The Halifax Select Board voted unanimously, 3-0, at a special Thursday morning meeting on July 30 to approve, authorize, and execute a mutual transition and separation agreement with Town Administrator Steven Solbo, ending the tenure of the town’s top appointed official.
Chair Thomas Pratt opened the six-minute meeting by confirming that each board member had reviewed the proposed agreement as printed. No member had questions, and Solbo, who was present, had nothing to add. Pratt then made the motion himself.
“At this time, the agreement has been drawn up by legal and is subject to signatures and verification of a few things,” Pratt said. “Beyond that, as the chair, I will make a motion that our board sign the agreement as presented and enter into the proposed mutual separation and transition agreement as written.” The motion was seconded and passed 3-0 with all three members — Pratt, Vice Chair William Smith, and Clerk Jonathan Selig — present.
What followed was several minutes of tribute. “This is a tough gig. This is a very tough gig,” Selig said. “I commend him for always bringing it as far as his attitude, his effort, digging in and doing the best job he could for Halifax.” Smith thanked Solbo for “all the time and effort you put in.”
Pratt tied his own remarks to the Special Town Meeting held the night before, on July 29. “The one thing that I would add, in the lead-up, in the last several weeks and months, particularly these last seven to 10 days, despite some of this noise being on in the background, I think Steven showed up for the town, as was evidenced by last night,” Pratt said. “A much smoother, notably, town meeting. More organization through the door, and I thought that that was a good reflection on the dedication.”
The board’s reluctance to characterize the agreement was the meeting’s only point of friction. Resident Alan Dias of Snow St. asked the board to paraphrase what would happen next. “There’s some interest in this, and I think residents should know what’s going on,” Dias said.
Pratt agreed in principle but said the board’s hands were tied. Because the signed agreement is a public document, he said, a records request filed that day would have to be answered within 10 days, and the board expected to release the full agreement inside that window — “the hope would be by this time next week.” Dias pressed on the practical questions: whether the town would begin searching for a new administrator immediately, and whether Solbo would remain for days, weeks, or longer.
“Those are good questions, Alan,” Pratt replied. “We’re going to defer to legal. Legal counsel has advised us to sit on that for a bit. There are some things in the contract that would prohibit us from laying that out clearly at the moment, but I would imagine that you would know our plan sooner rather than later.” Dias then stated for the record that he was formally requesting the public information. The board adjourned at 8:37 a.m.
Two days Earlier: New School Committee Member Appointed
The Thursday vote came 48 hours after a two-and-a-half-hour joint session on Tuesday, July 28, in which the Select Board, the Halifax Elementary School Committee, and the Finance Committee met together in the Great Hall. The dominant subject there was money the school district is sending back to the town, prior to the Town Meeting held on July 29.
The joint bodies also filled a vacancy on the Halifax Elementary School Committee. Three of four applicants appeared: Krystal Kingsley, a health care executive with a finance and strategic planning background who grew up in Halifax; James Hopkins of Pond St., a retired naval officer and father of four; and Samantha Cox of Twin Lakes Dr., who worked for years in early childhood education and served on the override committee. Derek Wigman withdrew.
Members of all three boards took turns questioning the candidates on strengths, handling social media pressure, meeting commitments, and working as part of a team after losing a vote. Pratt recused himself from the vote, citing a personal friendship with one of the candidates. Selectman Jonathan Selig was absent, what may be his first missed meeting in his tenure, according to Pratt.
Because the appointment required a majority of all seven sitting members of the Select Board and School Committee — not merely those present — four votes were needed. School Committee member Tara Tonello first moved to appoint Hopkins, calling all three candidates “truly incredible”; the motion received no second. Goyette then moved to appoint Kingsley, saying the committee needed financial expertise. “When we start to do the budget, I feel like somebody with a strong financial background would be really helpful in that committee,” Goyette said. The motion carried with the required four votes, Pratt abstaining. Krystal Kingsley will be sworn in at the town clerk’s office.
Acella Construction Completes South Coastal Animal Health Veterinary Facility
ROCKLAND, MA, Acella Construction Corporation, a leader in construction management throughout greater Boston, is proud to announce the completion of South Coastal Animal Health’s newest veterinary facility at 400 Hingham Street in Rockland, Massachusetts. As a newly valued Acella tenant and long-time client, this project marks the third successful collaboration between the two organizations, continuing a trusted partnership built on quality, communication, and a shared commitment to exceptional patient care.
Founded in 2006, South Coastal Animal Health is a privately owned veterinary practice known for combining advanced medical services with a personalized approach to animal care. The practice provides comprehensive veterinary services ranging from preventative medicine and wellness care to advanced diagnostics, surgery, and intensive treatment.
The 17-week interior fit-out transformed the space into a modern, fully equipped veterinary hospital designed to support both clinical efficiency and patient comfort. The facility features seven exam rooms, a dedicated X-ray suite, a surgical operating room, treatment and administrative areas, an in-house lab that allows for most bloodwork to be completed while clients wait, and a welcoming reception space designed to enhance the client experience.
Construction included the installation of new mechanical, electrical, plumbing, lighting, and fire alarm systems, along with interior partitions extending above the ceiling plane to support performance and layout flexibility. Additional work included durable epoxy flooring, custom millwork, architectural finishes throughout the facility, and a custom reception desk featuring shiplap detailing. Select existing building elements, including window trim, were preserved and incorporated into the final design where appropriate.
The completed facility provides South Coastal Animal Health with a functional, efficient, and welcoming environment that supports its continued growth and mission of delivering high-quality veterinary care to communities throughout the South Shore.
“Our Rockland satellite office for South Coastal Animal Health is the third project we’ve entrusted to Acella, and once again, we couldn’t be happier with the results,” said Grace Strake, DVM, owner of South Coastal Animal Health. “Acella was wonderful throughout the construction process. Their team was accessible, friendly, and always professional. The new clinic is the first veterinary clinic in Rockland and provides much-needed space for our growing practice. Our clients love the spacious exam rooms, the lighting, and the décor. We’ve received nothing but positive feedback. We couldn’t be happier with the outcome.”
“We value our long-standing relationship with South Coastal Animal Health and Dr. Grace Strake,” said Ryan LaVangie, vice president of sales and marketing. “We’re proud to support their continued growth with this Rockland project.”
Rep. LaNatra Supports Legislation Expanding Access to Primary Care
BOSTON – Representative Kathy LaNatra today announced that she supported legislation that revitalizes and invests strongly into the Commonwealth’s primary care system. Among its many provisions, House bill 5618 expands access to primary care, shifts the health care system toward prevention, invests in the health care workforce, supports hospitals and community health centers, improves affordability by lowering prescription drug costs, and increasing accountability across the health care system.
An Act strengthening primary care and advancing health care affordability establishes historic primary care investment targets, creates advanced primary care payment models that reward prevention and coordinated care, expands access to innovative models of care, creates an expedited determination of need process to expand equitable care access, and strengthens oversight to ensure primary care investments actually improve access, lower costs, and support a sustainable, patient-centered health care system.
“When primary care leads the way on patient wellness, the entire system benefits,” said State Representative Kathy LaNatra (D – Kingston). “This legislation will help move more of our health dollar toward high-value primary care that delivers better outcomes for patients at a lower cost. It invests in the care that keeps people healthy and prevents disease, it strengthens our primary care workforce to make sure every resident of the Commonwealth can access a primary care provider, and it ensures that pharmaceuticals remain accessible and affordable. I am also proud that biomarker access was included in this legislation, as a result of amazing grassroots advocacy by patients across the State who will benefit greatly from this change. Thank you to Speaker Mariano, Chairman Lawn, and Representative Kilcoyne for their leadership on these important changes.”
Recognizing that access to care depends on having enough health care professionals, the bill invests $25 million to the Health Care Workforce Transformation Fund, providing direct funding for scholarships, student loan repayment, primary care career pathways, and workforce recruitment and retention. Prioritizing equity and promoting culturally-responsive care, the legislation provides competitive grants that encourage innovative care models through partnerships between colleges, vocational schools, hospitals, behavioral health providers, community health centers, and nonprofit organizations to strengthen the primary care workforce.
Expanding the allowable uses of the Commonwealth Federal Matching and Debt Reduction Fund to help the commonwealth respond to an estimated $3.5 billion loss of federal funding, this bill strengthens the Health Safety Net and helps to stabilize hospitals our most vulnerable. Further, the legislation improves reimbursement for federally qualified community health centers by requiring commercial insurers to pay no less than MassHealth rates for the same services, reducing longstanding underpayment and strengthening access to health care in underserved communities.
Transforming Primary Care through Increased Investment
The bill establishes statewide primary care investment targets that gradually increase spending to 9% by 2030, 12% by 2033 and 15% by 2036. It also:
• Creates an advanced primary care payment model and standards within DOI to support preventive care, continuity of care, and improved patient outcomes;
• Strengthens oversight by the Health Policy Commission to ensure increased investment improves access without increasing overall health care costs or insurance premiums;
• Requires carriers to adopt and offer a primary care payment model to primary care providers and practices; and
• Links progress on the statewide primary care target to the existing cost growth benchmark and authorizes the Health Policy Commission (HPC) to mandate certain health care entities to file and implement a primary care commitment to improve efficiency, increase primary care investment, and control health care costs.
Expanding Access to Community-Based Health Care
The legislation expands access to health care by strengthening community-based providers and allowing more patients to receive care where they live. The bill:
• Requires health insurers to cover mobile integrated health services, allowing patients to receive care in their homes and communities for chronic disease management, preventive care, and post-hospital follow-up;
• Creates an expedited determination of need process for hospitals serving the commonwealth’s most vulnerable residents to expand access to primary care, behavioral health, and maternal health services in communities with unmet health care needs, allowing qualifying projects to receive priority review and decisions within 60 days; and
• Improves reimbursement for federally qualified community health centers by requiring commercial insurers to pay no less than MassHealth rates for the same services, reducing longstanding underpayment and strengthening access in underserved communities.
Lowering Prescription Drug Costs
The bill also directly helps patients at the pharmacy counter, ensuring that the patient gets the full benefit of prescription drug rebates negotiated for them on their behalf at the point of sale. The bill also strengthens the oversight of PBMs:
• Reduces out-of-pocket prescription drug costs by requiring most manufacturer rebates to be applied at the pharmacy counter;
• Ensures patient payments count toward deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums, including payments made on a patient’s behalf, consistent with federal law;
• Strengthens oversight of PBMs by expanding regulation to affiliated entities within vertically integrated organizations; and
• Improves accountability by requiring annual compliance reporting to DOI and authorizing enforcement for violations.
Ensuring Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The bill establishes safeguards for AI in health insurance utilization review to ensure technology supports, not replaces, clinical decision-making. Specifically, the bill:
• Establishes statutory definitions for AI and automated utilization review tools to reduce the administrative burden on providers;
• Requires carriers and utilization review organizations to disclose their use of automated utilization review tools to both providers and the public, and to identify when such a tool was used in connection with an adverse determination; and
• Authorizes DOI to promulgate regulations, oversee compliance, and enforce protections.
The bill passed the House of Representatives 158-0 and goes back to the Senate for further consideration.
Where Life Flows Part Three: The Taunton River Watershed Alliance
Over the last two weeks we “visited” two local watersheds in our communities through the PHK Express and learned about the amazing and tireless organizations and citizens that have come together to repair, protect, and preserve these vital parts of our ecosystem. It has been inspiring to find such passion, commitment, and intelligence among the many stewards of our local waterways. The Taunton River Watershed Alliance, our last featured local watershed in this series, is comprised of the same caliber of people and also accomplishing vitally important things.
Based on geologic evidence, we know that 10,000 years ago the landscape of southeastern Massachusetts was covered by ice flows. The retreating glaciers in this flow created a large glacial lake that eventually drained to become the Taunton River and its tributaries. This river system moved through glacial deposition that included outwash plains, wetlands, and the many kettle ponds we enjoy today. The Taunton River begins at the confluence of the Matfield and Town Rivers in Bridgewater and runs over forty miles to Mount Hope Bay. It is considered “tidal” water due to saltwater intrusion for its last eighteen miles.
The Taunton River is the longest undammed coastal river in New England. The land area that drains into a river is known as its “watershed.” The watershed of the Taunton River, and all of its tributaries, covers 562 square miles. This river is also unique because in 2009, the Taunton River was designated a Wild and Scenic River by the National Park Service, the U.S. Congress, and President Obama. The Wild and Scenic Rivers System currently protects 12,709 miles of 208 rivers in the United States.
The recognition and protection of the Taunton River is largely due to the efforts of the Taunton River Watershed Alliance, formed in 1988, much in the same way that the other local watershed advocacy organizations in the area began -concerned and activated citizens. A “Taunton River Stewardship Plan” was completed in 2005 by the Taunton River Wild and Scenic Study Committee. The Taunton River Stewardship Council was then formed and is composed of delegates from each of the communities in the watershed to identify goals and objectives to guide future efforts to restore and preserve the Taunton River corridor.
One of the many people dedicated to the TRWA is Abby Abrahamson, Bruce Spooner Education Center Program Manager. “We are very lucky to have a large group of dedicated board members and volunteers that support us,” says Abrahamson, “In fact, we still have some of the original members from 1988 serving on the board and involved in our programs.”
As with the other two local watershed organizations, the TRWA relies on volunteer citizen science to collect data and record observations as well as carry out projects and gather resources for the alliance to continue its important work. “We have significant programs to restore and protect, assist in restoration and preservation, and provide education and advocacy in the community,” Abrahamson explains. “We monitor 20 sites for nine months of the year for water quality and species status -all through volunteers. Volunteers need no prior training or experience, but we do require them to attend a training in April to learn about how to gather and submit data as well as be organized into teams.” Citizen-gathered results are then tested at the Veolia Water Treatment Plant in Taunton where the data collected strengthens the ability of the TRWA to work with and provide information to the Environmental Protection Agency. The goal is to ensure that harmful levels of nitrogen and other pollutants in the river and its tributaries are reduced.
Abrahamson continues, “We also monitor groundwater levels and promote water conservation in local communities and assess barriers throughout the watershed and the species affected by the river flow.” One of the main focuses of the TRWA is the monitoring and protection of the threatened Diamondback Terrapins. Abrahamson explains, “We work in partnership with Mass Wildlife and Bristol County Agricultural High School to assess the population of the terrapins in the watershed. They are very threatened by human development and they also have a large number of predators. Volunteers participate in nest watching along the rivers, and if nests are particularly vulnerable, we carefully remove the nests, put them into bins, and transfer them here to the Bruce Spooner Education Center to hatch safely. We can get them over the first hurdles to a point where survival is more likely.”
Another focus of the TRWA is nothing new to those of you who have heard or read about the work the Jones River Watershed Association, North and South Rivers Watershed Association, and every other local watershed organization is focused on -water flow and quality improvement via the removal of outdated, unnecessary, and harmful dams.
Stephen Silva, Corporate Clerk and Board Member of the TRWA, has a Civil/Environmental Engineering background from the University of Vermont, and an Associate of Science in Offshore Marine Technology from the Florida Institute of Technology. Silva offers his time and expertise on a constant basis to the TRWA and the gathering and evaluation of data as well as spearheading dam removal projects. Though the Taunton River itself is dam-free, its tributaries are not.
Silva explains why the removal of these dams is crucial to our watersheds, “What we find is the area behind the dams revert to healthy streams quickly, and fish and wildlife do much better. Anadromous fish, like herring, are food for many fish and birds that come upstream. Flood risk is reduced by removing dangerous dams and reopening flood plains which were flooded in the former impoundments.”
Silva has been a part of various dam removals and has seen firsthand the drastic difference restoring water flow makes to water and ecosystem quality. “The Three Mile River dam removal project was one of the bigger ones in our watershed -three dams were removed and a state-of-the-art fish ladder was put on the last dam at Lake Sabbatia. That has enhanced the Three Mile River which runs right through the heart of Taunton. It improved water quality and fish passage.”
There have been smaller dam removals as well, including one that is personal to Silva. “One of the dam removal projects was on the Cotley River -which is right near where I sample. I have actually seen the benefits when that dam came out -the water quality improved -you could see it visually, never mind my sampling.” Another significant and recent dam removal was in the Town River in Bridgwater. “The Town River Bridge Removal was a very big project,” says Silva, “and that really opened up the river and it allows fish passage into Lake Nippenicket.”
None of the data, or projects it spearheads and supports, would be possible without the volunteers that work with Silva. He explains, “We sample twenty sites once a month, and we have 40 volunteers that go out on the second Tuesday of the month. We were just out this morning sampling.” Information on becoming a volunteer, or even looking up and monitoring the data collected to satisfy your own curiosity, can be done on the website. “If you go to the homepage”, Silva explains, “Go to ‘Watershed News’ and you can see the results of our sampling. It explains the water quality, the accomplishments to date, and also the future goals of stormwater management.”
Of course, one of the key elements to assure longevity and success for organizations like the TRWA is education and outreach. The TRWA is dedicated to taking their mission out into the community and teaming up with other local groups and organizations to promote and support their mission. “We have a number of educational programs that get people involved and engage children. One of our collaborations is ‘Learning in Concert’ where we have collaborated with members of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra who present a narrated 40-minute musical performance which brings the ecosystem to life,” Abrahamson goes on, “This is a program for children, ages 7-10, to learn about the connectivity of living parts in a salt marsh ecosystem, as well as among musical parts in a piece of music.”
In addition, the TRWA makes great effort to offer education to and involvement with local libraries. “Right now, we have a grant in place which makes our public library outreach programs free,” says Ambrahamson, “Children can also be involved in helping with the terrapin monitoring program as long as they are accompanied by an adult.”
One of the TRWA biggest public events is the Taunton River Festival in June. Abrahamson explains, “The Taunton River Festival brings people together to celebrate the Taunton River and support local artists while learning more about the watershed in a fun, festival setting with food and vendors.” If you are looking for a way to support the TRWA from home while encouraging local photography, the TRWA publishes an annual Taunton River Tide Calendar that combines tide data with seasonal photography from the watershed. The photography is selected via a digital photography contest that is open to adult and teen photographers -amateur or professional.
The TRWA has certainly accomplished a great deal in terms of restoring and preserving their watershed, but there is always far more to do than to check off as “done”. Luckily, the team moving the alliance into the future has plenty of resolve and passion to accomplish their goals. “We are passionate about engaging with all members of the watershed,” says Abrahamson, “We are all connected and these programs and this alliance exist because it is important that we do this and learn together. It takes all of us. We are always interested in talking to community members and we really want to know, what can we bring to YOU?”
It is my personal hope that the last three weeks learning about our local waterways and the wonderful organizations that protect and preserve them have given a clearer picture of the vital role they play in our ecosystems and communities. We cannot separate ourselves from the ecosystem when we are such a large and impactful part of it. Water is as powerful and omnipotent in this world as it is fragile and vulnerable -meaning what we do with it can make or break us as a species. I am grateful for those who gave their time and energy to share these stories with our readers and I encourage everyone to learn about their local watershed and instead of waiting for them to ask what they can bring to you, ask what YOU can bring to THEM. You will be surprised at how much you are needed.
For more information and news about the TRWA, please visit:
www.tauntonriver.org
www.savethetaunton.org
Halifax Special Town Meeting Restores Nearly $635,000 in Budget Cuts
Halifax voters reversed a significant share of the budget cuts imposed after May’s failed Proposition 2½ override, approving roughly $634,929 in supplemental appropriations at a Special Town Meeting July 29 — including $350,021 pulled directly from the town’s stabilization fund. Every restoration passed over the objection of the Finance Committee, which declined to recommend a single spending article. The reversal was driven by late-breaking news that the Halifax Elementary School would return approximately $727,000 to the town, money the Select Board pledged to use to refill stabilization once the state certifies it as free cash.
The special town meeting, called by citizen petition, ran roughly 95 minutes and disposed of six articles. Petitioner Gordon Andrews of Elm Street moved to pass over Articles 1, 2 and 4 as no longer necessary — all three passed over unanimously — leaving Article 3, a rewritten omnibus budget amendment, as the night’s main event.
The backdrop was May 16, when Halifax voters defeated a $1.5 million operational override 867 to 714. That defeat locked in a baseline FY27 budget carrying nearly $1.5 million in departmental reductions, including $290,021 in combined police and fire cuts and a substantially reduced elementary school appropriation.
Before taking up any article, Moderator Robert Gaynor recognized Lauren Laws, chair of the Halifax Elementary School Committee, to explain the roughly $727,000 headed back to the town. Laws described it as the product of a one-time convergence: a state-required restructuring of the Silver Lake and Halifax Elementary budgets in 2023 moved pre-K, middle school and high school special education costs to Silver Lake, while Halifax Elementary continued to receive Circuit Breaker reimbursements tied to costs the town had already incurred.
The result, Laws said, was that Halifax Elementary received a substantially larger Circuit Breaker reimbursement while serving a far smaller eligible population — dropping from 21 students to three. That allowed the district to pay more than $1 million in eligible special education tuition and transportation costs from Circuit Breaker funds rather than from the local operating budget. The superintendent’s office contacted DESE in April and met with the department again in July before concluding the remaining balance could not be carried into another fiscal year.
“It is important to note that this was not the result of over-budgeting or reduced services to students,” Laws said, adding that the town should not expect reimbursements at that level again.
Andrews split Article 3 into four separate votes, a procedural division the Select Board and Town Counsel had worked out an hour earlier — necessary because the stabilization transfers required a two-thirds vote while the rest needed only a simple majority. Lumped together, Town Counsel warned the board, anything short of two-thirds would have defeated the entire package.
The first tranche moved $198,743 out of the FY27 reserve fund and into five operating lines: fire wages ($140,000), treasurer-collector clerical wages ($24,735), accountant clerical wages ($24,469), youth and recreation wages ($9,186) and a $353 library expense correction. The motion also ratified $48,762 in reserve fund transfers the Finance Committee had already approved — language Town Counsel insisted on to foreclose any claim of wrongdoing by that committee.
Selectman Jonathan Selig pressed the point that this money was not one-time revenue. The reserve fund was funded at $300,000 at the May annual town meeting rather than the customary $100,000, using raised-and-appropriated dollars after a $200,000 accounting correction from the regional district. “This part of the plan is essentially taking money that we decided in May to put in reserve,” Selig said. “Let’s put it in the actual line items that are short.”
Resident Susan Vogt of Deer Run Rd. spoke for the fire appropriation: “We need ambulances in this town. We need fire trucks in this town.” The Select Board recommended the package; the Finance Committee did not. It passed by majority.
The elementary school line drew the first two-thirds vote of the night. Superintendent Dr. Jill Proulx told the meeting her recommendation would be to restore cut positions “first in the grade levels with the highest class averages, which are grades 2 and 6,” moving those classrooms from roughly 26 or 27 students down to about 20. Remaining salary savings might restore a math specialist or other eliminated positions.
E.J. Bryan of Harvest Ln. asked whether the district could realistically hire in late July. Proulx said the school committee would first have to vote the amended budget, after which positions would post for 10 days. “I can’t promise you that there will be viable candidates,” she said, “but it is a possibility, it’s a strong possibility.”
Gordon Laws, chair of the Silver Lake Regional School Committee, said the labor market favors districts hiring now, pointing to failed overrides statewide and citing neighboring Whitman-Hanson’s layoffs as having put more certified teachers into circulation.
Chair Thomas Pratt delivered the Select Board’s recommendation with a caveat. “The late-breaking information of the return of the circuit breaker funding from the schools of 727,000 changes the game, for me at least,” he said, before adding that the fix is temporary: “All it does is fix a band-aid.” The board, he said, does not believe the vote diminishes the need for an override.
The police line produced the meeting’s most detailed department testimony. Asked by Sandra Nolan of South St. what would happen without the funding, Police Chief Joao Chaves read a prepared statement.
Current staffing is 14 officers for roughly 8,000 residents, Chaves said, below the 16 to 20 range FBI standards suggest for that population. The department has already lost two officers to resignation and will lose a third in September, with a fourth actively pursuing another department. “We can’t operate our department the way it is with losing four officers,” he said. “We’d have to close an entire midnight shift.”
Jonathan Selig, delivering the Select Board’s recommendation, was candid about his discomfort. “I’m not 100% sold on stabilization for reoccurring costs,” he said. “Not a huge fan of using stabilization for operational. But where we have close to three-quarters of a million dollars unexpected, it’s not ideal, but I’ll live with it.” He noted the town drew $750,000 from free cash last year; this year’s stabilization draw of $350,021 is less than half that.
The final Article 3 vote restored $36,165 for the Council on Aging director’s wages and $50,000 in Council on Aging wages — $86,165 total — funded not from stabilization or free cash but by transfer from the town’s GATRA reimbursement account. Andrews said the town holds a signed contract with the Greater Attleboro-Taunton Regional Transit Authority worth roughly $98,000 that reimburses wages, van costs, repairs and maintenance, and that approximately $117,203.98 sat unspent in that account at fiscal year close.
Finance Committee Chair James Walters opposed every spending line on a single consistent principle. “The Finance Committee does not recommend using the reserve funds or the stabilization fund to fund ongoing debts like salaries,” he told the meeting.
His central objection was structural. “If we’re putting one-time dollars into salaries, what are we going to do next year if the revenues aren’t there? Are we going to do the same thing again?”
Both petitioner Andrews and the Select Board committed on the record to returning the $350,021 to stabilization once free cash is certified. Andrews said he would file another citizen petition to force the transfer if the board did not act. Pratt confirmed: “Once certified, it returns as appropriate to the stabilization fund.”
Articles 5 and 6, both filed by the Select Board, were taken together with Article 6 first — a sequencing the board worked out in advance so a new account would exist before the old one was rescinded.
Vice Chair William Smith explained that Article 6 establishes a receipts-reserved-for-appropriation account for PFAS settlement proceeds and moves an initial $300,000 into it from settlement money currently sitting in the general fund. Roughly $379,303 is in the PFAS account now, Smith said, and the $300,000 represents an initial allocation rather than the full expected settlement. Unlike a stabilization fund, appropriations from the new account require only a simple majority.
Selig framed Article 5 as the cleanup. The town created a PFAS Settlement Stabilization Fund in May after the state directed that settlement money could not sit in the general fund — but a stabilization fund requires a two-thirds town meeting vote for every expenditure, an impractical constraint for water emergencies. Article 5 rescinds that May vote. Town Counsel advised that under Department of Revenue guidance, a special purpose stabilization fund must remain on the books for three years regardless; the practical effect is simply that the town will not use it. Nothing had been deposited in it.
The Finance Committee recommended Article 6 subject to an amendment naming the receiving account. Article 6 was amended, then Article 5 passed unanimously, after which the meeting discovered it had voted the amendment without voting the underlying motion. Andrews raised the point of order; the meeting returned to Article 6 and adopted the motion as previously amended, unanimously. Andrews then moved to dissolve.
Representative LaNatra Supports Legislation to Strengthen Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care
BOSTON – Wednesday, July 29, 2026 – The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed legislation to strengthen dementia care, improve support for families and caregivers, expand workforce training, and enhance public health efforts to address Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias across the Commonwealth. The bill takes a comprehensive approach to improving care for individuals living with dementia while equipping health care providers, first responders, hospitals, and state agencies with the tools and resources needed to better serve patients.
“As more families across Massachusetts are impacted by Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, it is our responsibility to make sure they are not facing these challenges alone,” said State Representative Kathy LaNatra (D–Kingston). “While we continue to support research that will one day lead to better treatments and, hopefully, a cure, families need help today. This legislation takes meaningful steps to improve care, strengthen coordination, increase public awareness, and better equip first responders and public safety officials to assist individuals living with dementia. These are practical, compassionate changes that will make a real difference in the lives of patients and their loved ones. I am grateful to Speaker Mariano, Chairman Stanley, and Leader Gregoire for their leadership in advancing this important legislation.”
The legislation establishes mandatory dementia training programs for municipal and state law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical services personnel. Developed by the Municipal Police Training Committee, the Massachusetts Fire Training Council, the Department of Public Health (DPH), the Colonel of the State Police, and the Executive Office of Aging and Independence in consultation with Alzheimer’s organizations and other stakeholders, the training will require at least two hours of initial instruction followed by biennial continuing education.
The bill expands notification requirements so that families or legal representatives are informed of an initial diagnosis of any dementia—not solely Alzheimer’s disease—and establishes a new MassHealth dementia care coordination benefit for eligible members enrolled in Senior Care Options and One Care plans, providing support for both individuals living with dementia and their caregivers.
The legislation also enhances protections for patients and families by requiring acute care hospitals to allow medically appropriate visitation for patients living with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias, as well as those exhibiting symptoms of cognitive impairment. Hospitals will also be required to notify designated family members, caregivers, or legal representatives promptly following admission and before discharge, ensuring loved ones remain engaged in care planning.
To improve care in hospital settings, the legislation codifies requirements that hospitals maintain and implement dementia operational plans addressing staff training, patient recognition and management, dementia-friendly environments, caregiver communication, discharge planning, and care coordination. Hospitals will be required to update these plans every five years, submit them to DPH, and make them publicly available. To strengthen the health care workforce, the legislation expands the state’s Health Care Workforce Loan Repayment Program to provide loan repayment assistance for professionals specializing in geriatrics and geriatric psychiatry, helping recruit and retain clinicians with expertise in caring for older adults.
The bill also creates a Director of Dementia Care and Coordination within the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to oversee implementation of the state’s Alzheimer’s disease plan, coordinate public awareness initiatives, support hospital dementia preparedness, pursue grant opportunities, review training requirements, and improve statewide data collection related to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
In addition, the bill directs DPH to expand public awareness efforts on brain health and dementia through culturally relevant education campaigns, strengthen statewide data collection on cognitive decline and caregiving, and regularly report on implementation of the CDC’s Healthy Brain Initiative Road Map.
The bill passed the House of Representatives 155-0 and now goes to the Senate for consideration.
The Swingers
Dan and Arlene Obillo and their three sons, Keith, Kirk (also called Steve) and little Ricky, lived on Elm Street in Hanson on a nice piece of property in a very nice house. Dan was from the Philippines, I’m not sure where Arlene grew up; she was a nurse at Brockton Hospital and a very attractive lady with a good sense of humor. Dan was also a furniture maker and upholsterer and made beautiful couches and chairs for their home and also a long and comfortable lobby sofa with a nice back rest to sit and relax on in his barber shop. His son Keith and I were about a year apart in age, me being a year older at age eleven. Keith will always be one of the nicest boys I knew, and a good friend. He was quiet, didn’t talk much unless he really had something to say, and we both liked listening to music. He had a nice radio, that wasn’t too big, that he carried with him and his father let us come into the barber shop many times because we behaved and were quiet. We sat on the lobby sofa that could seat quite a few customers, where Keith played the radio very low while we read comic books, drank soda, and watched customers come and go inside the barber shop.
One nice September day after school, when a few of us were playing in the Obillo’s yard, Keith’s mom was baking cakes. They smelled so good, we ended up peeking in the kitchen window and Arlene invited us in. There on her kitchen counter was a two-layer pink cake and one two layer light brown cake. She asked us if we’d like to have a piece of cake. Her three sons said yes and so did I, Larry Fest, and Preston Brine, two of the neighborhood boys. They were two of the most delicious cakes I ever tasted. When I asked what kind they were, she told us the pink frosted one was a cherry cake and the light brown frosted one was a peanut butter cake. I was amazed, I’d never heard of cherry or peanut butter cakes. All of a sudden, Larry, Preston, and I heard our whistle signals; we knew we had to go home. Arlene asked what it was all about. We told her the Hanson Police had given all the moms on our street a big, white police whistle and each one had a different signal so us kids knew when our moms wanted us. Arlene smiled and said she’d have to get one; I’m pretty sure she did.
One late Saturday afternoon in September, when several of us were in Obillo’s yard with Keith and Kirk, we found a big hole filled with water that we had never seen before. We looked at Keith and Kirk and they shrugged their shoulders as if to say they hadn’t seen it before either. To our delight, it was filled with big brownish- colored frogs. We were so excited. We carefully lifted them out of the water and set up frog races on the grass away from the hole. My sister Penny and I were the only girls there with Keith, Larry, Kirk, Preston and our cousin, Buddy. We were having the best time when Dan came out of the barber Shop, very upset and yelling at us to stay away from the water hole because it was part of a septic system that he was working on! When we heard that, we were very glad we had taken the frogs out of there. As we moved the frogs into the woods near a pond we knew about so they’d be safe for the winter, Dan was so upset he began to yell at us in Filipino; we had no idea what he was saying. Arlene stepped out into the yard calling to all of us to go home. After we took care of the frogs, we all ran for home. When Penny and I got home, our mom told us Arlene called every mother to let them know the water in the hole was not contaminated, it was new, and Dan was in the process of bringing a cover out to put over the hole when he saw us with the frogs. We all got stern lectures from our parents about being old enough to know about staying away from a water hole. All of us were grounded for a week and couldn’t go out of our yards.
In the spring of the next year on April vacation, we all were in each other’s yards. The Fest’s yard had a flat sidewalk and also an area of packed down dirt where we played marbles. That day, three of us won a game, Johnny Fest, Glen Fest, and Penny. I still have my marble collection, including the cat’s eyes. After a game of tag and dodgeball, we all got bored and went into my cousin’s yard which was next door to the Fest’s. My Ibbitson cousins were all boys. Their dad worked for Coca-Cola and he dumped a nice truckload of sand in his yard for his sons. We all helped make a village out of sand with all their Tonka trucks. I liked it because my dad was a bulldozer operator and I loved going to work with him, riding on the dozer; he made it purr like a kitten. When we were helping to make the sand village, it was inevitable that someone would mess up someone else’s work without meaning to, a fight would break out, and kids would leave. Those of us that stayed did get the job done and were proud of all the little buildings and roads we built out of sand.
It being April vacation, it seemed all our moms were busy visiting one another with all the little ones and most of us ended up at Keith and Kirk’s. On the left side of Obillo’s yard away from the house, was a spacious piece of land that bordered the woods. I started walking around, looking at the trees and went to the far end of the yard. I kept staring at the trees and looking up. Johnny was beside me and I said to him that we should be swinging from the trees. He was thin and lanky. He grinned at me, reached up to a branch, and started swinging from tree to tree, yelling and laughing. I was next, and before I knew it, all of us were swinging from tree to tree. The forest had several specific tree species which allowed us to safely glide from one to the next. When I reached for a branch that was closer to the street, I saw a familiar car go by, then I saw five more and realized all our mothers were driving around looking for us. I decided to keep on swinging for as long as I could. About five minutes later, all six cars pulled into the Obillo’s driveway and I saw all our mom’s get out of the cars and I could see that our baby brothers and sisters were in the cars. I kept swinging. I was waiting for them to all pull out their whistles but they didn’t. Three of the mom’s stayed with the cars and three walked over to the edge of the woods, waving us down. Slowly, we all came down out of the trees.
We followed the three mom’s back to the cars, expecting the worst. The worst didn’t happen. The only thing that was said was that if we ever did this again, not only would we not be allowed to come here, but it could cause serious problems for Arlene, Dan, and all of us. We all promised and we all kept that promise. However, when we got home our dad’s made things exceedingly clearer.
Where Life Flows: A Three-Part Series About Our Local Watersheds Part Two: Jones River Watershed Association
Maya Angelou gave sound life advice when she said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” Time and again humans often make decisions without thinking about what those choices will do now and thereby, inadvertently or intentionally, pass off the repercussions to generations down the road to remedy and manage. As colonists spread throughout New England, this is what happened when over 3,000 dams were built in the midst of previously freely flowing rivers. Luckily, one of those generational members to inherit, remedy, and manage these obstructive relics and serve as a guardian and advocate for the Jones River watershed is Pine DuBois -Director of the Jones River Watershed Association in Kingston.
The Jones River Watershed came about the same way many environmentally focused nonprofits do: concerned and engaged citizens. In 1985, residents in the area were feeling the impact from decades of compounded damage to the quality and depletion of their basin water supply via mismanaged and manmade diversions impacting Silver Lake, as well as noting the long-term harm the many concrete dams had caused for centuries to local ecosystems. The Jones River watershed may be a small coastal ecosystem, but its relationship to the globally significant Gulf of Maine is closely tied and in need of regulating and protecting.
To help others understand the unique nature of the area, DuBois starts back in the Ice Age. “Thousands of years ago, an ice lobe a mile high began to move and retreat to the Jones River Valley. It created the current landscape and also, Silver Lake. Silver Lake is not a shallow pond like many in the area, it is 80ft deep at its deepest point! It was also the highest quality of water -until humans came along and started causing problems.” In 1899, Brockton obtained the legal rights to Silver Lake and unfortunately, its depletion and damage picked up shortly after. Between the 1920’s-50’s, the water supply began to run low -largely due to disruption from dams and high public strain on the supply in the area. “By 1960, Brockton was out of water, so they began diverting water from Monponsett and Furnace ponds -which polluted Silver Lake.”
In 1985, The Massachusetts Water Management Act (M.G.L. c. 21G) was enacted to address growing concerns about the sustainable use of the Commonwealth’s water resources. Still, there was a section in the act that allowed exceptions to be made for pre-existing water supply and demand issues, and Silver Lake was further stressed with limited natural resources. “They drained Silver Lake 38ft down from natural levels -a huge ecological trauma for the area,” says DuBois. Kingston is continually affected by the management of Silver Lake as it is 17% of their watershed, but much of this water is mismanaged and no longer flows into the Jones River, so the Jones River is in a constant drought. DuBois explains, “At 7 ½ miles long, the Jones River is the largest river draining into Cape Cod Bay, but the way Brockton is managing their water supply has a direct, negative impact on three rivers and three bays: Narragansett Bay, Mass Bay, and Cape Cod Bay. Silver Lake is one of the 12 largest natural lakes in the state and we are misusing a geological treasure.”
One of the biggest pollutants of Silver Lake is Monponsett Pond. What were once seasonal summer cottages surrounding the water are now permanent, septic-bearing, year-round waste-contributing structures that have had devastating effects on the water quality and ecosystem. From 2020-2022, Plymouth County Water District completed a water quality study of Silver Lake and concluded that it was in the worst condition it had ever been in its thousands of years of existence. The study showed heavy amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen-loading cyanobacteria as well as invasive plants, all being introduced daily from polluted, diverted ponds. In addition, the Pittsfield site for the former GE facility, contributed extensively to the contamination of Silver Lake with their discharge methods and high concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s) and contaminated fill being placed on property that abuts the lake.
Though it may seem the fate of Silver Lake is beyond help, DuBois and the Jones River Watershed Association are working tirelessly to help remediate the damages caused to the water and intricate ecosystems established there. “We just have to keep watching and make note of things that don’t seem right and then get to the bottom of it and continue to push back locally for these towns to do the right thing. We have to make a fuss,” says DuBois. Thankfully, DuBois and her fellow volunteers are seeing signs of success in their efforts to restore balance and health to the region’s watershed. One of their main focuses in this mammoth effort is the removal of dams which would result in the restoration of natural migration and movement patterns for native animals in the waterways.
Historically, many dams in Massachusetts and beyond, served a crucial purpose (however ecologically unsound it was) for the development of the shipbuilding industry in the area. Mills and factories produced a variety of goods and products -largely for shipbuilding materials but also weaponry and everyday goods like shoes and tack. “People have always lived with the river,” says DuBois, “rivers give life in water, food supply, and industry, but using them to support communities didn’t always cause so much environmental damage.” DuBois explained that these dams used to be temporary, seasonal structures. “They would build the dams up in January, use them with the spring thaw and rains, then take them apart and let the rivers flow into wetlands that they would then farm for the rich soil.” In the late 1600’s however, a less seasonal approach took hold to allow increased production and profiting year-round and dams became concrete and permanent. As a result, animals like the herring and American eels that use the Jones River and other waterways in the area, were blocked from their natural patters of passage. This drastically altered the eels abilities and numbers in the ecosystem as well as the animals and plants that had an established codependency and symbiotic relationship with them. DuBois explains, “River herring and eels are ‘diadromous’ fish, meaning they spend part of their life in salt water and part in fresh water. Unblocking their pathways is one of the most important things we can do to restore our waterways.”
Eels are born somewhere out in the Sargasso Sea, out in the middle of the North Atlantic. The newborn eels make their way back to the eastern coast of the Americas and, for reasons unknown, they branch off and swim up thousands of different rivers along the coast. They migrate upstream as far as possible until they find a good, safe habitat to grow in. It has been recorded that female eels spend as much as 40 years in our local streams and lakes and can grow up to 5 feet. In the fall, the masses of eels slither back down the rivers and head out to the Sargasso to spawn, and thus begins the process again.
Eels also serve as crucial pest control as they are one of the greatest consumers of mosquito larva. While chemical sprays harm the environment around the mosquitoes -including the fish that eat the mosquitoes, eels eliminate large quantities of mosquito larva in addition to the fish consuming large amounts of grown mosquitoes that are able to hatch. DuBois raises American eels back at the Jones River Watershed headquarters and releases them into areas of the river where dams will not inhibit their passage. “I have released about 5,700 eels into these waterways,” says DuBoise, “They are doing well where we have released them and that gives me hope.”
Perhaps the best-known creature of the waterways in the area, largely thanks to the indigenous communities’ successful public advocacy and celebration of them, is the herring. Herring population and well-being have long been a staple focus for local watershed associations. DuBois remarks, “The explorers and colonists came to this area for the timber and also for the fish! We had so much cod that we made an entire industry for it. One of the things people don’t know is that cod eat herring. If you care about the local fishing industry, you need to care about the herring and therefore the local waterways.”
So what, exactly, is being done right now to help the eels, herring, and other aquatic animals and plants be able to once again move freely up and down the waterways? DuBoise, who is standing across from me at Forge Pond dam, points out several things the Jones River Watershed Association is working on. “Overall, we want the dams gone. They need to be taken out, but it is a careful process and it costs a lost of money, so it is a slow battle for each one. In the meantime, we have made fish ladders. The Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) has been able to acquire the ability to require fish passage at dams, so we are getting help making and placing these ladders. They are measured and made to be positioned in water deep enough for the fish to swim up them, but also high enough to help them jump the dam. Still, not every species of fish jumps well -herring do, luckily, so they have been able to make some movement even when dams are still there.” A section of the Forge Pond dam has been removed but the process of cleaning up the residual build up of muck since its construction in 1905 is no small feat. “We have a dredge machine coming to clear this pond. It is a 20ft pontoon boat with an electric motor, a suction pump, and a hose. It is going to suck up the 3-4ft deep mud deposits blocking up this pond and potentially the river, and then shoot it out onto the banks which will nourish and feed the trees and plants along the banks.”
So far, the Jones River Watershed Association has removed two dams in the area. DuBois states, “We removed the Wapping Road dam in 2011, and the Elm Street dam in 2019. After taking underwater video surveillance and conducting studies at these sites post dam removal, the fish and animals came right back and started doing what they had been blocked from doing for so long. It is very promising to see how quickly nature starts to set itself right when we just get out of the way and let it do its thing.”
Even the headquarters for the Jones River Watershed Association is not immune to the danger and destruction of modern-day environmental practices and climate instability. Upon entering the Headquarters at Jones River Landing and Environmental Heritage Center -an unassuming and nearly tucked-away building snuggled up against the Jones River inlet, the viewer is met with enough pictures, maps, memorabilia, knickknacks, books, banners, papers, and chairs and tables to be instantly intrigued. An aquarium of baby eels sits near the back of the entrance area flanked by a tank of mosquito larva for their feeding.
Through the lively, and obviously well-loved gathering room, there is a boat-making workshop stocked with materials for making beautiful 19th century lobster boats and boat restoration. As we tour the busy building, DuBois points out that its very existence is becoming a battle. “When the tides get too high, which they do often now, and especially during Nor’easters, the water comes right up into the building -knee deep sometimes. I mark the water levels with each flood, and as you can see it is getting higher each time. There has been a lot of structural damage so far, and we had drawn up future plans to make it a floating building -like homes in New Orleans, but according to the water-level-rise studies and predictions for this area, that won’t even work.” How ironic that the headquarters where some of the most important discussions and decisions about our watershed and waterways takes place, is threatened by the unnatural alterations of the very waters they are working so hard to protect.
Still, there is always the argument of hope. “It is worth it -doing this. It matters so much,” says DuBois, “Our job and hope is to make people think -to trigger the process. These are millennially important natural resources and absolutely everything we do to them and for them -good and bad, matters. These issues will affect our lives and our future generations and so I just keep working at it and keep trying to wake people up.”
As I leave the headquarters and stand on the boat dock on the beautiful Jones River, a Great Blue Heron takes off from the banks. It soars upward -likely to where the great wall of ice used to reach, and it is impossible to not be overwhelmed, in a beautiful way, by the story of this place -to marvel at the mere thought of the chapters of transformation it has undergone through centuries and eons. It makes me want to be sure that my addition to the current chapter is one that won’t need to be remedied or healed from in the future, and if Pine DuBois has taught me anything about nature today, it is that I can best do that by getting out of the way and letting it take its course.
Healey-Driscoll Administration Expands Firefighter Survival Training
STOW—The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services (DFS) today announced the expansion of firefighter survival training at the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy (MFA) with the addition of a new mobile self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) training maze. The new training system will increase access to realistic, hands-on instruction for recruit and veteran municipal firefighters across the Commonwealth.
“One of DFS’s most important responsibilities is ensuring firefighters across Massachusetts have access to the highest-quality training possible,” said Public Safety and Security Secretary Gina Kwon. “That means continually investing in modern equipment and training environments that reflect the dangerous and unpredictable conditions firefighters face in the field. Better training builds more confident, better prepared firefighters, and better prepared firefighters help make communities across Massachusetts safer.”
The new mobile training maze expands the MFA’s ability to deliver firefighter survival training both on campus and directly to local fire departments. Combined with the Academy’s existing mobile training resources, it will increase access to realistic, hands-on SCBA training for recruits and experienced firefighters alike. The unit also replaces the Academy’s original Stow-based SCBA maze, ensuring this critical training remains available for years to come.
This year, DFS marks 30 years of training Massachusetts firefighters through the MFA. Since 1996, the Academy has prepared thousands of firefighters for the challenges of the job while continually evolving its training programs to reflect new technologies, emerging hazards, and best practices. The addition of the new mobile SCBA training maze builds on that legacy by giving more firefighters the opportunity to train in realistic, high-pressure environments that build the skills and confidence they need to respond safely and effectively when lives are on the line.
“The SCBA Training Maze is one of our most frequently requested training tools,” said State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine. “This new mobile unit allows us to deliver critical survival training to more firefighters in more communities while strengthening the MFA’s ability to prepare recruits and veteran firefighters for the dangerous and unpredictable conditions they face. Providing firefighters with realistic training is one of the best investments we can make in their safety and the safety of the communities they serve.”
Inside the maze, firefighters navigate dark, confined, and unfamiliar environments while wearing full turnout gear and SCBA. The training is designed to build confidence under stress, improve air management, and reinforce the skills firefighters rely on during searches, rescues, and self-extrication.
Last year, the MFA’s Springfield-based mobile SCBA maze supported training for more than 500 municipal firefighters. The addition of a second roadworthy mobile unit will expand training opportunities for fire departments across Massachusetts while continuing to support recruit training at the Stow campus.
The new mobile maze is one of several investments that have strengthened training at the MFA in recent years, alongside a forcible entry trailer, flashover training prop, search and rescue buildings on the Bridgewater and Springfield campuses, a hazardous materials leak prop, and a Mobile Extraction Unit used to decontaminate firefighting gear.
DFS invested approximately $500,000 in the new training system, supported in large part by a $435,000 FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant. The investment reflects DFS’s continued commitment to providing firefighters across Massachusetts with access to realistic, state-of-the-art training.
Where Life Flows: A Three-Part Series About Our Local Watersheds Part One: North and South Rivers Watershed Association, Inc.
In an ideal world, humans would coexist with nature rather than try to champion over and manipulate it for our own interests and purposes. The concept of “give back equal to or more than you take” would be balanced out, and would replace the current way our society runs which is more by the philosophy of “take, take, take and when it eventually comes to harm you, then give a little back.” We have become comfortable with finite, unsustainable, inconsiderate plans that have catastrophic costs. Then, we often turn away from facing and fixing the understandably overwhelming realities we have shaped and created in our ecosystems.
People are busy lip-syncing on social media, but don’t bother to spend time learning things like where their water comes from or how their daily activities directly affect it. Many of us are so busy getting to and from jobs and commitments that we drive right past tree-hidden streams, marshes, and ponds tucked off the side of the roads that impact our daily life. I, too, am numbered as such. It is a fortunate thing, indeed, that there are also people in our communities working tirelessly to address, study, heal, and protect our local ecosystems -people like Samantha Woods, Executive Director of the North and South Rivers Watershed Association.
The NSRWA was created in 1970 by a group of South Shore residents who wanted to preserve and protect the watershed’s natural beauty -both for their own use and for generations to come. What began as a group of 400 South Shore residents has grown to over 1,900 members. The initial movement behind the formation of NSRWA was a Scituate resident named Jean Foley. She was birdwatching around the North River salt marshes and noticed that two types of sparrows she often spotted there were missing. Foley suspected perhaps the new Driftway condo development built along the marsh was a possible cause. She started to look for answers and rallied local water resource specialists, state environmental agency employees, a wildlife biologist, an attorney, and local conservation commission members, and other residents of watershed towns to join the cause. Jean, and her Husband Jack, had a meeting that spring to address the current state, and future of, local waterways and thus began the NSRWA.
Over fifty years later, the NSRWA is a well-established, local, grassroots, non-profit environmental organization made up of thousands of South Shore citizens who donate time, resources, and funds to restore, preserve, and protect our local watershed and waterways and the local ecosystems around them. NSRWA focuses on three main areas to achieve their goals: Education, Engagement, and Lead by Example.
“Healthy watersheds require working with communities to restore our rivers and waterways. We realize that in order for people to want to protect things, they need to understand them. This is why we focus on education in the community,” Woods explains. “The Water All Around You school program, sponsored by WaterSmart (a non-profit partnership with the NSRWA) provides water-based education to local fifth graders in South Shore schools. We provide 3D models showing how water moves across their towns, how pollution travels and ends up in our rivers, and how dirty water gets treated.” The Water All Around You program provides students tours of their local water treatment plants where they also learn how to conserve water by making small changes.
During the winter months, people can further their education about waterways by participating in the Waterwatch Lecture Series. “These are online and in person lectures with a variety of themes and experts to teach about our waterways and their histories -even about gardening and learning how to manage our gardens in a more eco-friendly way. We help homeowners learn how to make their yards less of a strain on water resources and the environment,” says Woods.
In addition to providing many opportunities to learn about our watersheds, NSRWA also educates the community on how to be on the water and understand how our water systems work in the landscape. Their River Adventures Camp teaches children how to kayak, practice water safety, and explore the natural and cultural history of the North and South Rivers. If you are looking to learn more and wish to connect with NSRWA for group learning opportunities, the River Ambassador Volunteers are available to speak to community groups about their outdoor activities, educational programs, and advocacy work to protect the waters. Woods, ecologist Alex Mansfield, and NSRWA environmental educator Brian Taylor, are happy to speak to groups and organizations.
The second focus for NSRWA is perhaps its most alluring for the average citizen: Engagement. The NSRWA provides a wide array of hands-on, close up, personal, and first-encounter experiences for all ages to learn about and participate in the health and preservation of our waterways. “We focus greatly on our engagement programs -programs that use citizen science and outdoor participation to help people become aware of and familiar with the water in our communities,” says Woods. “We offer programs to get people outdoors to have hands-on experiences. We want to get kids outside hiking, fishing, and on the water as well as help them be active participants in our scientific studies.”
The Estuary Explorers Program is one of many unique opportunities to get children engaged. Participants will learn first-hand about the science of rivers, watersheds and estuaries in outdoor day trips on boats. For many children, this is their first time on the North River -the only scenic protected river in Massachusetts. The program visits the salt marsh, sand flats, mud flats, and barrier beaches of the North River, and children learn about the ecology of a salt water estuary. At a shifting sand flat called “the Spit,” children examine tide pool creatures and observe a variety of animals including invasive green crabs, Asian shore crabs, sea stars, and birds. On land exploration or a pontoon river boat trip, the team teaches children to collect data on water quality and marine life using scientific tools to study river salinity, and marine and local ecology. There is even a beach scavenger hunt. Remarkably, this program is free of cost due to a generous donation from The Michele E. Dufault Foundation.
Woods is also eager to help the communities on the South Shore learn about and become engaged in a pressing and widespread issue in our local watershed systems -dams and the plight of the herring. “We do a lot of things to engage the community and we ask them to be citizen scientists -observing their waterways and collecting data -counting what they see and reporting it to us. We do horseshoe crab counts, herring counts, bay restoration, observation of invasive species, and salt marsh monitoring -all using the collected data from volunteering, observing citizens.” Woods Explains, “But one of the biggest things we need help with, and to focus on, is dam removal and the restoration of natural waterways for the herring and other native species.”
Dams have long been a part of the New England landscape since colonists arrived with industry. Dams were originally seasonal -built for a few months to power mills and then dismantled to allow the return of herring flow, and then the wetlands created from the flooding were farmed due to the enriched soil. When society began to industrialize in the late 1800’s, dams became concrete and permanent -also permanently detrimental to native species moving up and down the rivers and to and from the ocean and other waterways.
“There are about 3,000 dams in Massachusetts -leftover relics,” says Woods, “they were the electricity before electricity. They stopped up the rivers and created local ‘ponds’ that have formed their own ecosystems, but they are not natural or conducive to the migration and natural patterns of local species -especially the herring, and they create stagnant water environments. Through our own studies and citizen science over the years, we have learned just how impacted the populations are by these unnatural dams -which were rendered quite useless with electricity established in most places by the 1920’s and when mills stopped being used.”
Currently, local watershed associations are focusing efforts and resources on dismantling these unnecessary and detrimental structures -often with a great deal of resistance from local organizations and institutions and with the obstacle of large expenses and lack of enough funding. Overall, 15% of available habitat has been re-opened but 77% is still blocked by dams, and only four of the sixty-five dams in the North and South Rivers Watershed have been removed. In an attempt to find a way forward in the immediate future, watershed associations are also proposing altering the dams by at-least partially dismantling areas that will allow some species to move freely up and down the waterways without obstruction.
The third focus of NSRWA is to lead by example. In keeping with their goal, NSRWA offers plenty of chances to interact and learn from them in a social, community setting. Woods assures there is something for everyone. “We have yoga at the river edge, kayaking instruction and excursions, library lectures, photography exhibits, and a walking club where you can meet up with other NSRWA members on guided walks through trails and learn about the area with expert hosts.”
One of the largest events for NSRWA is The Great River Race taking place August 9. “This is the 36th year of the race. This is a non-motorized vehicle race where you can compete with others on the river. We recommend this for people who have some experience paddling as the total mileage is 8.5 miles to the take out,” says Woods, “It is a big fundraiser for our environmental education and outdoor programs.”
For South Shore residents to get involved, Woods recommends first making sure to contact and support your immediate local watershed organization. “Join the mailing lists, follow the online calendars, and go to events,” Woods advises, “There is the Jones River Watershed Association and the Taunton River Watershed Alliance that also cover this area of southern Massachusetts -everyone should know which one they live in and support them first.”
Whatever watershed association you are a part of, they are all crucial, connected, and deserving of far more attention, effort, and funding than our communities give them. “What happens on a small scale will eventually happen on a large scale,” warns Woods, “We hope that people not only learn about these important places, but also learn the joy they bring when we get outside and appreciate them.” Perhaps this summer, we can collectively commit to take a look at that nearby stream we usually only glance at and learn about where it comes from, where it goes, and what lives in and depends on its health. You will undoubtedly be led on a meandering journey of your own and be quite surprised at how big a role you play in the state of life around you.
For more information about the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, Inc., please visit: www.nsrwa.org
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