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Winnetuxet Bridge closed for repairs

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The Winnetuxet River Bridge is closed for repairs on Winnetuxet Road in Plympton for the next couple of weeks while the substructure posts are wrapped to give them strength.

Highway Superintendent Scott Ripley told The Express that this project was begun by now retired Highway Superintendent Jim Mulcahy and is now being completed.

The bridge is subject to annual inspection by the State and it has been known that the substructure is in need of repair.  An operator in an excavator was working on Tuesday to remove the large rocks under the bridge so workers can access the pilings to wrap them with sleeves to make them stronger, avoiding replacement for the time being.

They expect this part of the project to take a couple of weeks, after which the bridge will re-open to traffic as they plan the final phase of replacing the guard rails. Then they will once again close the bridge to traffic while they work on it.

“The guard rails won’t look much different from what we have now,” Ripley said.  “They’ll still be wooden.”  The planking on the bridge will not be replaced.

Ripley said he expects entire project will be completed by the first of November.

New Halifax police motorcycle on the road

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Tuesday afternoon Halifax Police Chief Jao Chaves smiled as he accepted a check from Walmart manager Martin Disla to help fund a six-month trial for the Halifax motorcycle program.  Chaves, who has been chief in Halifax for the past year, came from New Bedford where his department used motorcycles.  Chaves has wanted to begin a motorcycle program in Halifax and got the go-ahead for a six-month trial from selectmen at an August meeting.   Officer Michael W. Schleiff underwent 40 hours of intensive training, focusing on how to use the bike to help in various situations.  Disla said that Walmart has helped in other aspects of its community outreach project with radar and protective vests for Halifax officers.  With Walmart’s help, the motorcycle trial program  will cost Halifax taxpayers nothing.

Halifax, Plympton remember 9/11

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Both Plympton and Halifax first responders stood at attention while remembering those who were lost 18 years ago.

Plympton’s Fire Chief Stephen Silva led them out to the flag for a 10 a.m. service Wednesday morning.

Halifax Fire Chief Jason Viveiros led his department to the strains of bagpipes played by Nathan Campbell, the tolling of the bell by Firefighter Schindler, the reading of the 9/11 timeline detailing the flights of the three planes by Captain Cunngham, and the recitation of “The Firefighters’ Prayer” by Lieutenant Hogan.

Tolling the bell, Chief Viveiros explained, likely had its origins back in history when bells were  necessary to communicate over a distance.  Tolling four sets of five tones signals the death of a firefighter.

In Plympton, the bell ceremony was lead by Captain John Sjostedt.  Firefighters Steve Galambos and Shannon Worton lowered the flag.

Plympton photos by Stephanie Spyropoulos

Halifax photos by Deb Anderson 

COA director applicants narrowed down to three

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The search for the new Council on Aging director was discussed during Tuesday’s Halifax Board of Selectmen meeting. The search committee interviewed five candidates last week before narrowing the field to three. The next step for those candidates will be an interview with the Board of Selectmen in late September.  Town Administrator Charlie Seelig told the Board that the candidates had indicated that they would like to receive the top step of the salary range posted. At Seelig’s urging, the Board agreed that the candidates should be notified that the Wage and Personnel Board may not approve a salary on the higher end of the stated range.

The Board voted to approve a number of live entertainment permits including one to Bob Bergstrom for Mudfest on November 10. A representative from Nessralla Farm attended Tuesday’s meeting to provide the Board with an update on where they were with permits and licensing for their annual corn maze and festivities. Owners of the farm are still waiting for approval from the state to utilize a zipline as has been done in the past. The attraction is 440 ft. long with an 18 ft. drop.

White Dog Cranberry earth removal permit

Bill Madden of JF Engineering attended the meeting on behalf of John Makepeace and White Dog Cranberry to ask the Board for a renewal of an earth removal permit. The original permit was requested as a result of a small supplemental water supply reservoir that was designed for the local cranberry company in 2017. Surface wetting will be done as a means of dust mitigation and a 100 ft. buffer zone from wetlands will be retained during the removal of the remaining 39,000 yards of earth. The property, which is also home to Makepeace’s residence, was once a Cumberland Farms corn field.

Beach privileges for Hanson resident?

The Board had an appointment with Hanson resident Caroline Forth to discuss the possibility of her having privileges at the town beach despite being a nonresident. Forth’s property on Waltham St. in Hanson is partially located in Halifax meaning she pays a small amount of taxes to the town. Selectmen Tom Millias said that he believed the request had merit and while he didn’t have a problem with it there were no procedures setup to deal with such a situation. Chair Troy Garron said, “I don’t see a major issue with that… You are a taxpayer.” Garron’s only concern was that he didn’t want to open a Pandora’s Box of sorts. The Selectmen promised to take it under consideration.

Cook wants to buy 100 parcels of land

Seelig informed the Board that Brian Cook is interested in purchasing 100 parcels of land off of Crystal Lake. Seelig described the land, which is believed to be town-owned, as having “a long, convoluted ownership history” and said that his biggest concern was with what the development possibilities are including how many lots the land can be divided into. Millias said,

“Honestly, it’s an engineering nightmare” but did acknowledge that the land is developable. Millias also added, “Financially it doesn’t make sense unless you’re buying them all so that you have all of it to work with.”

Seelig and the Board agreed that the first step would be to find out more about the land rights such as whether or not the town owns the conjoined lots in common title.

The Finance Committee currently stands at four members, but one member will need to step down shortly due to job commitments. Resident Cheryll Zarrella Burke expressed interest in joining both the Finance Committee and the Council on Aging. Seelig recommended that Burke’s placement on the committee (pending approval) be expedited so as to ensure that there are at least four members on the committee at all times.

SL Budget for FY20

The Silver Lake budget for the upcoming year was discussed. Seelig said, “It’s only September but I think it’s advisable that the three towns start talking to Silver Lake Regional School District about budgets for fiscal year 2020/2021.” Seelig said that he would like to see various officials from the three towns, including members of the Finance Committees and Boards of Selectmen attend the Silver Lake meeting on October 24 prior to any decisions being made by the school regarding spending. The hope would be to make it onto the agenda for that night but if not possible, the officials could speak during the public participation portion. Seelig stated that his intention is to ensure that the school budget will fit the towns’ financial situations.

Want to bid on Plympton’s old jail cell?

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Several appointments were made during the Plympton Board of Selectmen meeting on Monday, Sept. 9. Justin Shepard, who was in attendance, was named to the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) through June 30, 2022. Shepard will fill a vacancy left after longtime CPC member Dave Chandler decided to step down.  Board of Selectmen Vice-Chair and Chair of the CPC Mark Russo described Chandler as a “wonderful member and wonderful contributor.” Russo said, “We are absolutely thrilled that Justin has come aboard.” Board of Selectmen Chair Christine Joy said of the CPC, “It’s an important committee that has a lot of impact in the town.” The deadline for CPC applications is October 15.

Other appointments included Harry Weikel to the Town Center Campus Committee indefinitely, Christine Kelly as Assistant Treasurer/Collector, Inez Murphy to the Council on Aging through June 30, 2020, and Dorothy Martel as the Old Colony Service Representative for Plympton, also through 2020. Marylouise Sayles and Richard Stover were both appointed to terms on the Historic District Commission ending June 30, 2022.

The Board also approved a motion for a memorandum of agreement with Terry Walker to provide grant writing services to the town of Plympton.  The inactivity of the Cultural Council due to its lack of members was also discussed. The Council, which normally has five members, is currently down to just one.

Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy shared that her application for a Green Communities grant was successful and that the town would be awarded the grant in the amount of $239,202. The goal of the grant is to aid municipalities in finding ways to reduce energy use and costs via clean energy improvements to municipal buildings and schools. The money awarded to Plympton will be used toward several projects at Dennett Elementary School as well as new thermostats at the Highway Department and energy efficient appliances at the fire station and town house.

The Board congratulated Dennehy on a job well done and Joy said, “We can do a lot of good with that kind of money.”

Russo gave an update on the two Brooks Preserve lots for sale on Prospect Road. The bid deadline of Tuesday September 3 came and went without any bids. Russo said that they were going to have to renew the one-year loan which will incur with it a $15,000 annual application fee that will be paid privately and cost the town nothing.

The Open Space Committee is hard at work devising a plan to put the lots out to bid again, most likely in the fall sometime. The price will likely be reduced and serious consideration is being given to offering to pay a buyer’s agent fee as the complicated bid process can be intimidating without an agent’s help and is likely driving buyers away. Joy confirmed with Russo that the bid process is the only way to sell the lots. Russo emphasized that there was no need to panic saying, “These are good lots and sooner or later they are absolutely going to sell.” Regarding the lots, which abut 150 acres of conservation land, Russo continued, “It’s a little bit of a niche property and with niche properties it just takes the right person to come along and we have very little doubt that the right person is going to come along.”

Selectman John Traynor discussed with the rest of the Board a request by a resident to use the old town house to host a family party. While organizations and groups are eligible to use the old town house for meetings and gatherings, the issue of having private residents use it has never been explored previously.

Traynor said, “We have this beautiful building and somehow we have to figure out how to make use of it because it’s gorgeous and the residents paid for it.” Russo, who had mixed feelings on the topic, said, “If we were going to think about going ahead, we would really have to have a lot of policy and procedures setup first.” The general consensus among the Board was that while they would like to investigate private use of the old town house further, a lot of work would have to be done prior to it being a possibility and therefore the answer to any inquires of private use in the near future would have to be a no.

Despite private use of the old town house being off the table for the time being, the Board did approve of the Plympton Girl Scouts using the building on November 30 for an event pending approval from other town officials. The Board also voted to approve a one-day liquor license for the fall antique fair to be held by the Plympton Historical Society on October 5 and October 6 from 12-4.

A resident in attendance at the meeting asked the Board and Dennehy if there were any developments in the plan to possibly regionalize the Council on Aging (COA). Dennehy said that she met with Halifax town administrator Charlie Seelig and Carver town manager Michael Milanoski to devise a plan for testing the prospect of regionalization. Both Plympton and Carver currently employ part-time directors for the Council on Aging and Halifax is currently in the process of hiring a full-time director. Once the Halifax director has been hired, the towns would like the three directors to come together to tour one another’s facilities and begin work on a joint calendar. The plan would be to combine the calendar for the three towns thereby making it easier for residents to pick and choose which events they would like to attend regardless of location. The calendar would include exact locations of the facilities, instructions on where to park, and information on transportation if available. This approach would help the towns gauge the level of interest amongst residents by seeing how many seniors attend events outside of their towns.  Dennehy said that the towns agreed that taking small steps toward regionalization without making any drastic or permanent changes would be best until further research could be gathered. Russo said to Dennehy, “I salute you guys for coming up with a really nice, easy, non-threatening way to get started and see what happens.”

Old Jail cell

The discussion as to what to do with the jail cell from the former police station was continued from a previous meeting where a resident had expressed interest in taking the cell in the name of posterity. The cell is no longer viewed as historical as it appears to date back only to the early 1990’s. The police chief expressed interest in making an in-kind trade of the cell in exchange for new signage. Dennehy suggested to the Board that it would be cleaner to officially declare the jail cell as surplus town property. The Board voted to do so on Dennehy’s suggestion. The plan would be to advertise the cell and require a minimum bid equal to the cost of the signage with the stipulation that any takers would have to pick it up. Dennehy said that she would verify all necessary steps to make sure things were done properly.   

Mosquito spraying continues

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BOSTON -The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) are urging residents throughout the Commonwealth to continue to take personal precautions to prevent mosquito bites as they announced additional aerial spraying for mosquitoes in areas of the state at critical and high risk for the Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) virus.

MDAR is scheduled to begin aerial spraying this evening and continue into next week in parts of Middlesex, Worcester, and Norfolk counties. While aerial spraying is weather and equipment dependent, above-average evening temperatures this week are likely to permit the application.

Communities that are scheduled to be partially or fully sprayed over the next week include:

Norfolk County: Bellingham, Franklin, Medway, Millis, Norfolk, Medfield, Walpole, Wrentham, Foxborough, Sharon, Norwood, Westwood, Dover, Needham, Wellesley

Middlesex County: Ashland, Hopkinton, Holliston, Sherborn, Framingham, Natick, Wayland, Sudbury, Maynard, Stow, Hudson, Marlborough, Weston

Worcester County: Berlin, Boylston, Northborough, Westborough, Shrewsbury, Grafton, Upton, Milford, Hopedale, Mendon, Blackstone, Millville, Uxbridge, Douglas, Northbridge, Sutton, Millbury, Auburn, Oxford, Webster, Southborough, Bolton, Clinton, West Boylston, Worcester, Charlton, Dudley, Leicester, Harvard

As weather, temperature, and equipment conditions permit, plans for subsequent rounds of spraying will include critical and high-risk communities in the counties of Bristol, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire and Plymouth. Residents are encouraged to visit the DPH website at https://www.mass.gov/eee for the latest updates on spraying in their communities.

So far this season, Massachusetts has had seven human cases of EEE. One person has died. There have also been nine confirmed cases of EEE this year in animals, including eight horses and a goat.

There are 36 communities now at critical risk, 42 at high risk, and 115 at moderate risk for the EEE virus in Massachusetts. A map of the state’s current EEE risk levels can be found here.

“Even as temperatures cool, it’s vitally important for us to remember that mosquito season is not over and that we all need to continue to take steps to prevent mosquito bites,” said Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel, MD, MPH. “Use bug spray, wear long sleeves and pants to reduce exposed skin, and stay indoors from dusk to dawn when mosquitoes are most active.”

“We continue to urge the public to protect themselves from this disease by using mosquito repellent and taking other precautions, and for those in high and critical risk areas, by rescheduling outdoor activities during evening hours,” said MDAR Commissioner John Lebeaux. “In addition to these precautions, we will be conducting additional aerial spraying and supporting the use of truck-based ground spraying to reduce the numbers of infected adult mosquitoes left flying at this point in the season.”

Additionally, MDAR reminds horse owners to promptly vaccinate their horses to ensure proper protection from EEE. If your horse was already vaccinated this year, MDAR advises checking with your veterinarian about a booster. Previously vaccinated horses may quickly respond to a booster vaccine and readily develop protective antibody. Horses of unknown vaccination status should receive two vaccines the first year. Foals should be vaccinated as soon as they are old enough (3-4 months of age) and need a second booster vaccine for adequate protection.

Last month, MDAR conducted aerial mosquito spraying in parts of Bristol, Plymouth, Middlesex, and Worcester counties to help reduce the public health risk. Meanwhile local communities are continuing truck-mounted ground spraying for mosquitoes. Spraying for mosquitoes does not eliminate the risk of EEE transmission and the public is asked to continue to follow personal protection practices.

Residents can learn more about EEE and ways to protect themselves on DPH’s website here.

EEE is a rare but serious and potentially fatal disease that can affect people of all ages. EEE occurs sporadically in Massachusetts with the most recent outbreak years occurring from 2004-2006 and 2010-2012. There were 22 human cases of EEE infection during those two outbreak periods with 14 cases occurring among residents of Bristol and Plymouth counties.

EEE virus has been found in 400 mosquito samples this year, many of them from species of mosquitoes capable of spreading the virus to people.

People have an important role to play in protecting themselves and their loved ones from illnesses caused by mosquitoes:

Avoid Mosquito Bites

Apply Insect Repellent when Outdoors. Use a repellent with an EPA-registered ingredient (DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide), permethrin, picaridin (KBR 3023), oil of lemon eucalyptus [p-methane 3, 8-diol (PMD)] or IR3535) according to the instructions on the product label. DEET products should not be used on infants under two months of age and should be used in concentrations of 30% or less on older children. Oil of lemon eucalyptus should not be used on children under three years of age.

Be Aware of Peak Mosquito Hours

The hours from dusk to dawn are peak biting times for many mosquitoes. Consider rescheduling outdoor activities that occur during evening or early morning in areas of high risk.

Clothing Can Help Reduce Mosquito Bites

Wearing long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors will help keep mosquitoes away from your skin.

Mosquito-Proof Your Home

Drain Standing Water. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. Limit the number of places around your home for mosquitoes to breed by draining or discarding items that hold water. Check rain gutters and drains. Empty unused flowerpots and wading pools and change the water in birdbaths frequently.

Install or Repair Screens. Keep mosquitoes outside by having tightly-fitting screens on all of your windows and doors.

Protect Your Animals

Animal owners should reduce potential mosquito breeding sites on their property by eliminating standing water from containers such as buckets, tires, and wading pools – especially after heavy rains. Water troughs should be flushed out at least once a week during the summer months to reduce mosquitoes near paddock areas. Horse owners should keep horses in indoor stalls at night to reduce their risk of exposure to mosquitoes. Owners should also speak with their veterinarian about mosquito repellents approved for use in animals and vaccinations to prevent WNV and EEE. If an animal is suspected of having WNV or EEE, owners are required to report to DAR, Division of Animal Health by calling 617-626-1795 and to the Department of Public Health (DPH) by calling 617-983-6800.

For the most up-to-date information, Q&As, and downloadable fact sheets about EEE in multiple languages visit the DPH webpage https://www.mass.gov/eee.

For questions about aerial spraying, contact the MDAR Crop and Pest Services at (617) 626-1700.

Plympton CPC accepting applications for FY20

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PLYMPTON – The Plympton Community Preservation Committee (CPC) is currently accepting applications for FY2020 funding. The deadline for completed applications is October 15.

Projects funded in prior years include a safe in the Town Clerk’s office to archive important historical records; installation of a chairlift and new insulation for the “Old Town House” building at 189 Main St.; a comprehensive drainage system to solve a chronic wet basement in the Plympton Library; funds to acquire and improve the 11 acre parcel on Main Street now known as Churchill Park which offers access to the abutting 87 acre parcel known as Cato’s Ridge thereby forming a large natural preserve with walking trails;  improvements at Harry Jason Park to make it more accessible for family and recreational use; the installation of a chairlift in the Plympton Historical Society Building; renovation of the old Winnetuxet swimming hole into a recreational area; and facilitating the donation of O’Neil Marsh on Ring Road which offers additional access to Cato’s Ridge.

More recent projects include clapboard painting and window restoration and replacement at the “Old Town House”; repair and restoration of Town Green gazebo; creation of the 150 acre “Two Brooks Preserve” off Prospect Road; and funding for improvements to the playground at the Dennett Elementary School.

The CPC takes very seriously its responsibility to administer Community Preservation Act funds and is thrilled to have the opportunity to serve and improve the town through acquisition and protection of open space, historical preservation, community housing and increased recreational opportunities. New projects selected by the CPC for further consideration will voted on for approval at the 2019 Annual Town Meeting.

Project guidelines and applications can be found on the Plympton town website at http://www.town.plympton.ma.us/community-preservation-committee. Click on “Documents” at the left hand side of the web page to bring up the Plympton Community Preservation Plan which includes the application and criteria. The CPC Plan and application are also available at the Town House and at the Plympton Public Library. Questions can be addressed by contacting CPC Chair Mark Russo at [email protected].

EEE Mosquito Threat Continues

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As September gets underway, Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEEv) and West Nile virus (WNv) still pose a threat to many local communities in Massachusetts. EEEv levels as categorized by The Mass Department of Public Health include remote, low, moderate, high, and critical designations.  Plympton and Halifax are both considered high while neighboring Carver and Middleborough are both in the critical category. At the time of writing, 379 mosquito populations have tested positive for EEEv and nine animals and four humans have been infected. A 59 year-old Bristol County woman has died from the virus while a man over 60 fell into a coma. Barnstable, Bristol, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth and Worcester counties all have mosquito populations that have tested positive.

The threat of WNV is less with 61 mosquito populations testing positive and no animal or human cases to date. Risk categories for WNV are low, moderate, high, and critical. Halifax and Plympton are among the only towns in MA that are considered to have a moderate risk, most towns fall into the low category.

Aerial spraying to reduce mosquito populations was conducted in parts of Bristol and Plymouth Counties on August 8-12 and August 22-25. The pesticide used is Anvil 10+10 which contains two ingredients: Sumithrin and Piperonyl butoxide. As stated on Mass.gov, “It should be noted that although the aerial spraying is considered necessary to reduce human risk, it will not eliminate risk.”

Preventative measures for those communities at critical risk include the recommendation that recreational outdoor activities held between dusk and dawn be canceled. The Plympton Board of Health has implemented a ban on outdoor recreational activities on town owned properties between those times. For the week starting September 8, dawn is considered 5:45 a.m. and dusk is considered 7:15 p.m.

With no existing vaccines or specific antiviral treatments for either EEEV or WNV, the best preventative measures are those that decrease the likelihood of getting bit by mosquitos. Recommendations include wearing long pants and shirts, eliminating any standing water on your property, and wearing an EPA registered repellant with at least one of the following ingredients: DEET, Picaridin, IR3535, Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), Para-menthane-diol (PMD), and 2-undecanone. Repellants are not recommended for infants under two months of age.

While rare, Massachusetts was second only to Florida in the number of EEEV cases between 2009 and 2018. The incubation period for the disease is 4-10 days with some of those infected remaining asymptomatic. The systemic infection has an abrupt onset with some of the signs and symptoms including chills, fever, malaise, arthralgia, and myalgia.  In infants, onset of encephalitis is abrupt while in older children and adults, encephalitis starts within a few days of systemic illness. Signs and symptoms of encephalitis include fever, headache, irritability, restlessness, drowsiness, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, cyanosis, convulsions, and coma. A third of those with EEEV will die while many that survive are left with secondary mental and physical impairments that are often disabling and progressive.

Residents with questions or concerns can contact their local Boards of Health, for Halifax 781-293-6768 and for Plympton 781-585-7000.  You can also read this week’s column by Halifax Health Agent Cathleen Drinan on page 10.

Map courtesy of Mass Dept. of Public Health.

Finance Committee members wanted in Halifax

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The Halifax Board of Selectmen seeks Halifax residents interested in serving on the Halifax Finance Committee.

The Committee’s primary role is to recommend an annual Town budget covering all town and school departments to be presented at the annual town meeting in May. This recommended budget is based on the revenues available to the Town along with the needs of residents and businesses for Town services.

In addition, the Finance Committee makes recommendations on all other matters to be voted on at town meetings including the capital budget and proposed by-laws. The Finance Committee generally meets twice a month from June to December on Monday nights except for August (usually no meetings) and then every Monday (except for holidays) from January to May.

Residents interested in serving on the Finance Committee should complete a Talent Bank form available at http://www.halifax-ma.org/town-clerk/files/board-committee-volunteer-form and send it to the Halifax Board of Selectmen, 499 Plymouth Street, Halifax, MA 02338 or call the Selectmen’s Office at 781-294-1316 for a copy of the form.

Currently, there are three vacancies on the seven-person Committee and members are needed to review budgets and to
ensure that there are a sufficient number of members attending each meeting in order to have a quorum.

More information is available through the Selectmen›s Office.

70th Annual East Middleboro 4-H Fair is a Labor Day weekend tradition

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The 70th annual East Middleboro 4-H fair was held on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, at the 4-H Fairgrounds on Thompson St. It has been a great family friendly event that kids and parents enjoy!

This true, old-fashioned fair has plenty to do for everyone. On Saturday afternoon there was an old tyme country auction, followed by the animal costume parade and then the tractor parade.

The East Middleboro Fair is sponsored and presented solely by volunteers. Most of our volunteers are members of the East Middleboro Community Committee or 4-H members and their families.