The Plympton Agricultural Commission invites the public to “Come on out to the Farm” on Sunday, June 26, from noon to 3 p.m.  There will be town-wide tours at no charge for the entire family.  Come to experience the agriculture that abounds in the heart of Plympton, meet the farmers, and be inspired.

There will be demonstrations at Orion Acres on Elm Street, a 25-acre sheep farm where owner/farmer Linda Shauwecker produces fine Cotswolds and Cheviot wool.   Linda will shear a lamb at noon and speak about wool fiber and will have some woolen products for sale.

Jeff LaFleure of Mayflower Cranberries, will give a “Cranberries 101” talk at 2 p.m.  You will see bogs in bloom on the oldest working cranberry bog in Plympton.

Reunion Farm is in the very heart of Historic Plympton Village.  Geraldine and Macaela Burnet are fourth and fifth generation horsewomen.  They train horse and rider, and board horses as well.  Rick Burnet will be around town on the John Deere if the sun is shining, and you are welcome to watch the operation and even help stack some hay!

Russ Keirstead on Crescent Street’s Keirstead Farm, grows raspberries, cuts hay, and works on his family’s antique farm.  Stop by to learn from Russ about growing your own raspberries. 

Sunrise Gardens has been operated by the Harlfinger family in Plympton for the past 47 years.  Come visit and let Dick and Pat give you a tour of their commercial greenhouses and their ‘mum field.

Just Right Farm is a 300-year old farm that grows produce for its farm to table restaurant.  Talk with Kimberly about starting seed, vegetable gardening, and recipe ideas for your own produce. 

Call 781-936-5330 for more information.

A recently-formed coalition of community members concerned about trends in substance abuse and the current opioid epidemic has formalized its group name and mission statement.  Now known as Tri-Town FACTS, the group serves Kingston, Halifax and Plympton with a mission to support and strengthen the regional community in a collaborative effort to promote holistic wellness through prevention, education, enforcement, and advocacy, and to empower healthy lifestyle choices.  “FACTS” stands for Families, Adolescents, and Communities Together against Substances. It is a brand established by the South Shore Hospital’s Youth Health Connection and used by several coalitions in the surrounding area.

The growing group has brought together 25 – 30 people at initial monthly meetings held in March, April and May, representing parents, teachers, school administrators, students, law enforcement, public safety, behavioral health professionals, faith leaders, grandparents, elected officials and those affected by addiction. The group is seeking new members from all three towns, including volunteers interested in leadership roles who can help advance the mission through initiatives and programs to be developed. Currently chaired by Kingston parent, Amy Belmore, the next meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 7, from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. at the Silver Lake High School Library and is open to all.

A grant provided by the Solstice Foundation has funded the services of an experienced facilitator, Julie Nussbaum, who has assisted in the launch of similar coalitions in the region. Nussbaum, who will work with Tri-Town FACTS until March 2017, said “According to the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, (CADCA), communities that have anti-drug coalitions have lower youth drug and alcohol rates. Furthermore, research has shown that addressing the issue of underage drinking reduces the risk that youth will go on to use opioids and other substances (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2012).  I will be taking the coalition through a process that guides the selection, implementation, and evaluation of evidence-based, culturally appropriate, sustainable interventions addressing substance misuse and abuse.”

Steering Committee member, David Kennedy, who also serves on the Kingston Board of Health, recently carried the Coalition’s suggestion to pass a regulation preventing the sale of synthetic marijuana and synthetic drugs in Kingston stores to fellow Board of Health members. Following a public hearing held on May 2 to address the health impacts of Spice, K2, bath salts, and others not meant for human consumption, the Board of Health immediately put the new regulation in place.  Said Kennedy “the Synthetic Drug Regulation was discussed back in 2014 within the Board of Health and I am grateful the board wanted to discuss and approve such regulation on May 2.  It’s important in the early stages of the Tri-Town Coalition to achieve short-term goals, and clearly this was one. Synthetic drugs are very dangerous and side effects are fatal. Even though the Regulation is important, we need to educate our youth on these drugs and help them make healthy choices.”

The Coalition is currently focused on assessment and data collection, and will be implementing surveys, focus group discussions with students and parents, and interviews with key stakeholders to help guide their next steps.  Anyone from Kingston, Halifax and Plympton who wants to learn more or get involved is encouraged to attend the next meeting, or contact tritownFACTS@gmail.com.  The group also has a Facebook page and is on Twitter @tritownFACTS.

By Alan Wheelock

Special to The Express

Despite some damp weather, more than100 people turned out  on Saturday afternoon, April 23, for the official opening and celebration of Plympton’s new parks. Visitors wandered throughout the network of trails and marveled again at the 600 foot long boardwalk that carried them comfortably across the wetlands surrounding Jones River Brook.. Since the trails, boardwalk and park benches were completed late last fall, the Parks have received steady use and drawn consistent praise from the townspeople who visit and see the beauty of Churchill Park, the impressive contours of Cato’s Ridge, and the expansive, picturesque views in the O’Neil Marsh.

The event started at noon. Residents gathered in what is known as the old gravel pit area, where a flatbed truck served as a stage for the The Keepers, a local acoustic bluegrass brand who provided entertainment. Children in attendance were excited to go off on a scavenger hunt (designed by Alison McSweeney and town librarian Deb Batson) that helped them learn about many of the natural features to be found throughout the park.

At 1 PM, Open Space Committee Co-chairs Vicki Alberti and Linda Leddy asked about 25 people who have been especially important to the Parks’ creation to join them up on the truck bed. Alberti kicked off the ceremony with an enthusiastic welcome to all the attendees, thanking everyone for their support these last 4 years, and reminding them that these 105 acres were acquired by the town for $20,000, thanks to Community Preservation Funds.

She then introduced Leddy, who began with a tribute to the late Gail Briggs, a Plympton Open Space Committee member whose forward-looking vision was the inspiration for the Parks creation. Leddy then introduced several individuals who made key contributions to the Parks’ creation. The first of these was Beverly Messinger, who worked with the town to ensure their family lands on Main Street would become a park.  The Messingers are descended from one of Plympton’s founding families, the Churchills.

Leddy then reiterated Plympton’s gratitude to Congressman Keating for his crucial help early in the project, when he facilitated solving an unforeseen issue with the IRS. The Congressman noted that the Parks were an outstanding accomplishment, especially for a town as small as Plympton, and that he was very proud of what a dedicated group of citizens had accomplished. He also spoke about the importance of conserving land, giving families a place to enjoy the outdoors and leaving a healthy environment for future generations.  Hearing children in the distance playing and laughing on the scavenger hunt, he remarked “That’s what it’s all about!”

The Wildlands Trust and the Compact of Cape Cod Land Trusts both received warm thanks for their ongoing technical services to help the town acquire and manage the Parks. Mark Robinson, Director of the Compact, commented “I am very jealous of Plympton.  You managed to create a 105-acre park for $20,000, and I cannot believe you have done it all with volunteer labor.  I work on the Cape where we recently spent two and half years raising $1.8 million to preserve 19 acres!”

PLYMPTON– Plympton Selectmen met on Thursday, April 21 and Monday, April 25 and despite discussing a proposed medical marijuana grow-facility at both meetings, also discussed other town business.

Town Meeting Warrant

The Selectmen have closed both the Annual Town Meeting and the Special Town Meeting warrant for 2016 on April 25. The ATM includes, in addition to its 41 articles, ten citizens’ petitions as well. The STM contains nine articles. The meeting will be held at the Dennett Elementary School, Wednesday, May 18 at 7 p.m.

Randall Gravel Permit

Jeffrey Randall, of Ring Road, has been operating a gravel excavation business without a town permit since October 2015, something that neighbors opposing his proposed medical marijuana grow facility brought to light. He has had gravel removal permits from the town before, and never allowed them to expire, officials say. Randall asserted that it was something that had just slipped through the cracks.

The BOS voted to approve his permit renewal application pending a satisfactory site-visit by Selectperson Christine Joy. Joy conducted the visit between the two meetings and reported at the second that she found no issues with Randall’s gravel removal operations.

Town Clerk Seeks Website Assistance

Town Clerk Tara Wick reported to Selectmen that she has been volunteering a lot of her time maintaining the town’s website. Noting that all department heads and many committee members have passwords and user-privileges to modify and update sections of the website that pertain to their department or committee.

Wick stated that she hoped that more department heads and committees would take on this task themselves, saying that she would post instructions or help anyone that felt uncomfortable making changes. She also said that many had already taken a class from the company that provides the website service to the town.

Next Meetings

The Plympton BOS will meet next on 4/25, 5/2, 5/3, 5/9, 5/16 and 5/23 at 6 p.m., with the exception of 5/2 when they will begin at 5:30 p.m. The meeting on 5/3 is to meet with town counsel in preparation for the Annual Town Meeting and Special Town Meeting.

HALIFAX– Early last week, Halifax Police Chief Edward Broderick announced that his department was one of 202 local law-enforcement agencies to receive a grant from the federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) administered by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s Highway Safety Division (EOPSS/HSD) to combat texting while driving and distracted driving.

Local police along with State Police and other law-enforcement agencies from across the Commonwealth and the country will use the grant money to fund “traditional and innovative” enforcement activities during a “crack-down” period on distracted driving from April 8 through April 29. Broderick stated that he would make any specifics of the campaign public.

Although the Plympton Police department was not eligible for the grant due to changes in highway-safety grant funding formulas implemented during the Patrick Administration, the Plympton Police force is “hyper-vigilant” for all forms of driving infractions, including texting while driving, distracted driving, seatbelt violations and inspection sticker violations, according to Chief Patrick Dillon.

Distracted driving can include anything from fiddling with the car radio to talking on your cell phone, which although not explicitly forbidden, can get you a ticket if it is affecting your driving.

Texting while driving was outlawed in Massachusetts in 2010, according to EOPSS.  Drivers who write, send or read texts can be hit with a $100 fine. Teen drivers under 18 years of age are prohibited from using cell phones or other electronic devices at all while driving, including to make phone calls. The fine for a juvenile first offense is $100, a 60-day license suspension and required completion of a driver re-training course.

In 2014, across the United States, 3,179 people were killed and an additional 431,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers, according to the state.

Plympton Chief Dillon suggests that if you absolutely must use your phone during the course of a trip, to pull over to a safe spot, out of the way of traffic so as not to create a hazard, such as a parking lot, and conduct your business there and not while on the road.

He also suggested simply putting the cellphone away and not using it until you’ve reached your destination, the safest option according to him.