John Shea, owner of John and Sons Barber Shop at the Cumberland Farms Plaza in Halifax, can’t believe how the years have gone by as he has been cutting hair for half a century!

Celebrating his milestone as a barber in the same location for nearly all of his career and next door for the 18 years before that, Shea is thrilled to celebrate five decades and has no intention of slowing down.

As he turns his chair, trimming and chatting with clients, he shares memories with his many repeat customers.  He hears about work, town life and sports as the scissors snip and trimmers buzz.

In addition to realizing how many trinkets have accumulated inside the shop, Shea has also absorbed the innumerable emotional milestones he sees in his line of work  making him love his job and career wholeheartedly.

John has given clients their very first haircuts, cut their hair for their wedding, and in some cases, even trimmed their hair for their funeral.   In June, some of his kids who got their first haircuts in John’s chair will come in for a trim before they graduate from high school.

He has given many first haircuts in a 1920s antique child’s chair, a replica of a carousel horse, that sits in the front window.

He found it at an auction in Pittsfield in the 1990s and had to bring it back to his shop where it has been a favorite for many of his youngest customers.

Listening is an important aspect of Shea’s work as he lathers necks and shaves with a straight razor.   He shares light banter with his customers and the atmosphere becomes even livelier he says when his son Darren is cutting in the chair next to him.

Shea is also known for decorative haircuts and designs when sports teams win, and kids want the winning logo etched into their hairline, said Shea.

His nephew Corey Socha is also a full time barber at the shop as Shea passes along his decades of experience to help train the next generations.

A buzz cut, fade, or crew cut, Shea has seen countless trends come and go, recalling his early start in the 1960s and 1970s the trend was growing long hair.

It was a tough beginning for his brand-new business when no one needed a haircut! Welcomed were the mullets and shags and Mohawks in the early 1980s when the grooming business boomed.

The décor inside his shop has evolved as rows of collectible Harley Davidson limited edition cans and knick-knacks of all sorts came in with customers. Suddenly the shelves were full of state-of-the-art conversation pieces, he said.

Although he has many clients who have followed him through the years one family came to mind who he has seen grow through four generations, named – would you believe it – the Barber family of Duxbury, he said.

Married to wife Judy for 53 years, he looks forward to spending time with her.  He foresees his body will let him know when it is time to hang up his shears.

Shea said having a career as a barber has been rewarding and fulfilling.  When asked where he sees himself in the next decade, Shea chuckled.

“I will keep going until I can’t go anymore. I may slow down physically, but I love it,” he said.

A strong start to their Monday bout against the Whitman-Hanson Panthers kept the Silver Lake High boys’ lacrosse team on the proper track.

Hosting the Patriot League Keenan Division opponent, the Lakers managed to snap a two-game losing streak en route to an 11-4 home win to start the week. With the victory, the Lakers improved to 4-3 on the season, giving them a winning record once again as they battle in hopes of earning a playoff spot yet again this season.

The Lakers got hot early in the game which helped in the long haul because the momentum seemed to carry over into the quarters to follow. The Lakers offense really connected early, so they were up 5-1 at the end of the first quarter. From there, the defense did most of the work, allowing just one goal in the second quarter as the team went into halftime leading 7-2.

In the second half, the Lakers defense shined yet again. While they allowed two goals in the third quarter, they shut out their foe in the fourth, taking the pressure off the offense to perform. Even so, they still outscored their opponent 4-2 in the second half thanks to great defense and goaltending.

In the win, junior Sean Daly (2 goals, 4 assists) and sophomore Greg Wolff (4 goals, 1 assist), both of whom are midfielders, led the Lakers’ scoring effort. Junior attacker Brendan Dean and sophomore attacker Dhruva Nugent each had two goals apiece while senior attacker Owen Nally had the team’s other goal on the day.

Prior to the win, the Lakers had dropped back-to-back games against quality opponents. Scituate beat them 13-7 on Tuesday, Apr. 24 and two days later, they lost 13-6 to Hingham.

The Lakers next game is a non-league bout this Friday, May 4 at home against Rockland, 4 p.m. start time.

James Bentley

Express correspondent

On April 4, the Halifax Elementary School Committee addressed a new state measurement set up by the state’s Department of Education to assess a school’s accountability rating. The state placed a greater emphasis on student absenteeism.

According to Silver Lake Assistant Superintendent Jill Proulx, the state is defining “chronic absenteeism” as missing ten percent or more of the school days. She said the State Department of Education has not made any suggestions for how schools can combat absences.

Committee Chair Summer Schmaling said, “I don’t really feel it’s the school’s responsibility if the child is absent.” She hoped the state would have made some suggestions to address this.

According to Superintendent Joy Blackwood, being accountable for student attendance isn’t new. She said the accountability is just shifting to the school’s accountability rating.

To try to curb some of the absences, the school sends letters to parents when a certain number is reached. Assistant Principal Brian Desantes said letters are sent out at seven and twelve absences. Proulx said, “The most the principal can do is continue contacting the parents.”

This state mandate is part of a federal initative under the “Every Student Succeeds Act.” The accountability check, Proulx said, is intended to let students with anxiety issues back into schools. She said, “This is really a push on schools to reintegrate students with social/emotional needs.”

Annual School Choice Hearing

Every year, the state requires school committees to hold a public hearing on whether the school would like to allow out of district students into its classrooms. The Halifax School Committee voted not to allow school choice this year.

According to Blackwood, the school gets a $5,000 credit for each out of district child and more if it’s a special education student. She said, “This is much less than the cost to educate the child.”

Blackwood said the school has “great class sizes,” but doesn’t have any small classes numbers at any of the grade levels.

Blackwood didn’t recommend school choice. She said that if the school said yes, you cannot deny or review any application. All applications are accepted until capacity is full.

Currently, Plympton is the only town in the district allowing enrollment of out of district students. Dennett Elementary is open to school choice and has eight students from outside of Plympton.

School Construction Updates

Blackwood said Halifax is in the process of going out to bid for the school’s new siding, windows, doors, and fire suppression system.

There are some questions if the fire suppression system can be completed in one summer. Blackwood said they will wait to see how the bids look.

Blackwood said, “It’s going to be an exceptionally busy summer. I have to say we are concerned about our ability to get everything done and to open on time.” Blackwood said the window will be “tight.”

Next School Year Calendar Draft

Blackwood presented a draft of next year’s school calendar. It included the following:

• The first day of school is scheduled for August 29, the Wednesday before Labor Day.

• Veteran’s Day will be observed on Monday, November 12.

• There will be a half-day the day before Thanksgiving.

• The last day of school before Christmas Vacation is December 21. Vacation goes until January 2, 2019.

• There are two early release days scheduled in March, 2019. The first is on March 7 and the second is March 21, the same day as parent-teacher conferences.

• Spring vacation runs April 15-19.

• High school graduation is June 1, 2019

• The last day of school is scheduled for June 13, 2019. Blackwood joked, “There won’t be any snow days. I put in my request. We’ll be all set.”

Other News

• According to School Committee Member Allison Vance, a new executive director is being chosen at this month’s meeting. Blackwood said they’ll announce the new executive director at the next school committee meeting.

• Proulx said over 130 staff members have been trained by Plymouth County’s Suicide Prevention Coalition.

• The School Committee held a presentation reviewing the school’s A.L.I.C.E. active shooter training following the shootings in Parkland, Florida.

• Proulx said the state’s Department of Education is setting new standards for an English proficiency target. Halifax Elementary School’s accountability ratings will be graded depending on where the school measures.

Based on the MaxPreps schedule, the Silver Lake High baseball team should have played twice already this season. They would have been given an opportunity to show just how strong they could be with an experienced squad this season. However, the weather has stopped that from occurring early in the season.

The Lakers’ bouts against East Bridgewater on April 3 and Plymouth South on April 9 were cancelled, like almost any other spring varsity team at the school. Unlike those other teams, however, the Lakers have 12 seniors on their roster this season– another reason they could go far this season.

Not only did they go 14-7 last year, the Lakers have some younger talent on their roster–like pitchers Alex Heffernan and Nolan Hughes–but it’s a senior-laden squad.

The team’s ace pitcher, Dan Collins, is a senior, as is their catcher Josh Harvey, who batted .383 last season. Both of them were Patriot League All-Stars in 2017.

Their classmate, Stephen Quigley, will man shortstop and has been on varsity for three years, so he will certainly be dependable. The same could be said for Jake Armstrong, who became an asset to the Lakers lineup at the plate as last season progressed.

Since they have an older ballclub this year, expectations for the Lakers are high this year, which is justified because they have a talented squad.

In all likelihood, the Lakers next game will be Saturday, Apr. 14, against West Springfield at Plymouth North High School (time TBD).

Former Hanson Police Chief Edward F. Savage III and his wife Christine of Plympton will be arraigned in Hingham District Court on Monday, April 2, on shoplifting charges stemming from an incident in April 2017 when they were allegedly seen concealing more than $400 worth of clothing in a shopping cart and leaving a store without paying.

In a televised investigative report by WCVB-TV, Investigative Reporter Mike Beaudet on “5 Investigates” last week, showed a video of the Savages shoplifting inside Kohl’s Department Store at 100 Derby St., Hingham, as well as audio from the show cause hearing at Hingham District Court.  Beaudet reported that his investigation yielded a court order to obtain the shoplifting video and audio from the closed-door show cause hearing.

In the video, the Savages were visible shopping throughout the Kohl’s Department Store when Christine entered the dressing room with the cart full of clothing.  Former Chief Savage took a seat outside the dressing room.

After Christine came out of the dressing room, the clothing was not visible in the cart but was apparently in a plastic Kohl’s bag.  The couple can be seen after a short pause with Christine pushing the cart as Edward appeared to be looking briefly toward the register.

The pair was then stopped outside the store by Kohl’s security officers with merchandise which had not been paid for.

Sgt. Steven Dearth of Hingham Police, who said he could not confirm the names of the Savages, issued a redacted police report after the incident had already aired online and appeared in the Boston Globe.

Then Hingham Clerk Magistrate Joseph Ligotti who retired in January said in the audio broadcast that he did not believe the Savages’ story of forgetting their wallet and going to retrieve it from the car.  He questioned why the couple had not been arrested on scene by the Hingham police with the overwhelming evidence on the Kohl’s security tape.

Ligotti agreed to drop the charges in February if the ex-chief and his wife issued a letter of apology to Kohl’s and to the Hingham police.

The case was continued for final disposition on Feb. 28, 2018.  When Beaudet reviewed the case, he reported that Clerk Magistrate Andrew P. Quigley, who saw the conditions in place by Ligotti, stated those conditions had not been met.

When contacted by Express Newspapers, Attorney Daniel Webster, lawyer for the Savages, declined comment at this time.

Former Chief Savage resigned from the Hanson police in 2012 after approximately 10 years in service.  He was under review for allegedly inflating his criminal statistics to augment his stature as chief.

The Silver Lake High boys’ basketball team might not have made it to the MIAA postseason tournament this year, but that does not mean there were not any Lakers connections in it that did well.

In fact, there was one Laker whose team thrived this postseason. That would be former Silver Lake boys’ basketball coach Rick Boulrisse, who continues to work in the school’s wellness department as a physical education teacher.

Boulrisse, who was the Lakers head varsity coach from 2005 to 2007 (and an assistant for a few years prior to that), currently serves as the Mashpee Falcons head coach–and they are having an excellent season. With him in charge, they won the Division 4 South playoff bracket, giving them an opportunity to play at TD Garden for the MIAA State semifinals. It is the first time the Falcons have ever made it to this level in the playoffs; they have also never won a state title.

In order to make it to TD Garden, Boulrisse’s Falcons came up with a 73-54 win over a South Shore League rival, the Cohasset Skippers, on Saturday, March 10.

Boulrisse has been the head coach at Mashpee High since the start of the 2012-2013 season. Prior to his tenure at Silver Lake, Boulrisse, who is from Maine, coached basketball at Sumner High School in his home state.

The emergence of some underdog playoff teams has been a major development during this year’s MIAA boys’ basketball tournament. Of the 16 teams remaining by the state semifinal round, 10 of them had never won a state title, Mashpee included.

This past season, the Lakers just missed out on a tournament appearance, finishing out the year at 8-12. They did finish the season on a high note, winning their last two games.

Jessica Zeoli

Express correspondent

The Plympton School Committee met Monday, Feb. 26 to discuss the current physical and financial state of the Dennett Elementary School. The first update was regarding the sign at the end of the driveway of the school. There are plans for the entrance to contain a lighted sign, important for informing unfamiliar visitors of the school’s whereabouts, especially at night. The school is currently seeking quotes for this project, which is suspected to be easy, as there is a meter located closely behind where the sign would be placed, according to Chairman Jon Wilhelmsen.

The Dennett Elementary has been experiencing water filtration issues over the past several years, which should be coming to an end shortly, according to Wilhelmsen. The water treatment project has been progressing quickly, and a contract is due to be signed prior to April vacation. The school could then use April vacation or the beginning of summer to conclude the project. The committee expects there to be safe drinking water provided at the school by fall.

Along with the safety of the water, the safety of the current playground at the Dennett is being evaluated. The committee announced that following February break they are planning to contact Marshfield Public Schools, who have adopted a safer playground model within the past three years. The committee hopes for suggestions and may follow Marshfield’s model for safe recreation.

The committee continued the meeting by discussing the new tiles that have been installed by the 2nd and 3rd grade wing of the school. They had been popping out of the floor, in desperate need of repair. The school followed Kingston’s new tile renovation as the tiles used are durable, soundproof, and easy to clean, saving the school money on maintenance.

The generator at the school has experienced significant issues, resulting in  budgeting for a new one. The school anticipates spending $69,850.13 on the project, as wiring, purchasing, and a short time rental of a new one are included in the pricing.

In addition to budgeting for a new generator, the committee discussed appropriately increasing funding to professional development and special education. Joy Blackwood, Superintendent of Silver Lake Public Schools discussed how surrounding districts are planning to raise budgeting 6.5% for special education, resulting in Silver Lake’s participation. Professional development is in a $6000 deficit by the end of the school year due to graduate program financial aid provided through the district. However, with a high number of retirements projected for 2019, the district finds it best to increase funding of professional development and training for the new hires taking the positions of those retiring.

With this increased budget for professional development, it would help aid in restructuring the previous year’s programs for faculty. By doing so, it is able to ensure the district is in compliance with civil rights for the state. The program would train and gain recognition for inexperienced teachers on historically marginalized subgroups and ensuring no equity gaps in the classroom.

In efforts to help the town’s budget, it was suggested by Superintendent Blackwood to split the cost of new textbooks to be ordered at the end of the school year in half, progressively paying it off throughout two years. She also suggested there may be sudden retirements within the district, which could, in fact, help the school’s budget as well.

As of Feb. 26, there are 204 students enrolled at Dennett Elementary, with one more month for students to enroll.

The meeting ended with dates to remember for the upcoming month of March:

March 9 – Early Release Grades 7-12: 10:45 a.m.; Grades K-6: 12 noon (NO lunch served)

March 22 – Early Release Grades K-6: 12:45 p.m. Parent Conferences

March 26 – Next Plympton School Committee Meeting.

The Silver Lake High wrestling team has some of the top wrestlers in their respective division in the state. They earned the opportunity to prove this last weekend, competing at the Division 2 State meet at Milton High School.

In all, the Lakers sent three wrestlers to the meet, an indication of the caliber of wrestlers they have within the program. Even after such a strenuous meet against stiff competition, their season is still alive.

That is because junior Dan Walsh (120) earned a sixth place finish at the meet, so he earned a ticket to the All-State tournament. In all, he went 3-3 during the two-day tournament which was held on Friday and Saturday. His final bout was for the fifth place spot so he would have made it to All-States regardless of the outcome of it.

Walsh was not the only Laker to compete over the course of the weekend either. Senior captain Gavin Hamilton (182) and sophomore Kyler Baur (106) also wrestled over the course of the weekend.

Hamilton came up with a big 9-1 major decision win over a North Andover grappler where he was clearly in control. His opponent’s only point of the match came with 34 seconds remaining on an escape. Plus, his opponent had an injury timeout about 30 seconds into the second period. Ultimately, Hamilton would fall in the consolation round of eight, so he did not advance further in the tournament; Baur dropped his two matches during the state meet.

Earning the right to wrestle at the state meet is a major accomplishment in itself. Seeing how the Lakers had three men wrestling at it–two of which are expected to return next season–they certainly have reason to be confident in the future of their program.

Walsh will compete at All-States this Friday and possibly Saturday at St. John’s Prep in Danvers.