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District schools “locked down”

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Schools in the Silver Lake District experienced a “modified lockdown” Wednesday in response to the active shooter situation in Plymouth.

Plympton Chief of Police Matthew Clancy told The Express the directive came  in late Wednesday morning from Superintendent of Schools Joy Blackwood who was acting in “an abundance of caution.”

In Plympton, an officer and a cruiser were assigned to the school for the remainder of th school day.

Most students were likely not aware of the situation, Clancy said, and the only real change to their day was that there was no outside recess.  At the end of the school day, students were dismissed and sent home in the usual manner.

Blackwood communicated to the schools and the towns’ police departments that with the uncertainty of the Plymouth shooters, keeping Silver Lake District students contained in a safe place seemed to be in their best interest.

Taking the mystery out of writing thrillers

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HALIFAX — Mystery writer Edwin Hill is developing a following.

Most of the dozen or so people attending his talk about his second Hester Thursby novel, “The Missing Ones,” had already enjoyed his debut novel “Little Comfort,” and were happy to hear this newest work, too, strays into the realm of the creepy.

“Let me just ask, real quick — and there’s no wrong answer to this — who has read the first book?” he asked. Hands were raised around the room at the Holmes Public Library Saturday, Oct. 5. “A lot of you have already been introduced to the characters. … I have some repeat offenders who have come to see me before, which I really appreciate.”

Thursby, a Harvard librarian who stands all of four-feet nine inches tall, takes care of her 3-year-old niece, her non-husband Morgan Maguire and a Bassett hound named Waffles. She works on missing persons cases in her spare time.

Or, worked in missing persons cases.

“The Missing Ones” makes clear early on that Hester no longer does that kind of work, in fact she’s been avoiding working at all as she struggles from PTSD after a harrowing experience in the first published book.

Picking up 10 months after the end of “Little Comfort,” Hill was determined to reference things that happened in that book while writing “The Missing Ones.”

“Hester had made some pretty serious mistakes in the last book and I wanted her to acknowledge that,” he said. “I also wanted to show she had feelings of having been in a life-or-death situation.”

Hill referenced older books and TV series where the hero is shot in the shoulder in one storyline and it is never referred to again.

“I wanted the books to work together,” he said.

It opens on two small islands off the coast of Maine, loosely based on the real island of Monhegan. The prologue relates a ferry boat accident that caused a 4-year-old to go missing for a time and the island’s constable is at first credited with saving the boy. While he is dealing with town gossip about how that incident played out, another child goes missing.

“I always tell stories from multiple points of view,” Hill said. “In ‘Little Comfort,’ there are five points of view … In this book I used four point-of-view characters.”

He credited readers with suggesting story line changes, including more for Hester’s “not-quite husband” Morgan to do.

A failed attempt at publishing a book in the early 2000s left him discouraged until he found the kernel of an idea in the Christian Gerhartsreiter — AKA Clark Rockefeller — a professional imposter who kidnapped his daughter and was later convicted of murder. By 2012 Hill was back to writing with an agent by 2014 and selling it two years ago.

“You’ll see the seeds of Clark Rockefeller in there, but it’s not completely based on that,” he said.

A library is another source of his inspiration.

Hill’s grandmother, Phyllis Hill was the librarian in Whitman from the 1940s to the late ’60s.

“For a while, she was going to be a chef,” Hill said of Hester Thursby’s day job. “Then I thought she might be a psychiatrist — a lot of mystery series have psychology at their core — but there are a lot of people doing that, and they do it very well, and I thought let’s do something different.”

He said librarians are really curious people, who have resources available to them that are not available to the average person, especially in 2010 when he wrote “Little Comfort.”

He started with a lighter touch, writing that Thursby’s caseload featured whimsical cases such as long-lost prom dates or lost dogs.

“The novels are not light,” he said. “They wound up becoming much darker as I worked on them over time.”

One whimsical touch he retained was making Hester “clinically messy” and Morgan a “neat freak,” along with their caring for Morgan’s twin sister Daphne’s headstrong 3-year-old daughter Kate.

“The novel went through three or four different changes and stopped being funny,” he said. “It’s not funny at all, it’s a psychological thriller.”

“The Missing Ones” carries that theme over, as well. Hill read an excerpt from the book’s first chapter and answered audience questions concerning the researching, writing and publishing process, the challenges of writing a second book, and his third book. Set in Boston, primarily in Jamaica Plain, that book involves a for-profit university and is due out in December.

To flesh out the characters of three individual preschool children, hill put out a Facebook request to parents about what they noticed about their kids as they aged from 3 to 4.

“People were really generous with things they shared,” he said, including how they start to grow into more solidly and that they developed little obsessions.

“They listed off all these different things their kids had been obsessed with — bugs, and counting, Thomas the Tank Engine, and poop and peeing on trees,” he said. “If you have three 4-year-old [characters] they can end up merging together in your mind if they aren’t disinct, so I just assigned each kid an obsession.”

Police promoted; marijuana discussed

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Police Celebrated and Marijuana Discussed during Halifax Selectmen Meeting

Selectman Tom Millias and town administrator Charlie Seelig were both unable to attend the Tuesday, October 8 Halifax Selectmen meeting but Police Chief Joao Chaves was on hand for the swearing in of one officer and the promotion of another.

Andrew Lyczynski, a recent graduate of the Police Academy in Plymouth, began his career with the department in March of 2018. Chaves said, “Andrew was a distinguished student officer earning praises and accolades from both the staff and fellow academy mates. He earned the position of squad leader and led the squad in exemplary fashion.”

Lyczynski’s family stood by to see him sworn in as a member of the Halifax Police Department. Chaves went on to say, “The residents of Halifax should be proud to have such a dedicated professional and community minded police officer.”

Officer Robert McDonnell, who has been with the Halifax Police Department since 2010, received his Detective badge during Tuesday’s meeting. Chaves said of McDonnell, “Throughout his career with the department, Officer McDonnell has distinguished himself not only through his excellent police work but through his dedicated service to the residents of Halifax.”

McDonnell’s list of credentials is lengthy and includes being a member of the SEMLEC (Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council) Search and Rescue Team where he assisted in finding lost children, missing persons, and recovering evidence. He is also a part of the Old Colony Police Anti-Crime Task Force, who work with state police and other departments on narcotic investigations throughout Plymouth County. Additionally, McDonnell conducts all investigations into sexual assaults that are reported to the Halifax Police Department.

Chief Chaves, who said he feels that Officer McDonnell has the skills needed to make a great investigator, shared a story of a recent investigation spearheaded by McDonnell into various shed break-ins that had occurred throughout Halifax. “Within days he identified a suspect, corroborated information with another police department, and requested warrants for the arrest of the suspect,” Chaves explained.

President and CEO Alex Mazin and Vice President of Community Relations Greg Czarnowski of Bud’s Goods and Provisions met with the Selectmen to discuss the possibility of an adult use outdoor marijuana cultivation facility on the same lot where Four Daughters had previously planned to build an indoor facility.

Mazin gave a thorough presentation explaining his philosophy on the environmental, financial, and socio-economic benefits of outdoor cultivation versus indoor cultivation. According to Mazin, outdoor cultivation is more sustainable for the environment and also has significantly lower startup and operational costs as compared to indoor cultivation.  Lighting, air movement, and temperature controls all contribute to the costly nature of an indoor growing environment.

According to Mazin, the costs to build a 50,000 sq. ft. indoor facility is estimated at $10,000,000 whereas the cost to build a 100,000 sq. ft. outdoor cultivation facility (or farm, essentially) is only around $300,000. The lower startup and operational costs mean more affordable products which, according to Mazin’s presentation, “bridges the gap for disadvantaged communities.” Mazin explained, “My belief is that if we cannot allow outdoor cultivation and greenhouse cultivation the whole effort on the war on drugs is a facade because you’re never going to be able to bring down the pricing to the point where you compete with the black market.”

Bud’s, which was established in 2016, is seeking a Host Community Agreement to build the outdoor growing facility with a 15,000 sq. ft. storage building on the 47-acre parcel of land located at 111 River St. That lot is currently zoned industrial and is not within 500 ft. of a school, park, daycare, or any other location where children primarily congregate.

Selectman Gordon Andrews pointed out that a special town meeting is scheduled for October 21 at which residents will vote on a citizen’s petition to increase the distance between residential areas and marijuana growing facilities. It would require a quorum of 100 people with two-thirds of them voting in favor of such a change to amend the by-law. If it passes, the lot on River St. would have to be re-evaluated as a site.

Mazin informed the selectmen that Bud’s had hired a civil engineer to review the land to allow them to predict what they could potentially cultivate on this land seasonally. According to their estimates, the six-month harvest, which would start in May and end in October, would produce a yield of 5,739 lbs. with a total revenue of $9,756,300 in the first year.

As was established with the Four Daughters agreement, 3% wholesale would go to the town estimated at $292,689. Assuming all went according to plan, Bud’s estimates that by 2023 Halifax would see over a million dollars in municipal revenue.

In addition to the financial benefits, Mazin also emphasized job creation as well as positive environmental effects. “I know Halifax is a farming community and the history was a farming community and so I think this sort of fits that and I’d like to see my efforts in changing the notion that cannabis is a manufacturing technique; it is farming, it is nothing more than another crop that you can grow,” Mazin said.

Chair Troy Garron said, “My feeling at this point in time is that even though we voted, the town, on Article 4 to make marijuana legal for adults, the tide has sort of changed.” Garron and Andrews told Mazin that they couldn’t provide an answer at this time and that a lot would depend on the result of the vote on October 21.

Several town positions have recently become available. Sadly, Jack Mather passed away recently, leaving a need for someone from the public to take his place as the town representative on the Old Colony Planning Council. Jonathan Soroko resigned from the Planning Board effective immediately. Longtime member of the Board of Health John Delano is set to retire in early November, leaving an opening that will need to be filled in the interim before the election in May.

Plympton selectmen: Not so fast!

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Plympton selectmen discussed a possible avenue to lowering the speed limit at certain intersections in town during their Monday, October 7 meeting.

Vice-Chair Mark Russo said that it was his understanding that under Massachusetts general law, it was possible for a town to establish safety zones with speed limits of 20-mph. Russo said that according to town counsel, a vote would have to be held at town meeting to authorize the selectmen to establish such safety zones.

Several intersections were discussed as problematic with special mention being given to West St. and Cross St. and Main St. and Ring Rd. The latter of which will need a more permanent fix that could come in the form of a potential MassWorks grant which would include engineering as well as construction.

The pros according to Russo are that it is both a relatively easy and inexpensive way to improve safety. Russo said that the one real con would be that 20 mph is quite slow. Chair Christine Joy said she would like to find out if the 20-mph designation is non-negotiable. A resident in attendance added, “Bear in mind, when the speed limit is 20, nobody does 20, they do 30.” In addition to the question about the speed limit, other questions included whether or not a safety zone can be established on a state road, and what is an allowable size for the safety zone designation. Russo agreed to get answers to these questions before proceeding with having an article crafted to vote upon at special town meeting.

Town administrator Liz Dennehy gave the Selectmen an update on various topics including shared services for the Council on Aging. Dennehy said she is waiting to hear back from her colleagues in Halifax and Carver regarding getting the shared calendar ready for the three town’s Councils on Aging. The Highway Superintendent position is currently open with resumes being accepted until October 18. Last call for sealed bids on the old jail cell was this past Thursday, October 10. Dennehy also informed the Selectmen that the town accountant sent budget updates to the various town department heads to show them where they stand. This measure is part of an attempt to further professionalize the town’s financial operations.

The Board voted to appoint Tom Millias as the zoning enforcement officer beginning November 1 and running through June 30, 2020. “Thank you, Tom,” Joy said. Russo added, “With enthusiasm, that’s great.” Dennehy also mentioned that the Zoning Board of Appeals has two open seats for alternate members. “The only thing I would say there is that they do have to have a certain expertise, it can’t just be someone walking in,” Selectmen John Traynor said.

Traynor praised the many volunteers that came out to help with the myriad of events held this past weekend, including the Dennett Harvest Fair, the Plympton Historical Society Vintage Fair, Fall Fest at the Colchester Farm, reception and coffee time at the library, and the Cow Plop at the Family Fun Day at Next Step Farm. “There was more going on in this town than I’ve seen in my over fifty years here,” Traynor said. He continued, “Very good for the town, terrific. We need more of that.” Russo concurred saying, “I’ll just second everything you just said, a vibrant town on weekends is just what we hoped for.” Russo also seconded Traynor’s praise for the vintage fair saying, “It was classy. It’s a lot of work to put those on and I think PHS did just a great job, very impressive.”

District MCAS scores are up

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The statewide results from the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) taken by all public-school students last spring have been released. The tests are administered to students in Grades 3 through 9 as well as Grade 10 and cover the subjects of English and language arts (ELA), mathematics, and science and technology engineering. The MCAS were established in 1993 in accordance with the standards adopted in the Education Reform Act of 1993.

All students in the appropriate grades educated through the state’s public funds are mandated by law to take the tests. The MCAS-Alt was developed to ensure that students with significant cognitive disabilities that would not be able to take the standard tests even with appropriate accommodations be able to be assessed.

As a district, Silver Lake has a higher percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations in all categories than the state average. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has various designations assigned to a school’s progress. Silver Lake Regional High School was determined to be making moderate progress toward their targets. In addition, SLRHS is meeting the state target for the four-year graduation rate. In all eligible subgroup categories, the number of students completing advanced coursework improved. Of particular note, 73 percent of students at the high school are meeting or exceeding new and rigorous math standards set by the state. “Teachers at the high school and middle school have been working on aligning courses with the new state frameworks for history and will use a backwards design approach to create curricular units that are more closely aligned with state standards ELA, Math, and Science,” Assistant Superintendent Jill Proulx said.

Like the high school, students at Silver Lake Regional Middle School were found to also be making moderate progress toward their targets. Notable achievements by the middle school students included high growth scores in ELA for all students as well as exceeding the state’s target for students with disabilities in ELA. In addition, chronic absenteeism declined from 10.6 percent to 8.4 percent.

Both the Dennett Elementary School in Plympton and Halifax Elementary were designated as having made substantial progress toward their targets. Students in Plympton had high growth scores in ELA and Math for all students and for all eligible sub group categories. Additionally, Grade 5 students at Dennett exceeded their targets in Science. Results for Halifax students showed typical to high growth scores in ELA and math for all students as well as the “lowest performing” subgroup. Grade 3-6 Halifax students demonstrated overall achievement gains in ELA from 2017 to 2019.

According to Proulx the district is taking steps to ensure continued improvement in student performance. Both elementary schools in the district have adopted a new math program that is more closely aligned with the state standards. Science teachers hope to follow suit as they begin to look at ways to better align their own teaching practices with the newer state standards. Title 1 supports have also been allocated as a means to providing additional targeted interventions where necessary.

Crediting the efforts of Curriculum Coordinator Melissa Farrell, Proulx said that an “Early Literacy” grant has been awarded which will be used to improve student proficiency in reading, writing, and effective communication at the elementary level. “The grant will allow professional development in writing throughout the 2019-2020 school year,” Proulx said.

Further review of the results is still underway and administrators hope to identify potential gaps in the current curriculum. The district also plans to create individualized plans (EPPs) based on student needs and recommend interventions as necessary.

Halifax FD Open House sparks interest

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The Halifax Fire Department Open House  brought  kids, adults, and families together on Sunday, Oct. 6.

People got to meet their firefighters, tour the station, and have a lot of fun while they tried on the real firefighter gear and checked out the trucks!

Kids had fun in the bouncy house, ate cotton candy, popcorn, pizza, and soda, and learned about fire safety with demonstrations.

It looks like a good harvest this year!

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There’s no comparison of the color of brilliant cranberries surrounded by a boom, to the color swatches claiming to be “cranberry.”  We are so fortunate to have this amazing sight every autumn.  It takes your breath away!

Susan Basile took these harvesting photos of the bog  out in back of her home on Thompson Street, Halifax.  At the left, berries that have been agitated from their vines float to the top of the flooded bogs, where they are rounded up with floating booms, bringing the berries to the vacuum where they are sucked up to be deposited onto the back of a waiting trailer truck.

Library hosts “History of Folk Music” program

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Text and Story by
Austin Schofield

On the evening of Thursday, Sept. 19, Kevin MacIsaac visited the Plympton Public Library to share his knowledge and love for folk music with a group of interested spectators.

Since a young boy, Kevin wanted to be a musician, drawing inspiration from Peter, Paul and Mary, and other like artists. Later in life, after working as an English teacher for some time, Kevin got a chance to pursue music more often, doing gigs in coffee houses, and smaller venues. Eventually, he came up with the idea for a program that could combine performance with history, and thus he created “The Evolution of Folk”, a program he has brought to many libraries and galleries.

At the library, Kevin began with a brief introduction to folk, describing it as composed of three important components. Of the genre, he said, “it’s old, anonymous, and its passed down through the oral tradition.” He explained to the crowd that, conventionally, it wasn’t written down, but rather it was passed down from generation to generation through the act of actually singing it. He went on to speak about the different kinds, including ballads, sea shanties, and more. Following this introduction and throughout his performance of the program, Kevin played quite a few songs, ranging from classic folk to work by more modern artists. Supplementing his performance, he provided more and more information as he progressed through the night.

Kevin started the show off with some traditional songs & ballads, and eventually moved on to modern songs, one of which was the notable song, Peter, Paul and Mary’s “Puff The Magic Dragon,” that brought audience members to sing along.

He also played another classic example of modern folk by Pete Seeger, “This Land Is Your Land,” and of his work, Kevin mentioned, “[he] wrote his own songs in response to the times he was in.

Traditionalists around him frowned upon the writing of new songs, but he didn’t care.” In parallel to the songs by prominent artists that he performed, he also played his own original that he titled, “If I Could Sing.”

Following this, Kevin mentioned that he has a CD project in the works, and also used the opportunity to drive home the point that, even as an older genre, folk music is still evolving today.

Kevin will be performing his program once again in Little Compton, RI on the afternoon of Saturday, November 9th, 2019.

Shanks Restaurant ablaze

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Shanks Restaurant at the Halifax Country Club lit up the sky Sunday night as flames demolished the popular dining spot at 100 Country Club Drive in Halifax.

According to HFD Captain Jeffrey Cuozzo, an alarm was activated at 10:39 p.m.  Halifax Fire Department responded and while en route were informed of fire coming from the building.  When HFD arrived, heavy fire was showing from the rear of the restaurant and through the roof, according to Cuozzo’s report.

Tower 1 truck got a workout as crews attacked the blaze aggressively to bring the fire under control.  A working fire protocol was initiated at the rear of the building and the call went to a third alarm through county control.

Responding towns included Kingston, Hanson, East Bridgewater, Bridgewater, Pembroke, and Onset.

The fire department also connected to the existing sprinkler system to help aid in extinguishing the fire.  Multiple handlines, ventilation, and search crews were utilized to bring the incident to a close.

HFD succeeded in containing the blaze to the restaurant section of the building, saving the remainder of the structure.

The State Rehab vehicle assisted, and the State Fire Marshall was also contacted.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Dennett playground plans hit snag

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The Plympton School Committee met Monday Sept. 23 for the first time since the school year began.

Vice Chair Jason Fraser gave an update on the new playground, explaining that plans with the original vendor lined up to complete the project have fallen through.

The committee took a vote to allow Dennett Elementary School Principal Peter Veneto and Fraser to allocate some funds, not to exceed $10,000, to hire a consultant only after exhausting the option to cold call some of the vendors on the state bid list.

“We’re very grateful to have the opportunity and we realize that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the school and we want to be sure we are using the funds in a prudent manner,” Fraser said.

Committee Chair Jon Wilhelmsen gave an update on the water testing saying the most recent round of testing showed no problems with lead, manganese, or any other concerning substances. Wilhelmsen reiterated that from the best they can tell, the unfavorable results that had previously been found were a result of the sample being pulled concurrently with the backwashing cycle that occurs once every seven days. The plan moving forward is to avoid testing on a backwash day.

Wilhelmsen said that he attended a preliminary screening committee meeting that met to review candidates for Superintendent. Current Superintendent Joy Blackwood will be retiring later this year and the hope is to have some overlap between Blackwood and the incoming Superintendent.

The goal of the preliminary screening committee is to review and screen candidates for the broader committee to look at during the first week of October. Wilhelmsen said, “The process is moving along and is on schedule.” A meeting will be held on October 10 at 6 p.m. at Silver Lake Regional High School’s library to announce the semi-finalists. All four school committees in the district have been invited to attend the meeting.

Veneto gave an update on upcoming dates of importance at Dennett. Fall pictures are scheduled for September 30. There will be no school on October 14, Columbus Day. October 24 will be an early release day with a 12:45 dismissal for parent-teacher conferences.

The following day, October 25, will be the Grade 6 field trip to 5 Wits and that night will be the CASA sponsored Halloween dance from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Fraser said to Veneto, “This is the first time we’ve been with you since the beginning of school and I would just like to ask you to thank your staff for all the time that they put in over the summer going to PD, setting up their classrooms, and making this school a welcoming environment for the students on day one. I know a lot of work goes into it behind the scenes so thank you very much and please pass that to your entire staff.”

State House budget will impact district’s local schools

Fraser shared with the committee that the State House failed to arrive at a budget by June 30. Fraser said that the conference committee has released their agreement on Chapter 70 funding and that it has not been voted on yet as it is currently up for discussion and going back to both the House and the Senate.

According to Fraser, rural schools appear to be getting some attention with funding from the state. Fraser said, “It seems like education may have earned a win here in the last innings of 2019 but it is still too early to give any news about exactly how it may impact us so stay tuned to the State House.”

The committee voted to allow Fraser to represent the Dennett School and the Plympton School Committee at the MASC’s (Massachusetts Association of School Committees) November Delegate Assembly where resolutions will be voted.

Polystyrene ban considered by 2022-2023 school year

Resolution one calls for banning polystyrene foam from schools by the 2022-2023 school year, something Fraser said is thanks in part to the efforts of the Plympton School Committee.

“It really stems from some of the conversations we’ve had as a school committee over the last five years and trying to move away from using polystyrene foam here at the Dennett and moving to compostable trays,” Fraser said. Additionally, there are attempts being made at the State House to ban Styrofoam from the state in totality due to the negative environmental impact.   

Title I and II funding decreased by state

Assistant Superintendent Jill Proulx said that cuts were made to Title I and Title II funding. Title I decreased by over $100,000 and Title II funding decreased by over $16,000 since last year. Title II funding is a primary source of professional development funds. Professional development ensures that the practices employed by the district are the most up-to-date and research based. Fraser pointed out how these cuts demonstrate the ways in which what happens in Washington D.C. affects our local schools. Regarding the cuts to Title I funding Blackwood said, “It will definitely impact our ability for summer school next year. That is our main concern at this point is what we’ll be able to do and offer.”

District-wide elementary students sing a capella

Blackwood shared a touching anecdote from Opening Day. The Elementary school students from both Halifax and Kingston were scheduled to sing together despite not having much, if any, practice as a combined group.

They were to perform first and when the music started, the timing was off and Blackwood likened it to Alvin and the Chipmunks. After much struggling on the part of the music teachers, Blackwood suggested that the students sing a cappella. The young students did just that in front of the hundreds of faculty members, etc. present. “They were flawless,” Blackwood said.

“I can’t tell you how well they modeled being resilient and having a growth mindset.” Blackwood also praised the students from the middle school who performed scenes from The Wizard of Oz.

Monday was Dennett Elementary School secretary Gail Thibeault’s last meeting. Thibeault spent eight years at Dennett and twelve at Halifax. Blackwood said, “Gail has always been incredibly dependable and will roll up her sleeves and do anything at all that she’s asked. I know that at a personal level, I will truly miss her.”  Blackwood continued, “Thank you Gail for all that you’ve done, you’ve been a joy to work with.”