last report submitted to the federal government.

Russell said, “Holtec’s used fuel storage and transport expertise is in use by 116 nuclear reactors around the world. The spent nuclear fuel and irradiated components, which represent 98 percent of the radioactive source at a decommissioning site will be stored in Holtec canisters … Holtec’s partner in CDI, SNC-Lavalin, has over 30 years of managing decommissioning projects for both commercial nuclear facilities and government entities around the world.”

But Holtec itself has no experience in decommissioning any nuclear power plant in the world and has recently made headlines in California at the Southern California Edison San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station for possible NRC safety violations where Holtec dry-storage casks are used.

A four-inch loose metal screw was located in a cask about to be loaded with spent nuclear fuel at San Onofre. Holtec made design changes to the casks which they did not report to federal regulators, according to media reports. They said the changes were not significant enough to report, but the NRC is investigating.

After this story was originally published, a representative of Holtec and CDI contacted the Express on behalf of Russell, and in an emailed statement said, “A loose screw was found in a container during Holtec’s receipt inspection; part of quality assurance measure that Holtec performs on all canisters before fuel is loaded, to ensure the safety of canisters used for spent nuclear fuel.”

Neither plan addresses the fact that radioactive spent nuclear fuel rods will remain on the site for hundreds of years, if not indefinitely, if they are not transported elsewhere by the federal government. At the meeting, representatives of the NRC, a federal agency, blamed Congress for their inaction on the matter.

More than a dozen members of the public spoke against Holtec’s decommissioning plan, some more than once, citing fears of terrorism, climate-change and environmental concerns, having enough money in the decommissioning trust fund, concerns about the types of cannisters used, among others. Only one person spoke in favor of Holtec’s decommissioning plan.

Mary “Pixie” Lampert, of Duxbury, spoke at the meeting against Holtec’s plans on behalf of the Duxbury Selectmen and later spoke to the Express. She said that she is most concerned about the decommissioning trust fund running out before decontamination is completed. She also does not want spent nuclear fuel to be stored on-site, saying that although moving it to higher ground as Holtec has suggested is better than nothing, it is still vulnerable to terrorism.

Claire B.W. Müller, of Boston, asked, “Are Holtec and CDI willing to go above and beyond to protect the spent fuel from terrorism and climate change or will they just do ‘the floor’?

At the meeting, Russell responded that she was a nuclear scientist and had to live near nuclear power plants, too. She later responded to the question in writing.

“Holtec and CDI are committed to safety, security and being responsible stewards of the environment.”

The spent fuel canisters will be stored at 75 feet above mean sea level, and some 350 feet from Rocky Hill Road. Holtec’s canisters have been tested to withstand assaults by both human and natural events including missiles, planes, tornadoes and earthquakes. There are no “minimum standards” when it comes to security.

The current regulations imposed on the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel have been vetted by the U.S. Government for terrorism, environmental challenges and other hazards. The current regulatory standards are the result of these professional studies and validation by third parties.

Security of the spent fuel pad includes 24/7 on-site personnel, intrusion detection, and fencing. For reasons of security we cannot go into further details. Safety, security and environmental protection are at the heart of all that we do,” she said.

Müller, who said she grew up in Duxbury, responded to Russell, “I’m of course glad to hear Holtec intends to uphold current regulations for health and safety (that is a given: the “floor” of what is necessary), but the fact is our world is changing faster than our currently shutdown, underfunded federal agencies can regulate and dysfunctional Congress can legislate.

Doing the minimum will not be enough. Changing and ever worsening climate science shows that sea level rise, as well as world terrorism … means we need a decommissioning that goes above and beyond. The health of our families, our communities and the land demands that.”

The controversial meeting is likely only the beginning of more to come as activists such as Lampert and Müller say they plan to continue to challenge the license transfer.

Caeli McCulloch, 16, of Halifax, will start an early enrollment program at Johnson and Wales University, in RI, as she finishes her senior year at SLRHS.

Hard work has paid off in a sweet way for one exceptional Silver Lake student who has baked her way into early admission to culinary college.

Caeli McCulloch, 16, of Halifax may have been born with a mixing spoon in hand as she has officially been accepted to Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island as an early enrollment culinary student.

Although she is only a junior at Silver Lake High School she will complete her senior course load next fall as a freshman at Johnson and Wales University in Johnston, Rhode Island, allowing her to complete college one year early.

Her original goal in making and selling holiday confections was to save money for college  as technically she doesn’t qualify for state financial aid until she graduates high school.

Caeli spoke with The Express while whipping up a recipe she referred to as ‘simple’ – a delectable chocolate bourbon Bundt cake -with a caramel glaze. She whisked the thickening caramel in a multi-task, carefree manner never losing track of her perfectly formed cake as she described her passion for pastry.

Her busy holiday schedule included: working at her job of two years- Just Desserts in Bridgewater center, filling custom orders for holiday deadlines, keeping up with school work and daily chores. She also competes in track and field at Silver Lake.

She took over the family’s oversized kitchen for baking and packaging holiday pies, hand making assorted dessert trays and for several days occupied the space until she finalized each order. She estimates she made 25 desserts for Thanksgiving and then completed another 25 orders for Christmas.

With modesty McCulloch describes her above average grade point and perfect score of 100 percent in her culinary program through the Silver Lake Career and Technical Education Program.

The early acceptance program was something she had in her sights since her freshman year.

“It will be hard to let her go a year early to college but she has worked so hard. She has impressed me every step of the way,” said mom, Lynn Czarniak and step father Scott Czarniak.

The family agreed that Caeli has always worked well under pressure and couldn’t be more proud.

They recently learned she was awarded the Presidential Academic Scholarship through Johnson and Wales University, which will pay approximately half of her tuition. 

Her earliest kitchen recollections are using an EZ Bake Oven and kids cooking books, which were beneath her vast natural ability even at the age of four, according to mom.

Eventually moving on to utensils and kitchen equipment with her mom they would cook together for her younger brother who had severe food allergies.  Czarniak would cook specialized meals and with her daughter gained abundant knowledge on food allergens and how they could affect others. Caeli credits this early awareness towards her recent successes.

Their home is nut- free so she was able to be aware of those special needs for several holiday orders.

McCulloch proudly owns the title of ‘the person in charge of dessert’ when attending parties.  She finds the structural aspect of baking to be an independent, natural, calming component in her life.

Following online recipes using a base of a recipe then testing and personalizing to her own taste satisfies her creative flair. 

French macarons are a favored small plated pastry. She has mastered the ability of decorating party cupcakes, which has gained popularity over the years.

In choosing what to make on her holiday menu she based desserts on what she has perfected through school and her bakery experience.

“We learn about popular desserts and cultural awareness so I went on what I thought would sell the most- based on my previous knowledge,” she said.

Caeil’s Creations were expounded on by word of mouth, as well as posted on the Halifax and Pembroke connect pages.

A morsel of advice she would offer other teens in their endeavors is to never give up.

“You can do whatever you think you can. I never thought I would be going to school a year early and do all this – school – managing my job and applying for college.  Work as hard as you can, try everything to the best of your ability,” she said.

Gene Beliveau, left, and supporters before the Plympton Zoning Board of Appeals on Dec. 18, 2018. (Abram Neal)

PLYMPTON — On Tuesday, Dec. 18, the Zoning Board of Appeals held a new hearing for Gene Beliveau, manager of Plymouth County Paving, LLC. Beliveau was the appellant to a May 4, 2017, cease and desist order regarding what the previous Plympton Zoning Enforcement Officer, the late Robert Karling, ruled to be a “contractor’s yard” operating at 0 Winnetuxet Road (Map 21, Lot 1, Block 24).

Plymouth County Paving, LLC, which Beliveau manages, was accused of this prohibited zoning use at 0 Winnetuxet Road as it is in both the agricultural-residential and business zoning districts. Plymouth County Paving, LLC, is a provider of residential and commercial asphalt paving and maintenance services, excavation and demolition and commercial-industrial snow and ice management for properties located off-site, according to town documents.The ZBA and Beliveau reached a mutually agreeable settlement at the hearing, which Plymouth County Superior Court Judge Cornelius Moriarty, II, ordered, where Karling’s cease and desist order was upheld. But, exceptions were granted with a special permit allowing certain equipment to be kept on-site, according to the agreement.

In May 2017 Karling ordered Beliveau and any person acting on the business’ behalf or in concert with it to immediately cease and desist all use of the property for a “contractor’s yard” and commercial vehicle storage, the trucking of earth, gravel and other materials to and from the property and to remove from the property all of the materials, vehicles and equipment associated with such use.

On May 30, 2017, Beliveau filed an appeal with the ZBA.

A public hearing opened Aug. 15, 2017, and was continued to Aug. 24, 2017, and again to Sept. 7, 2017. During the hearing, Beliveau, through his attorney, provided evidence and testimony, and the ZBA heard additional evidence and testimony from members of the public and Karling. The ZBA also conducted a site visit Aug. 23, 2017.

In an Oct. 2, 2017, decision the ZBA voted 3-0 to affirm Karling’s cease and desist order regarding the use of the property.

Beliveau appealed this decision to the Plymouth County Superior Court.

On Nov. 13, 2018, Beliveau and the ZBA filed a joint motion in Superior Court requesting that the court remand the matter back to the ZBA for further consideration. Judge Moriarty agreed to allow the motion, and a new hearing was held.

The ZBA voted 3-0 at the new hearing to reaffirm Karling’s May 4, 2017, cease and desist order regarding the use of the property although Beliveau may keep more than three but less than 10 commercial vehicles on the property in accordance with the terms of a special permit granted by the board. Beliveau is also allowed specific forestry related equipment provided it is not visible from any roads or abutting properties (it must be stored in or behind a “long metal structure” on the property) and may replace it with comparable equipment over time so long as the amount of equipment does not increase.

The Express was not able to reach Beliveau for comment as of press time.