The Halifax Fire Department responded to a call last Thursday, Aug. 24, around 4:30 p.m. reporting a brush fire.
Firefighters found approximately one acre of brush burning near the power lines along Laurel Street, said Fire Chief Jason Viveiros.
The fire was brought under control after about one hour with approximately 15 personnel responding.
The Plympton Board of Selectmen believes it has narrowed its search for a Fire/EMS consulting firm to two candidates, both which interviewed at the Selectmen meeting on Monday, August 28, 2017.
Selectmen spent their last two meetings interviewing candidates to study and make recommendations to improve emergency services. The funding for this study was approved last May at Annual Town Meeting.
Both Municipal Resources Inc. (MRI) and Attorney Ernest Horn are considered the likely finalists after interviewing with Selectmen and Fire Chief Warren Borsari. Robert Loomer, Brian Duggan, and Robert Craig represented MRI in the consulting firm’s meeting with the Board and Fire Chief.
Fire Chief Borsari was impressed that Loomer, Duggan, and Craig are all retired fire chiefs. Borsari reiterated that this will help because the three of them truly understand the multitude of issues a fire department has to deal with.
Borsari said, “It’s nice to see three fire chiefs in the same room with me.”
Selectmen John Traynor asked MRI for guidance on how emergency services can be improved. He said the town is pondering all options including improving on the existing in-house advanced life support services, regionalization, shared services, and privatization. However, Traynor did say that privatization seems to be a very expensive option.
Citing past experience with towns similar in size to Plympton, MRI cautioned Selectmen about common issues with privatizing emergency services. According to MRI, the biggest issue with privatization isn’t cost, but rather the lack of control over the level of service.
Duggan said, “In years one and two it’s often cost effective.” However, he said without the revenue from having your own service, it can become “cost prohibitive” in smaller communities over the long run.
MRI spoke positively about the benefits of shared services. They said that unlike regionalized services, there’s more control with a shared service contract with another town. The consulting firm said they’ve completed 15 regionalization studies. In the end, only two of those communities ended up implementing regionalized services.
The firm said that it would also be more than willing to talk to other towns about a shared service. This includes asking towns what their concerns might be and giving a broad structure of what an agreement might look like. However, MRI’s services do not include negotiating a contract with another town.
In total, MRI said they can complete the study with a four to six month turnaround.
Attorney Ernest Horn
Attorney Ernest Horn also interviewed for the Fire/EMS study and is considered a finalist for the position. Horn has 31 years of experience working in public safety.
This experience includes time as a fire chief and also as a police chief. Horn also teaches criminal justice classes as an adjunct professor at Becker College in Worcester, Mass.
Horn described his approach as a thorough one. He said, “The preferable way to do it (studies) is from top to bottom.”
According to Horn, every employee at the fire department will be interviewed, and all equipment and records will be examined thoroughly. He said he even has a certified mechanic who will inspect every vehicle the fire department has.
Besides the mechanic, Horn said he has a team he’s selected to help with his department examination. Horn said, “I have a team of retired and current public officials with over 100 combined years of experience.”
The Board of Selectmen asked Horn about his opinions on privatization, in-house, and all the other types of service options the town could explore. Like MRI, Horn was not optimistic about privatized emergency services. Horn preferred a shared service rather than a regionalized service as well.
Horn said, “The problem with regionalization is you add another authority.” Instead, he spoke about a potential employee-sharing contract with another town since it helps with the problem of hiring and keeping employees while also sharing costs such as putting trainees through the fire academy.
Horn said it’s important the town does not become the subservient in this type of arrangement. He said Plympton would have to be on equal footing with a shared contract.
Selectmen Chair Christine Joy asked Horn if he’d be willing to negotiate with another town on Plympton’s behalf. Horn said he would be willing to do this. As a licensed attorney, Horn considers this legal advice that’s included in his $18,000 service cost.
Horn said his usual turn around for a study is 30-45 days with a report presented in 60 days. He said that he can however accommodate earlier if needed.
Selectmen plan to choose a consulting firm sometime in the middle of September.
Other News
Robert Law resigned his position as Plympton Fire Captain. The Board of Selectmen regretfully accepted his resignation and thanked him for his service.
Selectmen will be completing a survey from the Old Colony Planning Council. According to Joy, the town is in the running for a rural community grant. If awarded, the grant will be used for road upgrades on parts of Route 106.
The next Board of Selectmen’s meeting is Monday, September 11. Open session starts at 6 p.m.
Some of the best local soccer players gathered together despite their Patriot League rivalries and achieved one common goal.
Athletes from Silver Lake, Plymouth North and Duxbury and several other local schools came together while playing for the Liverpool International Academy of Massachusetts. Ultimately, the best talent the area had to offer was good enough to win the US Club Soccer National Championship in the Under-16 bracket.
The Liverpool club dominated their competition in the tournament, outscoring their foes 18-1 in the regional tournament. They competed in New Jersey during the regional part of the tournament, but the championship game against FC Europa was held at the Grand Park Sports Complex in Westfield, Indiana.
In order to get there, however, Liverpool really needed to battle.
Against Bruno United, Liverpool was down 2-0 with 12 minutes left, but they were able to put up three goals to stay alive in the tournament.
In the regional championship game against GPS New Hampshire. injuries were a problem for the Liverpool team during the tournament. They were missing five players during their bout, but they still had enough depth to prevail. A strong save from Justin Keating in the final seconds of the game kept Liverpool’s season alive.
Fellow Lakers Pat McMahon and Alex Loyd also competed for the Massachusetts Liverpool team during their championship run. Last year, McMahon led the Patriot League in scoring despite being a sophomore.
Since they were able to contribute to a team that proved they were the best in their respective bracket at the national level, it is safe to expect Keating, McMahon and Loyd to have productive years for the Lakers this fall.
Their Liverpool team was coached by Plymouth North head coach John Tocci. This fall, however, the Lakers players will be back to playing against him and meeting him and his team as rivals.
WHITMAN — It’s not often that a children’s book author draws a large adult audience for a story time reading, but Kathleen Teahan’s new book “The Cookie Loved ’Round the World” is not your average children’s book.
The story of the chocolate chip cookie’s beginnings in Whitman also brought out local history buffs, former Toll House Restaurant waitresses and past customers of the restaurant that burned down in 1984. Children attending sat at Teahan’s feet, munching Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies, from packages handed out by library staff as she and her illustrator Larisa Hart spoke at the Monday, Aug. 21 event in the Whitman Public Library’s Community Room.
After her talk they waited in a long line to purchase copies of the book to be signed by Teahan, a former English teacher and state legislator, and Hart, who is a former Whitman-Hanson Express graphic designer.
“Who remembers when the Toll House was standing in Whitman?” asked Youth Services Librarian Stephanie Young as some of the older audience members raised their hands.
“I didn’t grow up around here, but actually, it burned down before I was born,” she said to some laughter as she introduced Teahan.
“It’s very exciting to be back in Whitman,” Teahan said, recalling when the library was located in Town Hall. “Before I talk about the book, I’d like to talk about the cookie — how many people in this room like chocolate chip cookies?”
Almost every hand in the room shot up at the question.
“Looks like just about everybody,” she said. Teahan also provided some chocolate chip cookies factoids:
• The largest ever baked was a 40,000-pound biscuit made in 2013 in North Carolina as a fundraiser for a folk art museum;
• Americans eat 7 billion chocolate chip cookies every year — the number one variety;
• The chocolate chip cookies was first baked in Whitman in the 1930s.
“Whitman is a very special town and a town we should all be proud of because of that,” she said. “It also has a lot of other things we should be proud of.”
Her book is a “fictionalized history” narrated by Teahan’s real-life Aunt Ann, who grew up in Whitman and worked at the Toll House. Teahan’s research took her to historical societies, universities, libraries and personal information with which she was familiar.
Hart followed with a brief talk on the illustration process.
“We just met a couple years ago,” Teahan said. “It was the luckiest thing that could have happened.”
Hart compared their partnership to meeting a new kid in school who became your best friend.
“When you make a book it’s not just you working on the book,” Hart said with a laugh. “You have other people who work for the book company, so every illustration had seven versions of it.”
She told the children that, while they may color some pictures quickly, bigger and more detailed pictures could take more time.
“That’s what I learned while doing this book,” Hart said. “You can work on something and work on it for a long time, but if you believe in yourself … your perseverance will pay off.”
As she read the book aloud, Teahan interjected background information on the story and how she came to write it. For example, as children, Aunt Ann and her brother would sell daily newspapers and their grandmother’s homemade doughnuts to help the family pay bills after their father lost his Fall River shipyard job during the Great Depression.
“No matter what was happening, they didn’t give up,” Teahan said of the family’s resilience. “I bet you guys don’t give up when things are tough — you just keep trying and practicing and eventually you get it.”
The book also relates one version of the story behind Ruth Wakefield’s invention of the Toll House chocolate chip cookie. There are evidently at least three versions, Teahan said.
A batch of cookies ordered for a wedding reception was jeopardized by a shortage of walnuts, as the food supply was often undependable during the Depression. Wakefield substituted small pieces of Nestlé bittersweet chocolate, which she had on hand — but the morsels did not melt in baking.
“Everybody in the kitchen gave two thumbs-up to the cookie,” Teahan said adding that Wakefield’s request to Nestlé for chocolate that was easier to chop up led first to scored bars and eventually to today’s bag of semi-sweet morsels.
“The Toll House is on the front of the bag so everybody who buys this gets to see something about Whitman,” she said as she held up a package of morsels. “They also get the recipe. So Mrs. Wakefield put Whitman on the map.”
Even noted war correspondent Ernie Pyle was a fan, writing in 1938 that “Ruth Wakefield can cook ‘by ear.’ Or by taste, I suppose you’d call it. She can taste a strange dish, and come home and recreate it with every ingredient in proportion.”
Pyle’s columns, and Nestlé advertisements, advocating the inclusion of the Toll House cookie in packages to WWII troops overseas helped spread the cookie’s fame.
The book concludes with the project by a 1996 project by third-graders at a Somerset school, which won Official State Cookie designation by the state Legislature.
Plympton selectmen interviewed two consulting firms for a study of the town’s fire department and emergency services at its meeting on Monday, August 21, 2017. The residents of Plympton voted $20,000 for this study at Annual Town Meeting back on May 18.
The first interview was with Travis Miller from the Carlson Group Inc., a national firm. Miller said he and his partner have been working together for 18 years. Alone, Miller has 25 years of consulting experience.
Miller described the Carlson group’s approach as one that values community input. He said, “We’re looking for service level questions in the community.”
As far as service level, Miller said he was referring primarily to the length of time it takes for the department to arrive at an emergency call.
Fire Chief Warren Borsari sat in on the interviews and acknowledged that this has become a challenge with the increased call volume. In 2013, Plympton upgraded its emergency services to advanced life support and since then, the town has taken part in assisting other communities with emergency services to increase revenue.
The call volume has gone up drastically since then. Borsari said the annual call number was at 299 when he first became the fire chief. Now, the number has more than doubled; there were 646 emergency calls in 2016.
Selectmen Clerk Mark Russo wanted to make sure the Carlson group was comfortable with Plympton’s fire department structure. He said the town uses full-time, part-time, and on-call employees for their emergency services. Miller said he’s comfortable with the structure and it’s not unique as he’s worked in other communities with similar structures.
Selectmen John Traynor asked the firm for a revised proposal since there seemed to be some confusion in the interview on what the goal of the study is. Traynor said the town needs guidance on what structure is best for the town’s emergency services, whether that be staying fully in house, regionalization, or privatization.
Miller did answer some of this, saying he believes there are a lot of benefits to having emergency services based in the fire department. “One of the biggest reasons is the revenue,” he said.
As far as time frame, Miller said if their firm were picked to expect a final report and presentation by early December. Miller said it’s possible it could be ready sooner.
Matrix Consulting Group
Selectmen and Chief Borsari interviewed Robert Finn from Matrix Consulting Firm Inc. Finn told the Board he flew in from Dallas, TX for this meeting. Matrix Consulting is a national firm with offices all throughout the country.
Finn said the firm likes to “start up with a flexible approach.” He added, “The first thing we do is interview and figure out what is “good” (for the town).”
Objective standards were brought up as well such as call response times and looking at what areas of a community could be deemed high risk. Finn brought up an oil tank in Texas being a high risk for a fire and wanted to identify any areas like that in Plympton.
Traynor told Finn the same thing he told the Carlson Group, that the town needs guidance and is exploring several options. He said, “We’re unsure which options make sense. We would need you for guidance.”
Finn said that the firm would have no problem exploring any of the options. He said, “My study will include anything you decide is important to you.”
Russo wanted to make sure the firm was used to smaller communities as well as cities. According to Finn, most of Matrix Consulting’s studies are done on towns with populations under 50,000.
As far as timeline goes, this firm has a longer time to finish than the Carlson Group. Matrix Consulting gave a 16-week timeline.
The firm’s price is also what the board deemed on the high side. Finn said there are no costs later if something doesn’t go exactly right unlike some other firms.
Other News
Community Paradigm is starting its preliminary screening for filling the town administrator position. Russo mentioned that the Board should start thinking about putting together the town’s screening committee for interviews soon.
Selectmen are working on clarifying an approach for departments to request time with town counsel in the case of emergencies. The protocol is always to seek permission from the Board of Selectmen first. The board is working toward allowing emergency permission for department heads when the board cannot be reached and the matter of the situation is time sensitive.
The next meeting of the Plympton Board of Selectmen is Monday, September 11, 2017, because of the Labor Day holiday. Open session starts at 6 p.m.
Kozahya Nessralla of 139 Hemlock Ln. met with the Halifax Board of Selectmen and Fire Chief Jason Viveiros on Tuesday, August 22, 2017 to finalize details for this fall’s annual corn maze which takes place from September 15 to October 30.
In addition to the usual maze hours on weekends from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., there will be a flashlight maze on Friday and Saturday nights. Other activities include games, abounce house for kids, food, and a party tent available to rent.
Nessralla said the corn maze itself is 15 acres, making it the largest corn maze in Massachusetts. The property also includes a 5-acre parking lot for the event.
Fire Chief Jason Viveiros asked that Nessralla and the Board follow up on all fire prevention regulations. One thing Viveiros said needs to change is that the parking lot needs to be moved back. Right now, the lot is 65 feet back from the corn maze. Viveiros said it needs to be at least 75 feet back.
Nessralla highlighted some of the other things he plans to do for safety including a map of the maze with information on who to contact in case you get lost. Nessralla said, “We have people who’ll find you.”
Nessralla already received the required large event permit from the Board of Health, so the Board of Selectmen and the Fire Chief affirmed satisfaction with the overall safety of the event.
Viveiros said the last thing left to do is a pre-meeting to address safety. This will take place some point next week.
Tax Classification Hearing
Newly appointed Principal Assessor Holly Merry presented property classifications from fiscal year 2018’s tax classification hearing. According to the Board of Assessors’ report, The Town of Halifax has $884,129,790 in total taxable value.
Residential property alone makes up over 90 percent of the total taxable value. $797,010,513 comes from the residential classification. Commercial property made up $55,278,217, industrial was $16,067,100, and personal property made up $15,773,960.
According to Merry, “The Board of Assessors recommends the same tax rate for residential, commercial, and industrial.” The proposed tax rates for single family dwellings and commercial/industrial/ personal property are dropping across board. Both will be taxed at $17.65 per thousand valuation.
Selectmen Chairman Thomas Millias said he doesn’t want to do anything that would drive out the few commercial businesses the town already has (by increasing the commercial tax rate to lower the residential tax rate.)
The assessors’ report also listed the average assessed value for homes in Halifax as listed here:
• Single family: $313,956
• Condos: $171, 507
• Commercial/Industrial/Personal property: $342, 236
The average values of single-family dwellings actually increased from last year’s appraisal of $297,695. Commerical/industrial/personal property’s value also increased from $334,479 to $342, 236.
According to the report, the top five taxpayers in Halifax are:
1. Walmart Assessed Value: $9,020,200
2. Henrich, Lawrence M Trustee (Mobile Home Park): $8,625,000
3. WJG Realty Trust (Stop & Shop): $7,772,100
4. Halifax Country Club: $3,260,760
5. Cumberland Farms INC.: $3,143,980.
Other News
Town Adminstrator Charles Seelig brought up that there’s still $8,000 remaining in the Salter Gift Account. Seelig mentioned potentially bringing this up to the Recreation Department in order to repair the track at the athletic fields.
Engineer Brian Grady of GF Engineering, LLC. came to discuss and present plans for earth removal at White Dog Cranberry Ltd. A proposed reservoir is under consideration, which would involve the removal of large amount of sand.
In order for the project to be completed the Board of Selectmen would have to waive the amount allowed to be removed and transported. Millias said he needs more information before making a decision. The Board of Selectmen voted to address this at the next meeting.
The next Board of Selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 12, 2017. Open session starts at 7:30 p.m.
Soule Homestead, 46 Soule Street, at the Plympton/Middleborough line, wraps up its summer concert season on Saturday, August 19 at 6 p.m. with bluegrass quartet Riley Coyote with Molly Pinto Madigan.
Riley Coyote’s musicians, all Middleboro natives, are Kristen Riley on the fiddle, Jim Lough on mandolin, Joe Faria on bass and Joe Tummino on guitar. Their rollicking bluegrass tunes like Clementine have been performed at venues throughout New England including Atwood’s Tavern in Cambridge and the outdoor summer concert series at Mashpee Commons.
Molly Pinto Madigan’s ethereal voice and soulful compositions won her first place in WUMB’s Boston Folk Festival Songwriting Contest. A regular at The Club Passim and the Boston Celtic Music Festival, Madigan blends European and American traditional music. Her soulful voice is made for the ballads she writes and performs.
Riley Coyote with Molly Pinto Madigan, on Saturday, August 19, at 6 p.m., Soule Homestead, 46 Soule Street, Middleboro. Admission is $10 per person, under 16 free. No dogs or alcohol allowed, Concert held rain or shine with indoor facilities available. Snacks available for purchase. For more information [email protected].
What’s the Buzz? Fill out your name in a cell of the Plympton Public Library’s bee hive as you become a reader. It only takes 15 minutes to stop the buzzyness and read at the library, located on Route 58, in historic Plympton Village.
Marlee and Graham Mulcahy added their names to the Plympton Public Library’s “Hive of Readers”, the library’s summer reading program. Marlee also added her name to a flower after reading a “Build a Better World” book.
Marlee and Graham Mulcahy added their names to the Plympton Public Library’s “Hive of Readers”, the library’s summer reading program. Marlee also added her name to a flower after reading a “Build a Better World” book.
What’s the Buzz? Fill out your name in a cell of the Plympton Public Library’s bee hive as you become a reader. It only takes 15 minutes to stop the buzzyness and read at the library, located on Route 58, in historic Plympton Village.
Holmes Public Library “Monday night Madness” summer reading program ended on a slithery note with Museum of Science traveling reptile education and presentation by Kim Cooper- Vernon Education Associate.
Herpetologists for a night, the children and parents watched as Cooper-Vernon spoke and presented the reptiles to the classroom. With a white board she also talked about what makes a reptile and how to recognize these creatures.
One child shouted ‘Godzilla is a reptile’ when asked who knows what a reptile is? The night was silly, slithery and appeared to be a hit as there were no empty seats to be had.
Some of the children made silly faces as the animals appeared as did the parents.
Cooper-Vernon talked about Sinaloan Milksnakes and their habitats.
The Sinaloan Milksnake was a clinging creature but by the faces in the audience not everyone likes snakes.
Murdock really enjoyed seeing his reflection in the cage and on the animal cam, which gave kids a closer look at the animal’s features.
Lux the Spotted Gecko got a view of the room from his cage.
Board of Assessors Clerk Ethan Stiles met with Plympton Selectmen on Monday, August 14, 2017 to discuss which Town Counsel will represent Plympton in Sysco’s tax abatement appeal.
Stiles explained the direness of the situation to the Board. He said that Sysco believes the town is greatly overvaluing their property and have filed for abatements in both 2015 and 2016. According to Stiles, Sysco wants the valuation brought down from $65 million to $45 million. The Town of Plympton denied both abetment requests and Sysco is appealing.
Discussion first started at last week’s Selectmen’s meeting on Monday, Aug. 7. Principal Assessor Deborah Stuart told Selectmen that the Board of Assessors strongly recommends Ellen M. Hutchinson, an attorney who operates a private practice out of Beverly.
At last week’s meeting, Selectmen admitted they were caught off guard by the Hutchinson selection because they said they were under the impression that the town’s current co-counsels, Richard Bowen and Kopelman and Paige Law were the only ones being considered. Stiles came in to further discuss the Assessors’ thought process.
Stiles said, “When we looked at Attorney Hutchinson’s resume, we felt that her practice was more strongly suited and focused to the appeals process of the Appelate Tax Board (ATB).” He added that Bowen’s resume was strong, but the Board of Assessors believed Hutchinson was the stronger candidate.
The Assessors were also impressed, said Stiles because Hutchinson attached and summarized 12 specific cases related to these types of tax abatement appeal cases.
Selectmen still had some concern because they were unaware of what was going on in the process. “We’re in this together,” said Selectman John Traynor, “If the town loses this, we’re going to lose $360,000 give or take every year, and that’s a big concern to me.
Traynor added that he did look at Hutchinson’s resume though. He said that she seems to be well qualified.
Selectmen said they will request Atty. Hutchinson come before the Board of Selectmen at a future meeting. Selectman Chair Christine Joy said, “We’ll try to get this set up as quickly as possible, hopefully next week.”
Hazardous Waste Day Update
Plympton’s Hazardous Waste Day took place on Saturday, August 12, at the Transfer Station. Board of Health Chairman Art Morin reported that the event was a huge success. He also complimented Highway Surveyor Jim Mulcahy for coming up with the idea.
Morin said, the event was run by Clear Harbor who wore hazmat suits and required residents to stay in their cars. This caused a line all the way down to Ring Road, but Morin said the line moved “incredibly efficiently.”
Morin said, “It never stopped from 9 a.m. all the way up until a few minutes before 12.”
Morin also reported with delight to the Board of Selectmen that the event ran under budget. There was a small surplus left over from the $5,000 approved for the event at Town Meeting.
Other News
Selectmen John Traynor said he heard back from the last of four consulting firms who applied to do the fire/emergency services study approved at Annual Town Meeting. The Board was waiting for a written study proposal from this last firm.
All four firms will be interviewed over the next two weeks. Two firms will be interviewed at the Selectmen’s meeting on Monday, August, 21. The final two firms’ interviews will take place Monday, August 28.
The interviews for the fire department’s clerical position are over and Traynor said he believes Chief Warren Borsari and the rest of the screening board have a candidate they’d like to select. Traynor wants to confirm this one more time though, so there was no name announced at this time.
The next Plympton Selectmen’s meeting is Monday, August 21. Open session begins at 6 p.m.