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Warm welcome home

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BLESS THIS HOUSE: Brian Austin, left, of the New England Carpenters Training Council presented veteran Paul Skarinka with a framed photo of a message from an apprentice inscribed on a partition stud blessing the family’s new home as his wife Jennifer looks on. (Photo by Tracy Seelye)

HANSON — Paul and Jennifer Skarinka received the keys to their new home on Tuesday, April 2. The occasion, exciting for any young couple, was different than most — is a mortgage-free, injury-specific house built through Jared Allen’s Homes for Wounded Warriors for a veteran injured in action.

“It’s beautiful,” Jennifer Skarinka said. “It’s a dream home.”

“Wow,” Paul, a Plympton Fire Department firefighter-paramedic, said after his family, including children Lilliana and Noah, toured the house. “The carpenters, the Foundation, everyone did an incredible job and it was well worth the wait. It’s truly incredible.”

It was delayed a few months due to record-low temperatures, record flooding, microbursts that knocked out power for nine days, three nor’easters, delays caused by a moratorium following the Merrimack Valley natural gas explosions — and vandalism — but the Hanson community joined builders, trade union representatives and Allen to welcome Skarinka, 39, and his family to his new home.

Skarinka, an Army veteran who lost a leg and sustained severe injuries to his left arm when his unit came under attack on a mission in Sadr City, Iraq in September 2004, said he and his family are thankful for their new home and the help of Hanson police and fire departments after the project was vandalized over the winter.

“I’m just excited,” he said. “I was nervous about moving in — it looks so nice. We’re really going to enjoy this and take a minute to kind of sit back and relax, take it one day at a time and soak it all in.”

Jennifer Skarinka said the house means her husband will be able to find comfort at the end of his working day.

“There’s no more stairs,” she said. “Taking care of other people is strenuous on his body and he gets tired [by the end of his day]. Unfortunately, in the house we were at before, he couldn’t use his wheelchair. …Now he can wheel around without having to worry about bumping into things or getting stuck. It makes me happy that he can live a somewhat normal life.”

Allen, a five-time NFL Pro Bowler, said his foundation is a way to give back to those who defend our country.

“Someone told me a long time ago, you don’t have to have a uniform on to serve your country,” Allen said. “I feel like I’ve been blessed in my life with family and work and all that. I’ve gotten a lot from this country — the ability to be free and play football and live out my dreams — so I think it’s the least we can do to show our gratitude and pay our debts forward.”

Veterans go through an application process and other veterans’ organizations “lead the way” to his program, Allen said. Skarinka also had the good fortune to be a friend of Alex Karalexis, a 1992 W-H graduate and Hanson native, who is executive director of Jared Allen’s Homes for Wounded Warriors. Veterans have  say in where they want their homes to be located and work with architects and designers in creating their homes.

Allen said the vandalism was horrible, setting the project back weeks and costing money.

“We haven’t had that issue before,” he said. “But I think the way the community reacted …”

“This has been a very special project and the community has been behind us from start to finish with all the hiccups that we had in between,” Karalexis said. “The high school football team raised money, local businesses raised money, had signs at the doors and things of that nature.”

The Skarinkas had originally planned on moving in for Thanksgiving or Christmas before the vandalism to windows in the home.

“All that did was galvanize the resolve of everybody who took part in this projects,” Karalexis said of the vandalism and natural disasters that delayed the move-in day. “It really made me proud to be part of this community.”

“This was a wonderful event this morning,” said state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, whose district includes Hanson. “It’s an amazing show of community for Hanson, but also the broader community, Homes for Wounded Warriors — all the folks who played a role in building this home. As other speakers have said, they built a home, but they also built a community here, that’s what’s most wonderful about this.”

Other Hanson officials present included Veterans Agent Timothy White, Town Administrator Michael McCue, Police Lt. Mike Casey, Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr., Deputy fire Chief Robert O’Brien Jr., Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak and Assistant Superintended George Ferro. Several officials from the Plympton Fire Department also attended, wearing their dress uniforms. Several representatives of building trades organizations also attended.

“It’s a great feeling to be able to help out a deserving veteran in the community,” said Harry Brett, of Hanson, business manager of the Plumber’s Union.

“It’s just an honor to be involved in something as meaningful as what this wounded warriors project is all about,” John Murphy, of Braintree, with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. It marked the first Jared Allen Foundation project undertaken in New England.

Brian Austin of New England Carpenters Training Council presented a framed photo of an inscription left by a second-year apprentice on an interior partition stud: “June 7 2018 — To our Warrior and his clan, Thank you for all you have done for our nation. It has been an honor to build this fortress for you all and may many great memories be made in this home. One nation under God.”

The inscription was discovered as repairs were being made two weeks after the windows had been vandalized.

“Minor road bump,” New England Carpenters Training Council representative Paul Gangemi, said of the vandalism to windows in the house. “The important ones they missed. It didn’t stop [us], we kept moving forward.”

The house featured five-foot-wide corridors and five-foot turnaround space almost everywhere inside. Gangemi said his organization had about three dozen volunteers from the council worked on the project.

“All the trades did a good job,” he said. “The painters were all apprentices — you go through that huse, it looks like a professional painter’s job.” rough the spread

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Stormwater management changes

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HALIFAX — The Halifax Board of Selectmen met Tuesday, March 26, taking on a lengthy regular agenda and two executive sessions while also entertaining several appointments. The board heard a presentation on stormwater management mandates imposed by the federal government, news that MassDOT’s RMV division will no longer take reports by school bus operators of license plate numbers of drivers who were passing stopped school buses and had a visit from State Senator Michael Brady.

Halifax holds a stormwater management permit from the federal government, as required by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. In EPA parlance they are known as municipal separate storm sewer systems (or MS4).

The permit now requires the town to make significant changes to its procedures and bylaws, according to Annie Bastoni, a senior water resources consultant with Watertown-based VHB, Inc., a civil engineering firm hired to help the town comply with the new requirements. Bastoni made a presentation via telephone to the board.

Stormwater, she said, comes from snow melt and rain runoff, which picks up pollutants such as pet waste, leaves, motor oil, fertilizers, detergents and trash as it runs to waterbodies. The permit for the town’s stormwater management system, which was renewed July 1, 2018, contains new regulations not present in previous permits.

Bastoni explained what the new mandates from the EPA will mean for the town. She noted that the rules and regulations will only affect the “urbanized” portions of Halifax, where most new development is occurring, and not the whole town. She said the town could decide to apply the regulations across the entire town.

The town must follow six steps – or minimum control measures – and implement three bylaws at town meeting. The requirements at each step have varying degrees of complexity.

Steps one and two require the town to educate and reach out to townspeople to try to change behaviors related to stormwater runoff. Steps three, four, and five are the bylaws that must be approved. They regulate illicit discharge, construction site runoff control and post-construction site runoff control. The final step, six, requires the town to prevent and reduce pollution for town facilities.

The actions required by the town are extensive– everything from documentation of procedures, cataloguing equipment, conducting investigations and developing best practices to sweeping town-owned streets and parking lots twice a year.

Town Administrator Charlie Seelig noted that the town will incur additional expenses due to these mandates.

The board was informed by Seelig that MassDOT was no longer taking complaints from school bus companies regarding motorists who passs stopped busses while their red lights are flashing and stop signs displayed, as they previously had.

According to First Student, the town’s bus contractor, there was a form used to report license plate numbers collected by bus drivers that they would forward to MassDOT’s RMV division. The department is no longer collecting those forms, said Seelig. The bus company said it had thrown out the forms because they are no longer being accepted.

A MassDOT representative, Judi Riley, said, “The Registry of Motor Vehicles encourages school bus drivers to report to local law enforcement any incidents involving motorists who pass school buses that are actively operating with their lights on and signage displayed. In the past, the Registry has facilitated the collection of reporting forms, but determined that these serious claims should be vetted directly through law enforcement that has the ability to cite operators for this type of dangerous driving behavior.”

Halifax Police Chief Joao Chaves said, “I have been in contact with First Student and advised them to forward me the info on violations if they occur, and we will try our best to follow up on [them].”

State Senator Michael Brady, of Brockton, who represents Halifax as part of the Second Plymouth and Bristol district, sat down with the board. He was loquacious, speaking at ease about goings-on on Beacon Hill, but didn’t give the board much chance to ask questions or voice their concerns until the very end of their discussion.

Selectman Chairman Kim Roy thanked Brady for his help obtaining funds to help offset the costs of treating the Monponsett Ponds, which he said he was able to obtain through an appropriation. “We’re looking for revenue from every source,” he said.

The board also expressed frustration with the current model of charter school funding, which they said is unfair to the town. They asked Brady for assistance with charter school tuition reimbursement.

They also described special education as a “budget killer,” and asked Brady for assistance in changing the model for how towns are reimbursed from the state for special education expenses.

Seelig mentioned to Brady that the recycling market was changing, which he described as a “big-picture” problem. “The citizens of the commonwealth are mandated to recycle,” he said, but it’s getting more expensive for the town. Brady asked about Halifax’s recycling program, and said he’d look into what could be done to help the situation.

• The next scheduled Halifax Board of Selectmen’s meeting is Tuesday, April 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room of Town Hall. unless otherwise posted.

Town elections take shape

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Halifax Town Clerk Barbara Gaynor has announced that the following have returned their nomination papers and will be listed on the ballot for the town’s annual election on May 18.  The deadline to return nomination papers was Friday, March 29, at 5 p.m. in order to have the candidacy printed on the town’s election ballots.

Two candidates will seek the single selectman’s position left by retiring Kim Roy.   Gordon C. Andrews, a current member of both Halifax Elementary School Committee and the Silver Lake Regional School Committee will face off against Melinda Tarsi, a member of the Finance Committee, in the election’s only contested race.

The following candidates will seek re-election to these three-year terms:

Board of Assessors – Thomas Millias; Board of Health – John Weber; Constable, two positions – Thomas Hammond and Thomas Schindler; Board of Library Trustees, two positions – Paul Delaney and Madeline Flood; Park Commissioner – Thomas Schindler; Silver Lake Regional School Committee – Paula Hatch; and Board of Water Commissioners – Donald Bosworth.

Amy Troup will seek election to Planning Board for the 5-year term.  She is unopposed in her race.

There is no candidate for the Halifax Elementary School Committee three-year term.

The Annual Town Election will be held Saturday, May 18, at the Halifax Elementary School gym.  The polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The last day to register to vote at the Annual Town Meeting and Town Election is Tuesday, April 23.  The clerk’s office will be open until 8 p.m. on that day for voter registration.    Also, people can check their voter registration status and register to vote online at: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ovr/

Assistant Town Clerk Patricia Detterman, the Town of Plympton Annual Town election will take place Saturday, May 18, at the Plympton Town House, 5 Palmer Rd., Rte. 58, Plympton.  Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The last day to return nomination papers with at least 20 signatures was last Friday, March 29.

According to Assistant Town Clerk Tricia Detterman, there are 14 positions on the ballot this May and the following have returned nomination papers:

Incumbent Arthur B. Morin, Jr., for the 3-year term on the Board of Health; incumbent Christine Winslow for the 3-year term on the Board of Library Trustees; Linda Lawson for the 2-year term on the Board of Library Trustees; incumbent Steven Lewis for the 3-year term on the Finance Committee; Barry DeCristofano for the 3-year term as Town Moderator; John Schmid for the 3-year term on the Planning Board; Ann Sobolewski for the 5-year term on the Planning Board; Amy Hempel for the 3-year term on the Plympton School Committee; Michael Antoine for the 2-year term on the Silver Lake Regional School Committee; Patricia Detterman for the 2-year term as Town Clerk; and incumbent John Traynor Jr. for the three year term as Selectman.

There are one 3-year term for Board of Assessors, one 3-year term on Finance Committee, and one 3-year term on the Board of Library Trustees that have no candidate.

The last day to object or withdraw nomination papers is Wednesday,
April 17, 2019.

Voting will take place at the Plympton Town House, Saturday, May 18, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Halifax Housing Production Plan

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The Town of Halifax is in the process of updating its Housing Production Plan (HPP) with technical assistance provided by the Old Colony Planning Council, the Regional Planning Agency for this area. 

Residents can help participate by completing the following survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BD7Z3QZ

A Housing Production Plan is a proactive strategy for planning and developing affordable housing.  

The State’s regional planning statute, Chapter 40B, is a law that seeks to ensure that all 351 of the Commonwealth’s cities and towns provide for the creation of new homes for individuals, families and older adults, across a range of incomes. 

The goal of the statute is for every city and town to have 10% of their year round housing units qualify as affordable to households making up to 80% of the area median income.   The statute helps communities meet the Commonwealth’s housing needs, by providing a flexible zoning approval process (comprehensive permit) for developments that include 25% affordable units.  At the same time, Chapter 40B provides opportunities for municipalities to control their own housing growth.  

The law enables agencies like MassHousing to deny 40B project eligibility to projects that are inconsistent with local planning priorities in localities that have demonstrated commitment to planning and delivering housing growth.  That is why it is important to have an up to date Housing Production Plan and have it approved by The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD).  

HPP’s give communities that are under the 10% threshold of Chapter 40B, but are making steady progress in producing affordable housing on an annual basis, more control over comprehensive permit applications for a specified period of time. Communities that demonstrate planning and production for affordable housing may also be eligible to receive priority scoring for Commonwealth Grant Programs as well as access to capital grant programs and technical assistance.  

Community input is a key part of the planning process and this survey will help provide a better understanding of the needs of Halifax residents. It is important to understand who currently lives in the community, demographic trends affecting future growth, existing housing stock, and future housing needs.   

By engaging the community in discussions about the need for affordable housing and taking a proactive approach in updating its Housing Production Plan, Halifax is more likely to achieve its long range housing and community planning goals, allowing for more diverse housing opportunities for residents of all income levels.  

Fare increase on Commuter Rail

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Train 041 arrives at Hanson Station from Boston on Tuesday, March 19, 2019. (Photo by Abram Neal)

In 1949, Jacqueline Steiner and Bess Lomax Hawes wrote the song made famous by the Kingston Trio about a man named Charlie stuck forever riding beneath the streets of Boston because he was a nickel short. Now, Charlie will have an even harder time coming up with his fare because the MBTA announced fare increases for the first time in three years last week. 

Area riders can expect to pay more for their “T” trips beginning July 1. Local monthly commuter rail passes were hit hard by the hikes — increasing at a higher percentage rate than the overall system increase.

At a meeting of the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board March 11 the board approved an overall 5.8-percent increase in fares across the transit system after modifying a previous proposal tabled in January.

Bob Gray, a commuter from Duxbury, who disembarked from train 041 at Hanson Station said of the increase, “It’s more money,” but added, “It’s a good way to get into the city.”

Another rider, Shellie, of Pembroke, who works in Boston at a law firm and disembarked from the same train said, “Yeah, I’ll have to pay more … I’m not thrilled.”

The Whitman, Hanson and Halifax commuter rail stations are in fare zones five, six and seven, respectively.

One-way fares inbound or outbound to or from Boston will increase by 50 cents in each zone, from $9.25 to $9.75 or 5.4 percent in zone five (Whitman), from $10 to $10.50 or 5 percent in zone six (Hanson) and from $10.50 to $11 or 4.8 percent in zone seven (Halifax).

A monthly commuter rail pass will cost you an extra $19.50 in zone five (Whitman), up from $291.50 to $311 a month, an extra $22 in zone six (Hanson), up from $318 to $340 a month and an extra $19.50 in zone seven (Halifax), up from $336.50 to $360 a month.

This represents a yearly cost increase for a monthly commuter rail pass of $234 or 6.7 percent in zone five (Whitman), $264 or 6.9 percent in zone six (Hanson) and $282 or 6.9 percent in zone seven (Halifax).

The total yearly cost for a zone five pass will now be $3,732, a zone six pass will be $4,080 and a zone seven pass will be $4,320.

Local one-way bus fares, local monthly bus passes, reduced local bus and subway one-way fares and reduced monthly passes for seniors, TAP (those with disabilities), youth and students were spared the fare increase.

A local bus fare will remain $1.70, with a CharlieCard. A one-way subway ride will go up by 15 cents, from $2.25 to $2.40, with a CharlieCard.

The transit agency stated, “While the MBTA continues to focus on controlling costs and growing non-fare revenue, this increase, which is in line with the rate of inflation in the Boston area, is necessary for the Authority to continue making system investments to improve service.”

The MBTA website says that state law allows them to raise fares regularly but must limit those increases to every two years with no more than 7 percent for each increase. The MBTA has not raised fares since 2016. This increase is lower than the 6.3 percent increase originally proposed.

Solar bylaw eyed for TM warrant

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Solar Panels.

PLYMPTON — The Plympton Board of Selectmen met without Selectman Christine Joy, who was ill, Tuesday, March 25, 2019. The meeting was brief, although Selectmen Chairman John Traynor and Selectman Mark Russo took on a few high-profile agenda items in her absence, including a proposed zoning bylaw amendment that would cap the number of solar projects in town, an update on the Public Safety Building and a discussion of unforeseen repair and maintenance costs.

Solar project cap zoning bylaw amendment 

The Selectmen discussed a zoning bylaw amendment to appear on the Annual Town Meeting warrant, proposed by the Planning Board, which would cap the number of large solar facility projects in town at a maximum of eight. 

The board expressed their support for the proposal, which defined large solar projects as those that produce more than 250 kw of electricity or more. The bylaw proposal would also limit these solar facilities to being sited on 10 acres or less of land. All solar projects would continue to require a special permit.

Solar energy facilities used exclusively for the purpose of agriculture – with the electricity entirely used on premises – would be exempt from these restrictions under state law. 

The bylaw wording is based on a bylaw from New Braintree, a town in western Massachusetts, that implemented a similar cap on their solar facilities by a narrow, two-vote margin at a 2017 Special Town Meeting.

At first, when Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy brought up the concept of limiting solar facilities, Traynor asked, “Why would you want to do that?”

She responded that there were already a number of solar developments in town, and that there’s a general concern of them changing the character of Plympton.

Traynor was persuaded after some discussion.

“I’m very much in support of this [amendment],” said Russo, although he added he supported renewable energy.

Russo added he was concerned about deforestation of land as well as the impact of solar arrays on the beauty of the town.

The Selectmen affirmed their support of the proposed amendment to the Planning Board. 

The Planning Board, in conjunction with the Selectmen, will hold a public hearing to review the proposed amendment Tuesday, April 16, 2019, at 6:45 p.m. in the small meeting room of Town House.

Public Safety Building update

Russo reported on the Public Safety Building, and although construction is being completed slightly behind schedule, he announced some definitive milestone dates, noting, “the endeavor is finally coming to an end after eight years.”

Paving for the building is scheduled to begin April 15. A septic repair job needs to be completed behind the Town House (a $2,500 contract was awarded later in the meeting for that project to a local contractor) before the paving gets underway. 

The Public Safety Building open house and dedication will be held Saturday, May 11. 

The police will begin to move out of their current quarters May 14, and the new station is expected to be operational in late May.

“It’s really nice,” Russo said of the building. He added that Plympton constructed its police station for less money than many other towns in the state.

The Selectmen also signed the licenses for Verizon to install necessary utilities for the building. 

Since stuff breaks

Dennehy brought up unforeseen expenses the town recently incurred, specifically at the fire department, and the discussion that ensued revolved around the need to make budgets generally more realistic of the fact that there will be unforeseen expenses, “since stuff breaks,” as Russo put it.

A failure of the generator at the fire department last year resulted in a $2,000 deductible from the town’s insurance plan, Dennehy said. Additionally, the fire station’s electrical box needs complete rewiring before the new exhaust system goes in. That will cost the town about $4,300.

Another possible unexpected expense is due to a damaged pump on Engine 2 recently discovered during the course of repairs. Captain John Sjostedt, the department’s public information officer, contacted after the meeting, did not have information on the exact nature of the damage or costs, yet, but he says it may be manufacturer related or covered by insurance.

Russo was concerned about the situation and said that department budgets need to be more realistic in terms of unforeseen expenses, agreeing with Dennehy that these types of expenses need to be handled differently in the future.

In other news…

• The Finance Committee gave a brief preview of the town budget to the board, with a working total of $11,352,000, not including warrant articles. This is up from the FY’19 budget of $10,903,000.

• Jill Palenstign was appointed as temporary part-time senior clerk to assist in the clerk’s office through June 30.

• Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy announced that the town had been awarded $200,000 in Green Communities grant money. The grant is used to reduce municipal energy use and costs. It will be used to complete last year’s Green Communities projects as well as support new projects.

• The board closed the Annual Town Meeting Warrant.

• Various items were declared surplus from Two Brooks Preserve and can now be sold, and money made from the sales will be returned to the general fund.

• The next selectmen’s open meeting is April 8, 2019, at 6 p.m. in the Large Meeting Room of Town House.

Lead in Dennett water remains a mystery

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Plympton School Committee and Dennett school leadership discuss recent events at the elementary school.

PLYMPTON – Results showing lead in the water at the Dennett Elementary school were discussed at the Monday, March 25 Dennett School Committee meeting. While some of the results were showing clean, others were showing traces of lead. The areas of the building where the lead results were found are sporadic and random and include portions of the school built after 2000 when lead would not have been found in pipes or other building supplies. Three different people from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) have been unable to identify a logical reason for the findings. The committee expressed frustration with the lack of a resolution as each set of test results seem to come back more inconclusive than the previous ones. While Green Seal has stated that they don’t believe their system is to blame for the results, the school committee agreed that the next logical step might be to get a representative from Green Seal to come out to the school.

On a more positive note, the Dennett Elementary School playground project, which has been ongoing since 2015, was also discussed. Vice chair Jason Fraser spoke to the three main goals in the development of the project; that it be accessible to all students, that it be safe for all students, and that it be developmentally appropriate for all students. The total cost for the playground is roughly $228,000 of which some $132,000 has accumulated in the form of school choice funds available for a one-time need such as this one. 

Voters will be asked at the May 15 town meeting to approve the remaining funding through an article by the Community Preservation Committee. If approved, the article will provide $94,000 toward construction of the playground. 

Fraser stressed the importance of residents attending the May 15 town meeting in order to secure the necessary funding. Additionally, other individuals have approached the committee with offers to donate equipment, etc. to the playground if the money is passed at town meeting. 

Principal Peter Veneto spoke about the myriad of upcoming events at the Dennett school. In a testament to the school’s academics, up to 80% of the sixth grade is expected to attend this week’s Grade 6 honors breakfast.  Friday, March 29, will be the students vs. teachers/parents basketball game. DARE graduation will be Tuesday, April 2.  The dress rehearsal for the talent show will be held April 3 with the big show on the following day, Friday, April 4. 

Assistant Superintendent Jill Proulx addressed the changes to functionality that parents and students can expect to see in Spring report cards. The previous set of report cards were issued electronically but the versions were not printer-friendly. This issue should now be fixed.  Additionally, Proulx mentioned that while it may appear at first glance that the report cards contain very little information, there will be interactive links that will take parents and students to more information. 

The town of Plympton is pursuing a Green Communities grant application which would help find clean energy solutions while reducing costs. Of importance to the school committee was the timing for the Green Communities projects as the Dennett School will host much of the district’s summer programming as well as potential demolition and rebuilding work on the playground. The committee also agreed on the importance of receiving confirmation that the projects would be funded at no cost to the Dennett school. 

Fraser mentioned his work with Massachusetts legislators including Representative Josh Cutler (D-Duxbury) in advocating for an increase in the Chapter 70 minimum per pupil increment from $20 to $100. Representative Kathleen LaNatra and Senator Michael Brady have also signed on in favor of the proposed increase. Chapter 70 is Massachusetts’ program to ensure adequate funding for all of the Commonwealth’s public K-12 school districts. Once a foundation budget has been established for each school district, each community’s property values and residents’ incomes are then analyzed to determine what percentage of the foundation budget should come from local property taxes. The remaining portion of the foundation budget is funded through Chapter 70 state aid. An increase in the minimum per pupil spending would provide a boost to the Silver Lake district.

The committee unanimously voted at Monday’s meeting to approve the 2019-2020 operating budget. Superintendent Joy Blackwood noted that the Dennett budget had been reduced by $10,000 from the original version 1 of the budget by decreasing the cost of the math textbook adoption and reducing utilities. Two areas of increase in the budget were special education and continuing education for teachers. The committee has yet to hear back from the finance committee regarding the proposed budget. 

Halifax firefighters sworn, promoted, recognized for service

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Grand Jury indicts Plympton health agent

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Robert Tinkham, the current Plympton Health Agent, and another local public official, Ray Pickles, the Marion Town Clerk, have been indicted on larceny charges after a joint investigation by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and the Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General into years-long mismanagement at the Carver, Marion and Wareham Regional Refuse Disposal District, according to state officials.

Tinkham, 57, of Carver, who was the former district board chairman, and Pickles, 85, of Marion, who was the former district executive director were indicted by a statewide grand jury Monday, March 18, 2019, Attorney General Maura Healey and Inspector General Glenn Cunha announced in statements this week.

Tinkham along with Pickles allegedly stole more than $675,000 in district funds. Of that amount, Tinkham is alleged to have stolen $65,000 and Pickles allegedly stole $610,000, according to the statements.

The investigation revealed that Tinkham allegedly received $65,000 in payments from the district for inspection services he did not perform while he was the chairman of the district board.

Pickles also allegedly opened district accounts that only he knew existed at two other banks. Investigators allege he deposited checks intended for the district into these accounts, withdrew cash for personal use and made payments on his personal credit cards. Investigators further allege that Pickles billed the district for services he did not perform and used district funds to pay for personal expenses.

Pickles was elected Marion Town Clerk through 2020, and the Town of Marion has no process for recalling elected officials, having defeated a warrant item to add such a process at a previous town meeting, according to a statement from Marion Town Administrator Paul Dawson.

Dawson said in the statement, “The accusations constitute a staggering abuse of the public trust, and we are grateful to the Marion Police Department, the Inspector General’s Office, and Attorney General Maura Healey’s office for their diligence in bringing out the details of these alleged thefts.”

Tinkham was charged with one count of larceny over $250 and one count of presentation of false claims while Pickles was charged with six counts of larceny over $250. The defendants will be arraigned at a later date in Plymouth County Superior Court.

The charges are the result of an investigation by the Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and the Marion Police Department, in cooperation with the towns of Carver, Marion and Wareham.

Neither of the accused currently works for the district. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant Attorneys General John Brooks and Ashlee Logan, of the Inspector General’s Investigations Division, with assistance from Chief Trial Counsel James O’Brien of the AG’s Criminal Bureau. Lead Investigator Logan Davis and Analyst/Investigator Will Bradford from the Inspector General’s Office investigated the case.

The district is suing Tinkham, Pickles and his wife Diane Bondi-Pickles in Plymouth Superior Court in a civil suit making similar allegations.

WHSL Girls Hockey co-op deals with inconsistency

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Sophomore goalie Kat Gilbert, of Halifax, has been a key playmaker this season. (Photo by Sue Moss)

Inconsistency. It was a thorn in the Whitman-Hanson/Silver Lake high school girls’ hockey team’s side all season.

“We’ll play two really good periods and have one really bad period and every time we had a really bad period, it hurt us,” said fourth-year WHSL head coach Kevin Marani, whose team finished the winter 4-13-2.

The co-op’s youth played a large f

actor in its inability to string together a full three periods. Fifteen of its 19 skaters were either freshmen or sophomores. They dropped five games by two goals or less. Wins came against Stoughton (twice), Quincy/North Quincy and Shawsheen.

I said to the girls, ‘We’re so close. Once you start to win, it becomes a habit,’” Marani said. “We had a ton of one-goal games, two-goal games with an empty net.”

The Panthers did make strides from last season, doubling their win total, upping their points total from four to 10 and potting 62 goals as opposed to 31.

Back with WHSL  after playing club hockey last season, junior captain Alyssa Murphy (Kingston) was a force on offense, netting 27 goals and dishing out 15 assists. She was in on 67 percent of the team’s tallies.

“She’s such a good talent,” Marani said. “Her talent speaks for herself. She was very unselfish, all about the team. Everything she does is team first. “

Sophomore Emily McDonald (Hanson) was second on the team with 15 points (6 goals and 9 assists). Not only did she play on the same line as Murphy, but she’ll serve as a captain with her next season as well.

“She’s another great kid,” Marani said. “She’s a leader. She is  quiet girl that leads by example. She is probably the hardest working player on our team. Every practice she is there. She is exactly what we want from every single player. If we had 20 Emily’s we’d be very, very good.”

Surprisingly enough, Marani said the strength of the team was defense. To be strong on defense, you need a steady presence in net, and sophomore Kat Gilbert (Halifax) provided that, turning away 481 shots.

“Kat is becoming a real goalie,” Marani said. “She is one of the better goalies in the league and that is a big part because she was committed. A lot of her issues were concentration.”

Freshmen Lilly Ulvila (Kington) and Abby Powers (Kingston) provided the Panthers with a look into the future. The two combined for 11 goals and 10 assists.

Marani said he has the same expectations heading into the offseason as he did coming into this year.

“We should make the state tournament next year,” said the coach. “If we don’t, it’s going to be a disappointment.”