Plympton Athletic Youth Sports (PAYS) experienced a heartbreaking theft of $44,150 in an elaborate check-forging scheme discovered in August.. PAYS oversees the baseball/softball, basketball, and soccer programs for Plympton.
PAYS president Scott Devonshire, in comments earlier this week, praised treasurer Lindsay Platz for identifying the theft and working diligently with both the Plympton Police and Santander Bank to aid in the funds’ recovery for PAYS.
The theft was first reported on August 23, 2023.
Plympton Police Officer Kevin Brower, who had been newly appointed Detective, took the lead on the investigation. Through his investigation, in conjunction with other officers in the Department, suspects were identified. The investigation included warrants, video surveillance, and the assistance of agencies from the State of Georgia.
The suspects include both a female and male from the Atlanta, GA area. They are being charged with two felonies including larceny of a check over $1,200 and forgery by check.
According to the Plympton Police Department, forging checks can be done in various manners, many of which do not require the person committing the act to be present in the town where the crime is committed. Methods can include duplicating checks via the Internet and faking signatures and credentials through various electronic means.
Check fraud is on the rise across the country and the FBI estimates that loss around $18.7 billion annually. It is estimated that over 500 million checks are forged each year in the United States.
Halifax Congregational Church Christmas Bazaar Nov. 25
The Halifax Congregational Church will be having a Christmas Bazaar and Luncheon on Saturday, Nov. 25, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The church is located at 503 Plymouth St. on Route 106 in Halifax.
The Bazaar will be hosting several crafters that you can purchase hand-made items from to give as holiday gifts or simply enjoy for yourself. Some of the craft items being offered include handmade soaps, handmade crafts, hand-painted pictures and other art work, handmade wreaths, handcrafted jewelry, beautiful decorated lighted bottles and much more. There will be a Missions table with items handmade/donated by church members with the proceeds going to help those in need. We will also be having a White Elephant Room and wonderful raffles for you to win. Best of all, you don’t want to miss out on our delicious homemade baked items and our popular cookie walk which offers a large assortment of fresh baked cookies to choose from.
We will be serving our Christmas luncheon starting at 11:00 am which will include various sandwiches and soups, along with other selections. Please be sure to bring your hearty appetite.
Please come and join us for a fun day of holiday shopping, delicious baked goods and a wonderful luncheon and don’t forget to bring your holiday gift list.
Sturtevant murders are TRIAD topic
Linda Redding
Special to the Express
Author John F. Gallagher was the guest speaker at the Halifax TRIAD meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 3. Gallagher is a former Boston Police Officer with over thirty years of experience, retiring in 2008 as Chief of Detectives.
The author of four books featuring historic true crimes on the South Shore, he discussed A Monument to Her Grief: The Sturtevant Murders of Halifax, Massachusetts, detailing the triple murders that took place over 150 years ago. Gallagher credited the Museum of Halifax for providing access to many resources used in the research of this book from photographs to newspaper clippings.
TRIAD meetings are open to the public and are held in the Great Room of the Halifax Town Hall.
Fraser speaks on Beacon Hill
On Oct. 30, Jason Fraser of the Plympton School Committee and Silver Lake School Committee provided testimony to the Joint Committee on Education in favor of what is known as the Rural Schools Bill (H.3567/S.2388) which would provide additional funding to school districts considered “rural” to help cope with economy of scale issues including special education, transportation and building construction. In 2018, the Plympton School Committee joined a group of rural schools in Massachusetts who gathered and analyzed data on school department struggles in small communities. This data was used to advocate for dedicated state funding to rural schools. In FY 21, Plympton received $12,272 in rural aid. These funds have increased over the past few years leading to Plympton receiving $55,294 of rural aid in FY 24. Similarly, Silver Lake Regional School District received $47,951 in rural aid in FY 21 and this too has grown to $173,580 in FY 24. The Rural Schools Bill which is based on the Massachusetts Legislature’s Report on a Sustainable Future for our Rural Schools would further increase state funding for rural school districts by a factor of four. Additionally, if passed, this legislation would create a commission to look at special education financing, which would provide key data for future legislation and state funding to support our schools.
Fraser also provided testimony to the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government on Oct. 24, in favor of two bills which would help cities and towns prepare fiscally for unanticipated special education cost and extraordinary budgetary increases due to assessments from regional schools. H.2075 would increase the allowable maximum balance in Special Education Reserve Funds to 5% of net school spending (NSS), creating a more resilient tool for municipalities to use in addressing unanticipated special education costs. Special Education Reserve Funds are currently capped at 2% of NSS. H.2076 would allow municipalities to create a Regional School Assessment Reserve Fund. A Regional School Assessment Fund would create a mechanism by which a municipality could save funds in a year when the Regional School Assessment is low to be used in a future budget cycle when the Assessment may be extraordinary. In both of these bills, municipalities have the control over the creation of the reserve fund, making investments into these funds and using these funds via the legislative body of the municipality, which, in the case of our towns would be town meetings.
Kingston will break ground on new Veterans Memorial
The Kingston Veterans Memorial Working Group will host a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, Nov. 10 at 10:45 a.m. at the location. Both Representative Kathy LaNatra and Senator Susan Moran will be in attendance as well as nearly 100 veterans. The event will be followed by our annual Veterans Day Luncheon at the Senior Center from 12 noon – 2 p.m.
Congratulations and best wishes to Plympton Fire Chief weds
Plympton Fire Chief Cheryl Davis, daughter of Joseph and Jennifer Davis, wed Patrick Duddy, son of Richard and Carol Duddy, Sept. 23, in Wilmot, NH, a special venue for the couple who has spent many weekends camping there. Helping in the ceremony were the couple’s two dogs. Wilden, left, was ring-bearer. Patrick is a firefighter with the Fall River Fire Department.
BOS, Thorndike in agreement
The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, Oct. 24. Lloyd Geisinger of Thorndike Development was there to provide an update on the proposed project at 265 and 266 Monponsett St. Geisinger explained the Zoning Bylaw Agreement as well as the Master Development Agreement that would need to be approved before they could move forward with the project. The zoning bylaw would need to be approved during Town Meeting in December. The proposal includes 102 senior housing units located on two different parcels. Thorndike has also proposed gifting the town land for a senior center and pickleball courts. “You get the land in perpetuity for $10,” Geisinger explained. .
The estimated budget for the senior center as laid out in the agreement is $3.4 million. At a previous Town Meeting, $1.7 million was allocated for the design and construction of the senior center. “There will need to be a vote, that is part of the Town Meeting, reauthorizing or repurposing $1.2 million of that $1.7 million for the construction of the senior center on this property,” Geisinger explained. Regarding how the money will be administered to the town, he said that the total mitigation payments will “equal the cost of the winning bid to build the senior center and pickleball courts less the $1.2 million that the town will repurpose, but in no event less than the $3.8 million.” According to Geisinger, the building of the project cannot be started until 36 units have been purchased.
Geisinger said that the condominium documents would specify that children under the age of 18 can visit and even stay for weeks or the summer but are not allowed to permanently reside there. He said that in his past experience, this was the wish of the majority of the residents. He further noted that at least one adult over the age of 55 must reside in at least 80 percent of the units.
Included in mitigation commitments is the construction of the new pedestrian crossing between 265 and 266 [Monponsett St.], construction of a sidewalk from the entrance of 265 up to the intersection of Monponsett St. and Route 106, and the installation of several 6 ft. tall shrubs. Geisinger said, “The parcel that we’re looking to have re-zoned is only the development parcel, which is approximately 12 acres of land. The remaining land on the parcel will have a permanent conservation restriction placed on it, so it can never be developed.” Geisinger also said that no certificate of occupancy will be issued for the last building until construction of the mitigation improvements have been reasonably completed. This is meant to offer protection for the town.
Regarding the zoning bylaw amendments, they were explained as being in three parts. The first would create a new overlay district that would allow for senior housing and the second would rezone the 265 parcel from AR Residential to B Commercial and Business with the senior overlay applied to it. The third part would have the overlay applied to 266 which is already zoned Commercial.
The three main objectives according to Thorndike are to put the development agreement on the warrant for town meeting, make the request to the Planning Board for the eligible location, and finally, to have the Town Administrator be authorized to submit the application to the State for an advisory opinion. The Selectmen voted to have the Master Development Agreement appear on the Warrant for the December Town Meeting.
In an adorable turn of events, the Halifax Police Department’s newest member was sworn in – Roxy, the comfort dog. The statement read, “I, Roxy, will support my officers and my community with my whole heart and soul. I promise to comfort, encourage, and soothe away sadness, fear, and confusion. I offer a warm heart, tender companionship, and unconditional love. I will serve my community throughout my days to the best of my ability.” Roxy received lots of belly rubs during the swearing-in ceremony.
Two one-day liquor licenses were approved for two dates in late November for the Farm at Raven Brook. A representative said, “We do similar events like this where we setup a station and provide alcoholic beverages, for this particular event we plan on offering our pumpkin beer… an IPA, a seltzer, and also a mulled wine as well, so something warm and good for the Christmas tree shopping.”
Town Administrator Cody Haddad explained his proposal for an Energy Management Consultant. “We have several energy efficiency grants, what you really need in order to be effective with these is someone to oversee the project… it would be beneficial to potentially look at bringing on a consultant to help us with this,” Haddad said. He said that part of it could be paid for using the Green Communities Grant while the rest of it would be put into next year’s operating budget. He said that it would pay for itself as it would result in more and better grant opportunities. The Board agreed to look into acquiring a consultant.
The Selectmen met with members of the Finance Committee to kick off the budget process as well as establish priorities for the upcoming fiscal year. Haddad said they asked Departments to provide them with where they would allocate a 10 percent cut if needed as well as what ramifications would result. A member of the Finance Committee asked that Department heads take a look at what they did last year and what the results were. The Selectmen and Finance Committee voted to approve the budget memo.
Winter Overnight Parking Ban in Halifax
No overnight on-street parking will be permitted on any street in the Town of Halifax effective November 1, 2023 through March 31, 2024.
Residents must remove all basketball hoops, hockey nets etc. from within the town layout (i.e.: the side of the road). This will prevent them from being damaged when plowing occurs.
A warning will be issued for first-time violators. Vehicles will be ticketed or towed, if necessary, for repeat offenders.
Comfort Dogs for Halifax and Plympton
The towns of Plympton and Halifax are richer in many ways with the adoption of two Labrador retriever puppies to serve on their forces as “comfort dogs” to support students and residents. Roxy and Aggie, 5-month-old pups purchased with the assistance of two $5,000 grants from the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office, will be used to reduce stress and promote wellness for students, and also attend town events. The pups are receiving their official training at Professional Canine Services in Middleboro.
Plympton Police Chief Matthew Ahl said, “The Plympton Police Department is extremely excited and thankful to be able to launch the comfort dog program with the assistance of the Plymouth County DA’s Office. Our comfort dog, Aggie, and her handler, Officer Cameron Broderick, will work together to assist and benefit the community in many ways, whether being present at the school, community events or sensitive incidents. There has already been a significant positive impact of this program and we’ve only just begun. We look forward to seeing the great work that this program does and continuing to strengthen our relationship with our community and residents.”
Halifax Police Chief Joao Chaves said, “The Halifax Police Department wants to thank District Attorney Cruz and his entire staff for the generous gift that started the Halifax Police Department Comfort Dog Program. Roxy is extraordinarily popular with the entire community. The impact she and Officer Campbell have made on the community has been overwhelming, and they are just getting started. They will be a very busy pair as they meet all our residents. We are truly grateful for this partnership which will take our community engagement to new heights.”
DA Cruz developed the Plymouth County Comfort Dogs Program to provide additional services and resources to our communities. The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office provides a mini grant to Plymouth County Police Departments to assist with costs associated with acquiring, training and caring for their comfort dog.
The pilot program has been designed to be implemented by either local School Resource Officers or the PD’s Community Outreach Officer, who in turn becomes the dog’s handler and sole caretaker. Both the handler and the comfort dog become members of the Plymouth County Comfort Dogs Program and are required to undergo all necessary training in the certification process to qualify as a comfort/therapy dog.
The network of Plymouth County Comfort Dogs is present in schools and are on hand to provide emotional support for students during the day, and available to the community at night and on weekends. Additionally, the handler and the comfort dog work with the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office staff at community events across Plymouth County and provide comfort services at its Children’s Advocacy Center and office.
Halifax family plays in Wizard of Oz
Wizard of Oz Reimagined—a True Rep production in Kingston this October– brings together members of the developmentally disabled community.
Follow the Yellow Brick Road and the True Rep Theatre for a production entitled Wizard of Oz Reimagined at the Beal House, 222 Main St., Kingston, on Oct. 28 and 29 at 3 p.m. This unexpected version of a timeless classic, the Wizard of Oz, brings together members of the developmentally disabled community and company members from True Rep Theatre. Of local interest, the entire Stratton family of Halifax (John, Debbie, Destiny, and Isabelle) are performing together for the first time in this production.
Tickets are $30 for general admission and $27 for seniors and students, $20 for kids twelve and under.
After seeing last week’s performance Ellen Snoeyenbos of Halifax said, “This show was fabulous! So inventive and inclusive! The stars were real pros.”
“We were made aware of the lack of theatrical opportunities available to differently abled people on the South Shore by one of our company members, who urged us to pursue an inclusive production,” shared Artistic Advisor, Paul Noonan. “We are blown away by the level of talent and enthusiasm everyone is bringing to this production,” said Assoc. Artistic Director Victoria Bond.
“We just want to share the beauty and excitement that this collaboration has awoken for us, as a theatre company and as a community. We hope to make this a regular part of our theatre season,” announced Artistic Director Donald Sheehan. True Rep, true to form, has staged an unexpected and engaging version of this theatre classic that will delight audiences of all ages!
For more information or to purchase tickets or donate, please visit www.truereptheatre.com. True Rep Theatre is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit and all donations are tax deductible.
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