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Town elections see only one contest

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With Election Day Saturday, May 18, the only contest on the ballot in either Plympton or Halifax is that for Halifax selectman, the seat left vacant by Kim Roy, who is moving to Hull.  The two candidates have much in common, and hold definite views on town government and finance.

Melinda Tarsi, 35, is originally from Danbury, CT. She graduated from Western Connecticut State University in 2006 with a double major in political science and law and justice administration. She studied at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and graduated from their doctoral program in political science in 2014.

Tarsi chose to settle in Halifax in November 2015. “Although I’m not originally from Halifax, my background in politics gives me a broad view,” she said. “I knew I wanted a close-knit community where I could put down roots.”

Tarsi has worked as an assistant professor at Bridgewater State University since 2014, where she teaches American politics, state and local government to undergraduates and also teaches in the Masters of Public Administration program at the university. She expects to be a tenured professor next year.

Several years ago, she filled out a talent bank form for the town.   “I wanted to get involved,” she said.

Tarsi began her service to the town with the Finance Committee, which she said was “a big learning curve, but I [am] so glad I did it.”

This is her second year and third budget cycle on the committee of which she became chair this past summer.

“I approach a lot of issues with an eye towards research. I go in without a predetermined mindset,” she added.

“Something that’s come through loud and clear,” she said of the challenges facing Halifax, “are property taxes and property tax rates and keeping them low.”

She also pointed out that citizen involvement in town is low, and that she’d like to see more people at Town Meeting and “more people’s voices involved in the process.”

As a researcher, Tarsi said she values gathering evidence before making decisions.

One idea she’d like to see if elected Selectman is a citizen task force to address quality of life issues. She’d also like to see more online communication from town government, if there is evidence that that would increase participation.

She said she’d like to encourage people to come out to vote on election day.

“I consider Gordon a friend,” she said of her competitor in the race, Andrews. “I joke we even picked similar colors for our yard signs.”

Tarsi has been endorsed by retiring Selectman Chairman Kim Roy.

Gordon Andrews, 39, grew up in Halifax. He’s a 1998 Silver Lake Regional High School graduate and received a BCOT (Bachelor’s degree) at Wentworth in Computer Engineering.

Andrews was asked what keeps him in Halifax. “The people,” he said. “Being close to family and friends is important to me,” he added.

He has served on the Finance Committee, including as chairman, and currently sits on the Silver School Regional School Committee and Halifax Elementary School committees.

He has a daughter at the elementary school.

He’d like to address issues with the services the town provides and the affordability of them.

“I think the cost of where we live compared to the commercial base affects the residents in a negative way,” he said.

Andrews says he’d like to attract businesses and have more of an outreach to current businesses.

He’d also like to see the town work more regionally. He even suggested a regional Council on Aging with Plympton and Kingston.

“I don’t think the town has the financial ability to fund a new building and then staff it,” he said.

He added, in terms of regionalization, “Fire should be looked at again. At least ambulance service. I don’t think that long term all the towns around us are going to be able to afford it like we did at the school.”

He said he’d reach out to more school-aged parents to serve on committees and boards.

“There are not enough volunteers. I’d like to see more of an outreach to ask people to get involved … I’d invite them to come to a meeting,” he added.

He’d also like to see more people at Town Meeting and might even support changing the date and time to accommodate more people.

“I think people need to understand the power they have at Town Meeting … I think the power of Town Meeting is not understood.”

“I’ll bring a different view point to the … board,” he said, when asked what makes him different than his opponent. “I have a lot of respect for Melinda. If I wasn’t running against her, I’d be voting for her.”

Andrews has been endorsed by the Plymouth County Sherriff Joseph McDonald, Jr, and Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz.

Halifax Town Election is Saturday, May 18, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Halifax Elementary School, Plymouth St., Rte. 106, Halifax.

Plympton Town Election is Saturday, May 18, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Plympton Town House, 5 Palmer Rd., Rte. 58, Plympton.

Halifax TM says ‘YAY’ to Bag Ban

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HALIFAX — The people of Halifax held a two-night, 63-article Annual Town Meeting and 12-article Special Town Meeting Monday and Tuesday, May 13 and May 14. Most articles passed without much discussion, including a $24 million operating budget, but a “ban” on single-use plastic bags led to a standing vote because of a vocal minority of 18 who yelled their “no” votes.

Several hawk-eyed voters frequently came to the microphone to question increases in budget line items, or expenditures in articles they said were unusual or unnecessary, even veterans’ benefits.

Retiring Selectman Kim Roy received a lengthy standing ovation at the beginning of the meeting the first night, after she gave an emotional speech thanking the town for allowing her to serve. She was in tears.

The meeting was lengthy, but efficient. The moderator, Dennis Carman, was new to the job, as it was his first Annual Town Meeting and second Special Town Meeting.

A single-use plastic bag “ban” was adopted by the body, 84-18. Candy Kniffen, of the Beautification Committee and the former first female selectman in town, presented the article to Town Meeting.

She cited many governments at the local and state level, even entire countries that have enacted such laws. While the majority of Town Meeting supported the ban, the moderator required a standing vote to determine which side had won because the 18 voters opposed to the law yelled “no” so loudly he called for a standing vote to be certain.

Resident Jeffrey Bulger, of Brandeis Circle, spoke frequently against town expenditures of all sorts. At one point, he called the Veterans’ Benefits line item, 123, which had increased by $5,500 from last year a fund for town officials to play with. Kimberly King, a voter loudly opposed to Bulger’s position, moved the vote after a short clarification of how exactly that money is spent – it goes to veterans’ and their families – and the line item passed. Bulger was also one of the 18 voters most vocal in opposing the “bag ban,” and brought a lengthy handout for voters to read explaining his opposition to “bag bans.”

The Highway Surveyor, Steve Hayward, whose late father Ralph held the same position, was wearing his father’s suspenders as he asked the town for several pieces of equipment, including a truck he said he needs for himself for $30,000 and a Kubota-brand tractor or equivalent for $45,000, which was less than the amount asked for in the article.

He did not receive a $168,129 street sweeper that he requested, although he seemed in good spirits after the meeting. He said that he was pleased with how things went and thought he might get a street sweeper next year as the Finance Committee indicated in they may be more receptive in the future.

The Elementary School line item, 71, was amended up by $30,700 to $6,659,147 by Summer Schmaling, of the Halifax Elementary School Committee, because the school committee wanted a new bus. King spoke in support of the article, although the Finance Committee was not unanimous in its recommendation of the amendment. The article passed.

The future of the recycling center was discussed, with the costs of recycling soaring because China no longer buys our waste and state laws mandating recycling mean it costs more money each year to recycle. Some asked whether the Recycling Center should continue to be repaired at all and possibly eliminated. All items for the recycling center, including a new rug and cement slabs for roll-off containers at the center passed, though, as the items were necessary now, according to Hayward. As he put it simply, “If people want to keep walking around in mud, don’t vote for the article.”

The town’s soaring legal bills prompted Special Town Meeting Article 2, which proposed moving $20,000 from last year’s snow and ice budget into the Law Account. The number of lawsuits the town is defending itself against has ballooned and were listed for the voters on a handout.

At about $30,000,  Andrews v. Town of Halifax, a zoning dispute between Selectman-candidate Gordon Andrews regarding a development known as Amanda Estates abuting him on Elm Street, tops the list of the town’s legal expenses.

Andrews said on Town Meeting floor that the town does not need to be defending his suit and that the developer of the property in dispute should be defending it.

Town Administrator Charlie Seelig said that the town will have to find money to pay legal bills elsewhere, from line item transfers or the relatively depleted reserve fund as a last resort because the article failed.

Seelig’s contract was set for the next three years, raising it and bringing it more into line, but still significantly under, the salaries of Town Administrators with his skills, experience and qualifications nearby, according to Roy at the meeting.

A contract with the firefighter’s union with a $68,340 increase was passed, without discussion, representing a significant change in paramedic stipends and an overall 2% raise for the union personnel. Roy said this was an attempt to fight the 80% turnover at the department and retain and attract seasoned firefighters to Halifax.

A similar contract with the police officer’s union passed as well.

A number of upgrades to the town’s servers, backup batteries, telephones and other IT infrastructure also passed.

All zoning articles in the warrant were not addressed because the planning board didn’t hold a legally required hearing for the articles, Friday, and Monday shortly before Town Meeting. The board failed to get a quorum both times. Therefore, several articles were not considered by Town Meeting. They were not passed over; they were simply not addressed at all. They included such possibly controversial articles as those addressing multifamily dwellings and several marijuana articles, including a citizens’ petition on the location of marijuana establishments.

Roofer arrested after multi-town chase

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Matthew Will is treated by paramedics after being arrested on warrants related to over 50 alleged larceny- and fraud-related crimes across Plymouth county and beyond. (Photo by Abram Neal)

PEMBROKE — Matthew Will, 38, owner of 5-Star Discount Roofing in Halifax, was arrested at his rental home on Furnace Colony Drive, Pembroke, at about 5:30 p.m., Thursday, May 9 after a dramatic chase and a tense standoff with police.

Will allegedly fled after he missed a Falmouth District Court arraignment, then was arrested May 4 in Rockland — after escaping from police and leading them on a multi-town high-speed chase from Worcester County into Rhode Island the night before.

He was then released by a Hingham District Court judge, John Stapleton, who had not been made aware of the chase by court personnel, according to audio of the hearing, fled again and was finally re-arrested Thursday, May 9, after a tense standoff with police in Pembroke.

Will was expected to appear Monday, May 13, at 9 a.m. in Wareham District Court, with transportation provided by the Plymouth County Sheriff’s department, who have also provided his lodging since his Thursday arrest.

But he was not transported Monday to Wareham District Court by the department as ordered by a Plymouth judge Friday, and a Wareham court officer who said he had knowledge of the situation indicated Will had refused to come out of his cell at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility, had sustained an injury there and was being treated at a Boston hospital.

A Plymouth County Sheriff’s department spokesperson, Karen Barry, said that Will had not sustained any injury at the jail, but said he was in their custody. She would not confirm if he was being treated for an injury sustained outside of the jail and would not confirm his next court appearance, citing CORI protections for prisoners.

Matthew Will and Tina Bowles’ rental home on Furnace Colony Drive in Pembroke was searched by authorities Thursday, May 9. (Photo by Abram Neal)

Neighbors watched Thursday afternoon in the quiet neighborhood overlooking Furnace Pond as Hanson, Pembroke, and Middleboro police, as well as Plymouth County Sherriff’s Department and police canines executed an arrest and search warrant on Will and his house. When police searched the house for Will, he attempted to avoid arrest by hiding in his attic, according to police at the scene.

Will’s girlfriend, Tina Bowles, and several of their young children, identified by neighbors, could be seen standing in their side yard during the more than two-hourlong standoff. Police said they did not believe that Will was dangerous, although many law enforcement personnel were seen in bullet-proof vests waiting outside the home for Will to respond.

The father of five could be heard screaming obscenities at law enforcement officers as police dogs with cameras on their backs were sent into the attic to capture him. A police officer described a chaotic scene inside the house just after Will’s arrest and said that Will was bitten by the dogs and had fallen through his attic ceiling into his living room.

He was led in handcuffs from his home into a waiting Pembroke Fire Department ambulance and taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth, where he was treated overnight for his dog bite-related injuries. He was discharged the next morning, into the custody of the sheriff’s department.

John Canavan, a Plymouth District Court judge, Friday, May 10, ordered Will held at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility over the weekend and that he be transported to Wareham District Court to address his warrants in that court. The department did not transport him for reasons the Expresscannot confirm.

The roofer was wanted on warrants in connection with a series of alleged larceny- and fraud-related crimes across Plymouth county and beyond, with at least 50 households allegedly victimized in Duxbury, East Bridgewater, Falmouth, Hanson, Kingston, Middleboro, North Easton, Pembroke, Plympton, Rockland and Wareham.

Funds allegedly collected for work not done total more than $200,000, say court records. The vast majority of the alleged victims are elderly and live in Middleboro, concentrated at Oak Point, a 55-plus community Will allegedly targeted.

The investigation began with Middleboro Detective Simone Ryder and multiple agencies are now investigating Will, including Hanson police.

Will skipped a Falmouth District Court arraignment April 10, on charges that he allegedly took more than $55,000 from the owner of a Falmouth apartment complex, according to the reported victim, Joel Mazmanian, who resides in California but manages property in Massachusetts. The court issued a bench warrant for Will’s arrest. He next did not appear for a hearing in Wareham District Court on ongoing cases, prompting that court to issue arrest warrants, as well.

Will fled the county, court documents say, and was next spotted by police May 3 in Hopkinton, in Middlesex County, where a Hopedale police report says he was stopped by police. He was ordered out of his vehicle, according to the report, but fled from the scene.

Police did not give chase because there were children in the vehicle, Hopkinton Deputy Police Chief Joseph Bennett said to the Express.

Later that day, in Hopedale, in Worcester County, Will failed to stop at a stop sign, twice. A Hopedale Police Department report describes a multi-agency car chase that ensued involving the Bellingham, Hopkinton, Hopedale, Mendon, Millville and Woonsocket, Rhode Island, police.

The report was written by Hopedale Police Sergeant Mark Rizoli.

After being followed by Rizoli for about a quarter of a mile, Will, driving his mother’s 2006 Buick Lucerne, stopped in the middle of the road. The officer said he observed what appeared to be a female passenger and two rear seat passengers.

Police later discovered Will had three of the five children Will shares with Tina Bowles with him. The sergeant on the scene said they began making “furtive movements,” which prompted Sgt. Rizoli to attempt to stop the car, he said.

Next, “ … he accelerated to a speed I estimated to be 70-80 mph. Due to the fact it was dark, wet, and that Blackstone Street is [a] narrow and curvy road I decided to maintain a speed of approximately 40-45 mph, as I felt it unsafe to travel at a higher speed. I subsequently lost sight of the vehicle … ”

Blackstone Police were able to locate Will, but he was able to escape them, as well, and his vehicle was observed fleeing into Rhode Island. Woonsocket, Rhode Island, police gave chase, but Bowles later told police Will ran up a long driveway on foot. Bowles was stopped by police driving Will’s mother’s car with their children in Bellingham later that night, police reports say.

Early the next morning, Saturday, May 4, Will was arrested at a residence in Rockland by the Rockland Police department. Will traveled from Rhode Island to Rockland via a ride sharing service, said a source close to the investigation and Bowles was present at the Rockland arrest, according to court documents.

He was held at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Plymouth over the weekend, and was transported to Hingham District Court Monday, May 6, by the sheriff’s department.

Although there were no open cases for Will in that court, as he was arrested on open warrants in Rockland, and Rockland is in Hingham District Court’s jurisdiction, Will was transported to that court, according to multiple law enforcement sources.

Will’s case was called at 10:34 a.m., in Courtroom 1, before Stapleton, according to audio of the hearing requested by the Express. Neither a police prosecutor for Rockland, nor any commonwealth attorney can be heard addressing the judge.

Only Will’s court-appointed attorney, whose name is indecipherable in the recording, speaks to the judge, and he does not address the high-speed chase with Stapleton, only the outstanding warrants in Wareham and Falmouth.

Stapleton freed Will after two minutes, only checking to make sure that he had a ride to Wareham to clear up his warrants in that court at 2 p.m. Bowles, who the defense attorney tells the judge is Will’s wife, says she has her keys and a license in the recording, which the judge asks a court officer to check.

Will left Hingham District Court free, did not attend his 2 p.m. hearing in Wareham District Court, and warrants for his arrest were reactivated. He spent the next three days a fugitive from justice until he was arrested in Pembroke.

Why Will is where and when he’ll be back to court has yet to be independently confirmed by the Express.

Contact Abram Neal at abe@whphexpress.com or follow him on twitter @nealabe

HES students work with Kenya

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Five members of the Design Squad Global Club at Halifax Elementary School, from left, Kiera Ethier, Reese Helisek, Will Hinkley, Kai Martin, and Kullen Martin gather to recap their unique experience. (Photo by Kristy Zamagni-Twomey)

Back in 2016, a project known as Design Squad Global was launched by WGBH and funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation. The project was based on the PBS Kids show Design Squad that aired originally from 2007 to 2011.

As described on pbskids.org, “Design Squad Global empowers middle school kids to solve real-world problems and understand the impact of engineering in a global context.” Anyone interested in starting their own club can sign up via the website (https://pbskids.org/designsquad/) and be matched with an international partner club. A full club curriculum guide for either 6 or 12 weeks is available on the website and includes multiple hands-on STEM related projects to be completed by both partner clubs with results being shared with one another via pictures and video chats.

Recently, students at Halifax Elementary School had the opportunity to participate in a Design Squad Global club at their school led by teachers Lisa Whitney and Jen Reidy. The Halifax students were partnered with a school in Kenya.

Nicki Sirianni, the Outreach and Marketing Manager for Design Squad Global, explained, “Our goal is to get into as many pockets of the world as possible.” Design Squad Global is well on its way to this goal with over 700 clubs from 40 different countries, including 46 states in the United States. “We don’t ever want to limit who is allowed to use our materials. We have clubs in libraries, museums, boys and girls clubs, the YMCA, and also a lot of institutions and schools,” Sirianni said.

According to the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, only 14% of engineers in the U.S. are women with about 18-20% of engineering students being women. Likewise, according to the NACME (National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering), in 2013 minorities accounted for only 12 percent of employed engineers, a number that paled in comparison to their representation in the overall population.

While these numbers are up from past decades, clubs like Design Squad Global hope to encourage further participation in STEM fields from people of all backgrounds. Speaking to this issue, Sirianni said, “We want to make engineering relevant in their everyday lives. There are a lot of stereotypes about who is allowed to work in engineering and we want to break down those stereotypes. The whole purpose is to get kids really excited about engineering.”

Fourth grader Kullen Martin, fifth grader Kiera Ethier, and sixth graders Kai Martin, Will Hinkley, and Reese Helisek spoke to the Express about their experience in the Design Squad Global club at Halifax Elementary.

One of the first projects tasked to the Design Squad Global club was the creation of shoes from a variety of found materials including tape, Styrofoam, bouncy balls, foam, felt, bubble wrap, cardboard, batting, cloth, and sponges. Helisek described the differences in the Halifax students’’ approach and the Kenyan students.

“We tried to design them to be more functional so that we could actually wear them where theirs seemed like they were more focused on how they looked; a lot of them had really cool designs and colors.” Kullen Martin added, “The Kenyan students’ were more sandals for their weather where ours were more like boots and sneakers.”

Kai Martin explained another project, “We had one where we built a light pipe where we had to illuminate the inside of a cardboard box.” Ethier again stressed the Kenyan focus on design saying, “They looked like little houses. Again, with like the designing, we tried to make it functional and they tried to make it look good.”

While the Kenyan club and Halifax club came up with significantly different solutions to the same problem for some of the projects, this was not always the case. Helisek explained, “We did one where we had to shoot airplanes down the line and learn about turbulence. I was a little shocked that ours were extremely similar designs, our group and their group.”

The exchange of cultural information between the clubs was a focal point of the experience with both the Kenyan and the American students learning a lot about the way the other lives.

“They asked what the weather was right then and it was pretty cold then and I was telling them how our seasons are much more drastic than theirs. They looked a little surprised when we said how cold it was,” Ethier said. Hinkley added, “I think the reason they were so surprised was because Kenya is split by the equator so it is very warm. They have two seasons – the dry and the rainy season.”

Other differences also stood out to the groups. The Kenyan students were surprised to see that the American students were not wearing uniforms. Helisek was surprised by the age ranges in the Kenyan club saying, “I think they had from kindergarten to eighth grade. I was surprised that they had the younger grades and the older grades together.” Kai Martin added, “They were talking about how we took the bus to school and they said that they either walked or did chores in the morning or rode their bikes. They were surprised that we either took cars or rode the bus to school.”

The differences in languages spoken by the clubs also came as a surprise to both groups. For his part, Kullen Martin was impressed with the Kenyan students’ grasp of the English language saying, “Since you don’t really get to hear from people from another country often, you don’t really think they speak English as well or as fluently as they do so that was kind of cool.” Hinkley explained, “In Kenya they speak Swahili which is their national language, they speak English, and then they speak whatever their tribal language is.” The students reminisced about the Kenyan students attempts to teach them some words in their language, including jambo for hello.

A fun moment for both clubs came when Hinkley, who traveled to Kenya a few years ago with family, showed off some souvenirs from his travels during one of the video chats between the clubs. “I brought in a shirt [Kenyan soccer shirt], some money, a soapstone rhinoceros, and a bunch of animals that my grandparents brought me back many years ago,” Hinkley said. “I think they might have been the most surprised when Will had the stuff too, like the soccer shirt and the animals,” Helisek said. Kullen Martin added, “Will showed them he had just a random lego brick. They were sort of surprised when he pulled that out just to sort of see what we had as toys.”

For all the differences they discovered, the students definitely discovered some similarities as well in the form of hobbies and supervillains. “I didn’t know they could draw so well. There was this one kid that wanted to know our talents but then he showed us a picture of a drawing that he did of the joker and it was really good,” Ethier said.

When asked what was the best part of Design Squad Global was for them, the students emphasized both the cultural exchange and engineering aspects of the experience. Kullen Martin, who hopes to one day become a zoologist, said he was most excited about working with people in older grades, both at home and in Kenya. Older brother Kai, who would like to study architecture, said, “I thought the coolest part was the light pipe because we got to do something that hasn’t actually been put in place yet; that was the sort of thing that we really got to engineer and we might get to make in our later life.” Hinkley, who’s ambition is to become a civil engineer, said, “I enjoyed listening and learning from other people because other people had ideas that were so much different than mine. I learned some things from these people [motioning to his friends] but I also learned stuff from the people in Kenya.”

Both Ethier and Helisek were most enthralled by the opportunity to interact with people from another culture. Ethier who wants to one day become a veterinarian shared her thoughts.

“I think my most favorite part was interacting with the people in Kenya. The Facetime call was so amazing, I would never dream of meeting people in a whole different country. They were pretty funny and it was just cool how we got to talk to them.” Helisek, who hopes to become an elementary school teacher, said, “I liked how we got to interact with people from another country to see how they worked differently than we did.”

SL honors seniors committed to play college sports

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At the conclusion at each and every school year, the Silver Lake High varsity sports teams lose a number of talented athletes to graduation and as a result, they need younger players to step up and fill the voids.

Even though the star senior athletes careers at Silver Lake are over, a handful of them end up using their athletic ability at the next level, playing a college sport. Recognizing this, Silver Lake High School held their own celebratory signing day on Thursday, May 2, recognizing the achievements of these senior star athletes who have already committed to playing a sport in college next year. Here is a look at who was honored.

Patrick McMahon — The Patriot League MVP soccer player will be playing for Bentley College (Division 2) this fall.

Colleen Foley — The captain of the Silver Lake girls’ lacrosse team will continue her career at Western Connecticut (Div. 3) next spring.

Anna Chapman — Also a captain of the Silver Lake girls’ lacrosse team, Chapman will play the sport at the University of New England (Div. 3) next spring.

Alex Lloyd — The forward for the boys’ soccer team will keep his soccer career going, playing for Fitchburg State (Div. 3) this upcoming fall.

Jenna Hurlburt — The midfielder for the girls’ soccer team will continue her career at Westfield State (Div. 3) this fall.

Hannah Mitchell — The captain, who plays first base for the Lakers softball team, will be a member of Union College’s (Div. 3) softball team next spring.

Katherine Morrisey — The girls’ swim team captain, who competed at the state meet this past winter, will compete at the University of Vermont (Div. 1)

Cam Danahy — The captain and linebacker of the Lakers football team will be a member of the Westfield State (Div. 3) football team this upcoming fall.

Matt Clancy to return as interim police chief

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Police Chief Matthew Clancy (Photo Courtesy of the Duxbury Clipper)

At the regular meeting held May 6, Plympton Selectmen voted to name Matthew Clancy as Interim Police Chief effective August 1, 2019.  Clancy will manage the Plympton Police Department on the retirement of Chief Patrick Dillon at the end of July, 2019.

Clancy is currently serving as Police Chief in Duxbury, and he will be retiring from there effective June 14, 2019.  He is very familiar with the Town of Plympton and the Plympton Police Department, as prior to serving the Town of Duxbury for the past eight years, Clancy was the Plympton Police Chief from December 2002 to April 2010.

Matt Clancy holds a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice from Boston University and he is a graduate of the FBI National Academy.  With over thirty-two years of combined full-time policing experience, Mr. Clancy has been involved with developing a wide array of policing, management and labor relations policies.  Mr. Clancy serves as the President of the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission and we thoroughly believe that his transparent and hands-on management approach will make him an asset to the Town of Plympton and we are thrilled to be welcoming him back.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our current Police Chief Patrick Dillon for managing the Plympton Police Department in an effective, efficient and responsive manner.  Chief Dillon has led the Department well over the years by setting a great example and encouraging officers to be involved with the community.  Chief Dillon also played an integral role in the planning process for the newly constructed Plympton Police Station.  We wish Chief Dillon the best of luck in his future endeavors and a very happy and healthy retirement.

Guilty! Kilburn convicted!

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Justin Kilburn is led away in handcuffs to begin his not less than five but not more than six year sentence at MCI-Cedar Junction. He has 14 days to appeal. (Photo by Abram Neal)

PLYMOUTH —Justin Kilburn, 30, of Links Way, Kingston, was found guilty of one count of motor vehicle homicide by OUI in the death of Diane Giordani, 52, of Plympton, and her German Shephard dog, Blitz, by Judge Cornelius J. Moriarty, II, Wednesday, May 8, after an emotional, jury-waived trial in Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth. The three-day trial occurred just days before the one-year anniversary of the fatal collision.

The self-employed father of two was acquitted of one count of motor vehicle manslaughter by OUI.

He had a blood alcohol content level of 0.17%, more than twice the legal limit, when he caused the collision, said the district attorney’s office, and this was not his first alcohol-related driving offense.

Moriarty sentenced Kilburn to serve five to six years at MCI-Cedar Junction, a state prison in Walpole.

According to trial testimony, shortly before 6:11 p.m. May 10, 2018, multiple bystanders came running after hearing what they variously described as a loud pop or boom and came upon a two-vehicle head-on collision on County Road (Route 106) in Plympton, near the Halifax town line. They found a white pickup truck on fire and a black car in the woods.

State police investigators estimated that Kilburn was traveling 67- in a 40-mph zone around a curve in the road.

Kenneth Payne, a carpenter from Kingston, testified that Kilburn’s white pickup truck passed his vehicle at a high rate of speed seconds before the collision.

Another witness, Joanne Hudson, formerly of Kingston and now of Hilton Head, South Carolina, testified she was traveling to a wake from Kingston when a white pickup truck crossed the center line and almost drove her BMW off the road, also just seconds before the collision.

Diane Giordani with her German Shepherd, Blitz. (Photo courtesy Giordani family)

Three Plympton police officers, who happened to be only hundreds of feet from the collision, also heard the crash. They arrived within moments, according to trial testimony. Bystanders also called 911, and firefighters and additional police arrived momentarily.

Giordani was found dead at the scene.  State Medical Examiner Dr. Henry Nields testified cause of death was due to blunt force trauma to the head and extremities.

Plympton police officer Douglas Mazzola, who knew Giordani, testified he watched 5-year-old Blitz crawl up next to her and perish at the scene as well. “The dog got up, laid down next to Diane, and expired,” he said.

It took between two and three hours to extricate Giordani from her vehicle using the Jaws of Life, according to police testimony. The prosecution used graphic photos of the mangled vehicles throughout the trial, and Giordani’s black Nissan X-Terra was so damaged it was unrecognizable as a vehicle in the images.

Giordani’s husband, Michael, testified that she was going to dog training in Bridgewater on the day of the collision, one of her favorite activities. In a victim impact statement, Giordani’s sister, Stephanie, said that Giordani had been cleared of having Multiple Sclerosis the day before she died.

Kilburn, who was initially unresponsive at the scene but came to after police and paramedics performed CPR, was medflighted to Rhode Island Hospital for treatment of his injuries. He told paramedics that he had consumed beer and nips while fishing earlier in the day, according to testimony.

Police said he was ejected from the vehicle and they found him bleeding in the middle of County Road.

Kilburn appeared at several pre-trial hearings and conferences limping with a crutch, although he stood tall and looked straight ahead throughout the trial. He showed emotion only when Michael Giordani testified, tearing up when photos of Giordani were displayed on a television.

Kilburn did not testify in his defense. He was represented by Plymouth-based defense attorney Jack Atwood, who did not call any witnesses and waived an opening statement.

“Anybody who’s driven a car would recognize the danger this behavior puts others in,” stated assistant district attorney Russell Eonas in his closing arguments. “I would suggest this case started long before he [Kilburn] got behind the wheel.”

Moriarty warned the gallery, which was filled with family and supporters of both Giordani and Kilburn, to not react emotionally to his verdict – which he said would possibly please some and upset others – or be held in contempt of court.

The room remained silent as Moriarty rendered his verdict and moved into sentencing after hearing Giordani’s sister’s victim impact statement, calling it an “egregious” case.

Kilburn did not visibly react when found guilty or sentenced.

He was advised by the clerk that he stood committed and could appeal the verdict within 14 days.

“The loss of Miss Giordani and her companion Blitz was devastating to her family members, who were in the courtroom throughout this trial,” district attorney Timothy J. Cruz said in a release Wednesday. “I am hopeful that with today’s conviction and sentencing of Mr. Kilburn, this family can finally find some peace.”

Neither Atwood nor Kilburn made any comment throughout the trial.

Lakers Drama finds success at METG

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Shelby Philbeck stands with her award-winning locker set for the play “Boxes.” (Photo by Kristy Zamangi-Twomey)

For the first time in many, many years the Silver Lake Regional High School Drama Club participated in the METG Festival.

METG, short for the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild, Inc., has spent nearly a century striving to encourage and improve participation and education in theatre arts for students and teachers in both middle and high school. The festival includes 112 one-act plays put on by high schools across the state.

There are preliminary, semi-final, and state rounds at which awards are presented for student excellence in acting and technical design.

Silver Lake participated in the preliminary round hosted by Marshfield High School where they won four of the coveted awards.

Seniors John Coady and Quinn Bonneyman and junior Caitlyn Beckwith were all awarded leading acting awards while senior Shelby Philbeck won a set design award.

“We performed Boxes which is a one act play that uses symbolism to talk about teenagers’ stress in the current world,” Beckwith explained.

Of her role, Beckwith said, “I played the role of Holly who was at the end of the show, a voice of reason.  In the beginning it seemed like she had the perfect life but really her deeper story was that she had problems like everyone else which I feel like resonates in our world where we think someone is perfect but they have problems of their own. The character taught me not to judge other people at first which I was guilty of doing before, so I’m really glad I got to play her and learn that.”

Bonneyman, who will most likely study music at Brandeis University in the fall, played the role of Jack. “He’s the protagonist of the show who struggles with throwing his expectations away in the form of a box. People will put things in a person’s box and that’s their expectations or so he thinks. Throughout the story, it’s a development that he realizes that its others people’s hopes for him… he can choose what goes in his box and it goes to show that students have control of their own life and people in general have control of their own lives,” Bonneyman explains.

Coady, who will attend Brown University next year, describes his character as follows, “I played Chris who seems like the carefree easygoing character but as you learn he threw away his box because he couldn’t handle the responsibility that he felt was placed on him through the passing of his sister. That put a lot of stress on him and instead of facing it he decided to bury it. Throughout the show Chris is learning and understanding what it means to have people believe in you, what it means to have people have hopes for you. It was really incredible for me to step into that role because I’ve never felt real emotion on stage until I did that role. It was an incredible experience for me personally being able to play Chris in the show.”

Philbeck became involved in the production later in the process when it was decided that a set piece was needed. Putting her creativity to good use, Philbeck spent multiple rehearsals painting the lockers that would serve as the backdrop to the performance.

The Silver Lake students that attended the festival all describe a sense of comradery that was felt between all attending schools as well as an appreciation for the performances of their peers.  Of her experience at the festival Beckwith said, “Everyone from all the different schools were so supportive of us and we were so supportive of them. I made a lot of friends. I was really proud of our cast and myself and the other groups.”

Bonneyman added, “When you get there, there’s no crevasse of time that’s not filled with something fun and entertaining.” Regarding performing in front of the other schools Bonneyman said, “You get out there and it’s an exhilarating experience because the whole audience also wants to be there and they are all so passionate about what they do so all of them react and all of them respond to what you’re doing on stage which is amazing.”

Coady echoed similar sentiments saying, “That was the Silver Lake kids first time partaking in this event and it was so much more than what I could have imagined it was; just going and seeing all of these different shows and of all these incredibly talented people in your area, you really get to learn a lot from how they go at things and how some of the actors do certain things. That was an incredibly humbling and informative experience. I was also struck by how accepting everyone there was of everyone else.”

Philbeck explained her experience as a crew member, “We went to METG and it was unreal to me because as a crew member you feel like you’re in like a niche of a niche because drama club seems like you’re secluded in a social sense and then crew even seems more secluded. But you were just in such an environment that you feel like you can relate to everyone… that was crazy to me because I had never seen that many people that were like me.”

Senior Hannah Arroyo, who plans to study communications at the University of New Hampshire, also attended the festival as an actress and described her time at the festival as an “unforgettable experience in a place where so many people are just like you.”

A love of theatre is apparent in listening to these students speak with such fervor about their experience at the festival as well as their future plans. While Beckwith is only a junior and is uncertain where she will go to school after next year she plans to continue with acting and theatre saying, “It’s been too big a part of my life to not do it all of a sudden. I love it.”

Bonneyman, who plans to study music, explains, “Acting and music, they kind of go hand in hand to me. I will be doing a lot of theatre as well. It’s just such a big part of my life.”

Coady, for his part, is unsure what he will study at Brown but knows that he will continue to act in some capacity. As he puts it, “Acting has been my passion since I was like nine so I’m never going to stop doing that no matter what.” Philbeck plans on studying biology describing her artistic endeavors as her “soul work” despite having alternate career plans.

The Silver Lake drama club put on a performance of Almost Maine this past weekend with performances both Friday and Saturday.

Coady describes it well, saying, “Almost Maine is a very unique show set into eight different scenes, all short stories in and of themselves; they are all independent from each other and stand alone as their own stories but they are all connected in some way and set in the same town. All of the stories are about love – two individuals falling in love, falling out of love, and all of them end in this thought of almost love. It’s really a beautiful show, it’s a funny show. There are upsetting parts, there are beautiful parts, there are adorable parts so it’s a very diverse show and the script is magnificent.”

Teachers Ashley Ferrara, Kim Orcutt, and JennyLyn Berry serve as the drama directors for the spring performance and the METG festival. Orcutt described the decision to do the festival as an easy one thanks to the quality of the seniors involved, “We haven’t done this kind of play competition before and we felt confident because of these students that are seniors this year. We knew that they would have the ability to dedicate themselves and help us be patient because we didn’t know what we were doing. We had some amazing leaders from the tech world, from the building world, and from the acting world.”

Ferrara gave credit to seniors Josh Heath and Nic Asnes for lending their skills and providing instruction on the technical aspects of production. Ferrara said of Heath, “He pretty much was in charge of building everything and instructing others and with him gone next year, the only reason we’ll still know how to do things is because he taught everybody how to.”

Asnes ran all of the lights and sounds. Ferrara continued, “Those two kind of manned the technical side of the show for us and we couldn’t have done it without them.” Ferrara also said they couldn’t have done it without the help of volunteers such as Orcutt’s father Don Orcutt who competed in and won a state title at the METG competition in the 70’s and who spoke to the Silver Lake students prior to the festival.

With regard to the lessons taken away from the festival, Ferrara said, “It’s hard to know how you can improve if you never leave your own school so that was the best part of the experience. The kids learned stuff but we also learned stuff as the directors.”

Illustrating the love the directors have for this group of seniors, Ferrara, Orcutt, and Berry joked about being in denial about their impending graduation before reminiscing about a moment at dinner when they found themselves crying into their cupcakes.

Lakers Boys LaX take Panthers 19-3

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The Silver Lake High boys’ lacrosse team continues to do what they do best: win.

The Lakers had no issue taking care of the Plymouth North Eagles last Thursday, Apr. 25 at home. The Lakers shined not only on the attack, but defensively as well. They came up with a 19-3 win to improve to 5-2 for the season.

From the start, the Lakers proved themselves to be the dominant team. In the first quarter alone, they went up 5-0, getting all the goals they needed to win the game. Dhruva Nugent was a major part of the team’s early success, notching a hat trick (three goals) in the first quarter.

The team’s dominance would not subside from there. Although they allowed a goal in the second quarter, they also put up six more to go up 11-1 at halftime.

During the second half, the Lakers held onto their lead, and expanded it. They had a spread out scoring effort, the defense got the job done and Mike Masterpolo was excellent in net.

In the win, one Lakers player had a milestone achievement in his career. Freshman Tommy Condon got in on the scoring action, netting his first career varsity goal.

Through seven games this season, the Lakers actually had a better record this season than last year when they were 4-3 at the same point. However, the Lakers did drop their road contest against Hingham on Tuesday, Apr. 30 15-5, dropping their record to 5-3 on the season.

So far this season, the Lakers have scored 94 goals and allowed 65 in eight games, meaning they have scored 11.75 goals on average while allowing 8.125.

The Lakers next contest is this Friday, May 3 on the road against the Whitman-Hanson Panthers. The Panthers are 6-5 so far this season, according to MaxPreps.

Plympton’s first hemp grow license

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A field of hemp.

The Town of Plympton has been notified by the Commonwealth that the town’s first Industrial Hemp Grower License was issued by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources to Scott Sauchuk.

When contacted this week Sauchuk told the Express that he isn’t going to plant the crop; that he  applied for the license over the winter, when it looked like a good idea.  Further research helped him decide to go with other plans.

Hemp culture is a crop that will likely be seen again as it can now be grown without the stigma of being a “cousin” to marijuana.

The Act to Ensure Safe Access to Marijuana, legislation passed July 28, 2017, created a distinction between hemp and marijuana, recognizing hemp as an agricultural commodity, and removed it from the controlled substance list, allowing hemp to be grown commercially throughout the United States.

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) was given the authority to oversee the growth and production of hemp for commercial and research purposes within the Commonwealth, and the planting, growing, harvesting, processing, and retail sale of hemp and its products require licensing by MDAR.

Under federal law, the 2018 Farm Bill allowed the United States Department of Agriculture to develop regulations and guidelines relative to the cultivation of hemp and set the stage for major changes to the Industrial Hemp industry in the United States.  These include, but are not limited to the following:

• Hemp has been removed from the Controlled Substances Act and is now considered an agricultural commodity, rather than a drug, though it is still subject to  state and federal oversight.

• Hemp is now eligible for federal crop insurance and hemp farmers may now participate in USDA programs for certification and competitive grants.

Hemp and marijuana are different varieties of the same plant species and cannot be distinguished simply by looking at them.  Due to the differences in the end use of the product, they are generally cultivated differently.  They are both cannabis plants and both produce cannabinoids.  The marijuana plant contains high levels of the psychoactive compound THC – 5% to 25%.  The varieties used for hemp, however, have been selectively bred to contain no more than .3% of THC.

The MDAR will test the crop before harvest to ensure that the crop contains less than .3% THC.

Under Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 40A, commercial agricultural use is protected from unreasonable regulations or special permit requirements under local municipal zoning ordinances or bylaws.  While marijuana is expressly excluded from this protection, hemp is exempt from the definition of marijuana and is therefore eligible for the same protection as other forms of commercial agriculture.

Hemp, according to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts web site regarding the Commercial Industrial Hemp Program, is an extremely versatile plant with many uses.  It can be cultivated as a fiber crop, seed crop, or for production of cannabinoids found in the flowers.  Hemp products manufactured from the fibrous stalks and seeds include rope, clothes, food, paper, textiles, plastics, insulation, oil, and biofuel.

For more information regarding the regulations around the cultivating and processing of hemp, go to https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/20182018/04/30/Hemp%20Policy.pdf