The Kingston Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, March 26. Chair Kimberley Emberg noted the large police presence there that evening for the potential signing of the agreement between the town and the final candidate for the position of Police Chief, Brian Holmes. The official swearing in will take place on April 11 and Holmes will begin working for the town as of April 15. The Selectmen voted unanimously to approve the agreement. The Police officers present that evening gave a round of applause. Holmes was previously employed by the Stoughton Police Department. Holmes spoke saying, “I’m overwhelmed at the turnout of the men and women of the Kingston Police Department. I want to thank them for being here and I’m truly looking forward to working with all of them. I have a goal and my goal comes from a guiding principle that I received from a sergeant way back in the day… leave people better than you found them.” He also thanked the Selectmen and the Search Committee.
Emberg addressed a dog that was voted a nuisance dog at a previous meeting. The owner is currently in the process of rehoming the dog and asked for an extension to come into compliance. Town Administrator Keith Hickey said, “he believes he has somebody that is familiar with the breed – he has to introduce to the dogs he has now. The owner also let me know that he has reached out to the Kingston Animal Hospital to make arrangements that, if in two weeks from today, the dog has not been rehomed, he will go in a different direction.” Given the past extensions, Hickey said that he did let the owner know that while the Board didn’t want to see a dog put down, he did believe they were at the end of their rope with granting such extensions. Selectman Eric Crone said he was in favor of the extension. The Board agreed to delay the decision until their next meeting.
The Selectmen appointed Brian Payne to the Conservation Commission effective immediately to a term ending in June of 2025. Payne is currently a member of the Open Space Committee and the Community Preservation Commission.
Hickey spoke on the need to reconsider the Town Meeting schedule. He said that given the extensive conversation around the schools’ budget and the need for them to acquire more time to present to the Finance Committee and communities, he suggested moving Town Meeting from May 4 to May 11. This would extend the closing of the warrant as well from March 26 to April 23. This will require the Selectmen to close and vote on the warrant at the same meeting. The Selectmen unanimously voted to approve the amended May 2024 Town Meeting schedule.
Hickey provided a Town Administrator’s update. He said that the boat ramp project is underway. He commended the contractor on working with the Conservation Agent to make sure that the materials were anchored during the recent rainstorms to prevent anything from spilling into the lake.
Hickey said that with the IT Manager retiring, he is looking into contracting the services out. He noted that while it was less money for the town, it also reduced the number of minutes a person is available in the building. He said that he would bring forth a proposal to the Selectmen in coming weeks. Emberg asked if the company would be able to remote into computers and provide IT tech support over the phone, etc. Hickey said that they could offer an employee in the building 8 hours per week to address things that can’t be done remotely. Crone said that in the past they had explored sharing IT staff with the schools amongst other ideas. He recommended doing a shorter contract of just one year as opposed to a longer contract in case things didn’t work out. Hickey also told the Selectmen that the Assistant Town Planner is seeking employment elsewhere.
Finally, Hickey told the Selectmen that he hoped to have the Memorial Day cookout after the parade again behind the town offices. He said that if anyone was interested in assisting or participating, they would love to have the help. He called the previous year’s event “amazing.”

Fernandes and legislative colleagues issue letter demanding Holtec stop forced wastewater evaporation at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant
BOSTON – Tuesday, March 26, Representative Dylan Fernandes joined legislative colleagues in calling on Holtec leadership to immediately stop the forced evaporation of radioactive wastewater at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant.
“The forced evaporation of untreated radioactive wastewater raises health and safety concerns,” said Rep. Fernandes. “Holtec has repeatedly breached the public trust and needs to be held accountable for the safe decommissioning of the power plant. We are calling on them to stop forced evaporation until MassDEP can analyze the health and safety implications for the people of Plymouth and the surrounding communities.”
The letter, signed by legislative colleagues from across Cape Cod and the South Shore, calls on Holtec to stop the forced evaporation of radioactive wastewater until the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) can fully analyze this untested method of wastewater disposal.
Holtec previously proposed discharging over 1 million gallons of radioactive waste directly into the Cape Cod Bay. This plan was met with significant public opposition and was tentatively denied by DEP. Instead of seeking a safer alternative, Holtec installed electric submersion heaters to evaporate the contaminated water without notifying the public or state regulators. This method results in higher exposure to radioactive tritium for surrounding communities.
“We deserve transparency and accountability when it comes to the handling of nuclear waste and residents deserve to know exactly whether forced evaporation will impact their health and safety,” Fernandes continued.
Fernandes has served as the State Representative for the Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket district since 2017. He’s running for State Senate in the Plymouth and Barnstable district to succeed Senator Su Moran, who announced last November she would not seek re-election.

by Linda Ibbitson Hurd
Shortly after I moved to Halifax in the 70’s, an older couple moved in across the street from me. They were to become very important to my kids and me. My marriage had broken up and I was alone with two young children. My son Brian was starting second grade and my daughter Heidi was four and also deaf. I was holding down a job so I could keep my house and I needed someone to get my son off to school in the morning and to take Heidi until I got home in the afternoon.
The man and his wife who moved in were friendly and my kids and I liked them right away. Their names were Kitty and Les. They were from the Boston area, Les, a retired respiratory therapist from the Deaconess Hospital and Kitty a seamstress. As we got to know each other and they found out my situation, Kitty offered to help with my kids and agreed to the price I could afford to pay.
My ex was not good about keeping in touch with our kids and Heidi especially became attached to Les. Kitty and Les were a couple of color and one winter morning when my kids and I were in Cumberland Farms on a Sunday picking up a few groceries, Les walked into the store. Heidi spotted him from the back of the store and started running, her blonde ponytails flying out behind her while she yelled as loud as she could, “Dada!” Les kneeled down on one knee and opened his arms as she ran into them for a big hug. He was smiling and chuckling as people were curiously looking on. The memory still touches my heart.
Kitty and Les were good to my kids and they went willingly every weekday morning to their house. As time passed we grew closer to them and I got to know them very well. They became like family to us. Some years later when I married again, they came to my wedding. I met and got to know some of their family, one being a niece of Kitty’s who was a mounted Police officer in Boston and patrolled on horse back.
As Les aged he developed diabetes. He’d walk over to visit me when Kitty was busy with a customer who needed sewing done and begged me to make him a lemon meringue pie. My heart went out to him but I told him I couldn’t because of his health and because it would upset Kitty. What did finally pacify him was being able to have a small dish of ice cream on a regular basis.
As his health declined I went over to visit with him often. He became like a second father to me, I could talk to him about anything. He eventually needed a hospital bed which was delivered to the house. Kitty took such good care of him and he was able to stay at home with help from a visiting nurse.
One morning when I got up I had a sinking feeling something was wrong. I saw one of my neighbors come out of Kitty’s house and he looked sad. As I stepped outside he looked at me, nodding towards Kitty’s house and I went right over. When I went in Kitty was standing beside Les’s bed, tears running down her face. I gave her a big hug and she said Les had just passed.
Every Easter Les gave Kitty an Easter Lily and every year he’d plant it in their front yard in hopes it would bloom the next year. Some bloomed but were scraggly, they never did well. The Easter after Les passed I was in my kitchen when I heard someone calling my name. I looked outside and Kitty was coming up my walk. “Come, you have to see this, please come!”. She seemed dazed and close to tears. Alarmed, I went with her. As we approached her house a strong scent filled the air and to my amazement her small front yard was filled with beautiful Easter Lilies, all in bloom. She gestured toward the flowers saying, “this is not of this world; do you think this is the sign Les promised me when he got to Heaven?” I told her without a doubt I knew it was.

Plympton’s Town Clerk Tara Shaw has announced the Annual Plympton Town Election Calendar.
• Plympton’s Annual Town Meeting: May 15, 7 p.m. at the Dennett Elementary School, 80 Crescent St., Plympton
• Plympton’s Special Town Meeting: May 15, 8 p.m. at the Dennett Elementary School, 80 Crescent St., Plympton
• Last date to register to vote for Annual and Special Town Meeting and Election – Friday, May 3, 2024, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Plympton’s Annual Town Election, Saturday, May 18, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Town House, 5 Palmer Rd., Plympton.
Candidates for Election – Important Deadlines
CANDIDATES FOR ELECTION-IMPORTANT DEADLINES
The last day to submit nomination papers to the Board of Registrars/Town Clerk is Friday, March 29, 2024 at 5 p.m. at the Town Clerk’s office.
The last day to object or withdraw Nomination papers is Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at 5 p.m.
Nomination papers are available in the Town Clerk’s office during regular business hours: Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. or by special appointment. Nomination papers may be obtained will be given ONLY to the person seeking nomination, OR, to a person presenting a signed authorization form from the candidate. Nomination papers must be signed by at least 20 registered Plympton voters.
Plympton Positions on the ballot include:
• One (1) Selectman for a three-year term.
• One (1) Board of Assessor member for a three-year term.
• One (1) Board of Health member for a three-year term.
• One (1) Finance Committee member for a three-year term.
• One (1) Library Trustee for a three-year term.
• One (1) Planning Board member for a three-year term.
• One (1) Plympton School Committee member for a three-year term.
• One (1) Town Clerk for a three-year term.
• One (1) Tree Warden for a three-year term.
For answers to any questions regarding the election, email: [email protected]

Deb Anderson
Express staff
SLT Corporation of Carver has withdrawn its application to operate an ABC (Asphalt, Brick, and Concrete) recycling facility on property located off Spring Street in Carver and Plympton.
Carver, Plympton, and Kingston health agents and other interested parties received notice from the Massachusetts Dept. of Environmental Protection Southeast Regional Office in Lakeville, that the SLT Construction Corporation’s permit application was withdrawn. On Feb. 12, 2024, MassDEP officially withdrew SLT’s application no. 22-SW46A/47A-0004-APP.
The application was denied at the Feb. 2 meeting of the Plympton Zoning Board of Appeals, where the board reviewed Plympton’s definition of Light Manufacturing, and concluded that an ABC operation did not fit that definition.
The roll call vote of the Zoning Board of Appeals was unanimous in upholding the decision of the Zoning Enforcement Officers, Tom Millias, and Kathy Cannizzo.
Plympton’s first phase of the public hearing on SLT Corporation’s application to site its ABC recycling plant on property off Spring Street was held on Jan. 4, to a room full of concerned Plympton residents. The continued hearing brought several attorneys from SLT armed with a 32-page slide presentation showing the workings of the proposed business.
Plympton’s Zoning Enforcement Officers issued their determination to deny the SLT application because the property is in a Groundwater Protection District and water would be used to mitigate the dust from crushing asphalt, brick, and concrete into rubble. There was no method stated to return the water to state drinking water standards.
Second, the definition of “Light Manufacturing” in Plympton’s by-laws states that the fabrication, assembly, processing finishing work and packaging must be done in a manner such that noise, dust, odor, vibration, or similar objectionable features are confined to the premises and are in no way objectionable to abutting property.
SLT maintained that any vibration, dust, noise, or odor would not be felt outside of the Spring Street, Plympton’s property lines. As the Spring Street property abuts Carver, the entrance and exit for the facility would be through Carver.
The MassDEP sent a letter dated Feb. 13 to Peter Opachiski, SLT Construction Corporation, stating that the permit application has been officially withdrawn.