Operation Swift Response, a two-day drill held in Plainville and Topsfield last week allowed first responders to test their strengths statewide.

Several agencies and technical rescue teams from the South Shore took part in the joint response under one command post in the simulation of an EF3 tornado. The practice drill required the deployment of rescue teams to multiple sites for recovery, rescue and support.

More than a dozen local fire chiefs also participated in area command posts as part of the disaster drill.

“It was a great training exercise, working alongside the technical teams from each county and utilizing statewide  assets — everything from  technical rescues to learning the logistics of area  command,” said Whitman Fire Chief  Timothy Grenno.

Hanson Fire Lt. Robert O’Brien Jr., was deputy director of operations for Plymouth County Technical Rescue Team. They quickly learned that moving personnel was their first priority and on day one of the drill relocated 150 people by aircraft from the Mansfield Airport. 

“We had a limitation in what we could move for equipment. We had to come up with a better system in what we moved first,” O’Brien said. “We were able to move six people using the medevac helicopter. In the utility helicopters we were able to move 11-12 person teams.”

With 14 squads participating, the helicopter was repurposed to bring in other resources forcing the “players in the drill” to rethink their strategy and reconfigure their resources.

Mannequins and live victims, portrayed by military personnel, were used during rescue missions and as part of the hands-on medical phase.

Victims who were “injured” but described as walking wounded were airlifted out and the remaining “victims” had symptom cards describing their injuries for rescuers. 

“We now have a better system in place to move equipment and as far as moving personnel it was flawless,” said O’Brien.

Such lessons were the object of the exercise, which tested the overall effectiveness of emergency operations in case of a major disaster.

More than 100 first responders including many local firefighters attended the physically challenging exercise. The teams were moved by National Guard Black Hawk helicopters to the drill site.

In press releases prior to the event, Capt. Rob Reardon of Duxbury Fire, PIO assistant coordinator for the drill, said several local and statewide participants were involved: Fire Chiefs of Massachusetts, Technical Rescue Committee, COMTRIST, National Guard, Department of Fire Services, Mass Emergency Management Agency, Barnstable, Bristol, Essex, Norfolk, and Plymouth and District 14 Technical Rescue Teams.

The drill was intended as a test in times of disaster and will predict future areas of improvement for all responders.

“It went very well. It took a lot of planning — 24 separate meetings. We had a few small hiccups as part of the learning process but for the most part — it went very well,” said Chief Kevin Nord of the Duxbury Fire Department.   

There were several goals in running the two simultaneous drill sites including the main component of communication between rescue teams and assembling resources to manage an area that was “deemed inaccessible,” he said.

Participants assembled in teams with approximately 90 skilled technical rescue technicians as part of the incident.

Two National Guard helicopters were used; one flying from the north and one from the south to access the drill sites.

The Plainville Fire department doesn’t have its own technical team but they do have members who train on other tech squads. Nord expressed great thanks for Chief Justin Alexander as a gracious host to one of the sites as well as the entire Plainville Fire Department.

Along with the more than 100 participants in the drill there were abundant efforts in coordination, said Nord.

The logistics and planning between sites, central command and communication for a wide area were well coordinated during the two twelve hour days funded by FCAM Technical Rescue Committee, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and the Massachusetts National Guard.  Training funding was used for participating agencies, according to the press release.

Teams had great exposure and familiarization working with the National Guard soldiers who were embedded in the event, said Nord.

He also thanked everyone who came together for the drill.     

Gen. Rice was very gracious to allow us the use of the National Guard’s Black Hawks, Nord said. The coordination and positive response of participants was “exceptional,” said Nord.

Gov. Charlie Baker and EOPPS Secretary Dan Bennett attended along with his undersecretary.

The governor was pleased by the show of support of the Commonwealth, said Nord.

Interviews, appointments and re-appointments took some some shuffling, but all were assigned by meeting’s close

Halifax Selectmen named Mel Conroy to the open position on the Finance Committee at their Tuesday night meeting.

After interviewing two candidates for the one FinCom open position at their meeting June 9, the Board interviewed its final candidate for that committee, William McAvoy, on Tuesday, June 23.

Derrick Bennet, one of the three candidates originally running for the one open position on the board, withdrew his candidacy after his interview at the June 9 meeting, leaving McAvoy and Conroy.

Selectmen seem to be working with a large talent pool for this year’s major appointed positions, and appear to be trying to find the right fit with each personality and position.

As Selectmen interviewed McAvoy, one concern was his ability to give the time necessary for a Finance Committee position. McAvoy is a busy businessman, and has numerous family obligations as well.

Conversely, he is extremely qualified, according to all members of the Board, for many committees in town and is very enthusiastic to serve. “I make time for all of my commitments,” said McAvoy.

FinCom requires members to serve the town on no other board or department, as they must recommend budgets for those boards and departments. 

Hoping that McAvoy would take the opportunity to serve the town in more than one way, for now, he was appointed to an opening on the Capital Planning Committee.

Mel Conroy was thus appointed to the open position on FinCom.

Also, the position of Building Inspector has been vacated by Selectman Thomas Millias, and the Board has hired Robert Piccirilli of Halifax as his replacement. Piccirilli is currently an assistant building inspector for the town. He has served as a Halifax employee for 15 years, and serves on several boards and committees.

Millias abstained from all interviewing or voting for this position, as his position as Building Inspector will not technically end until June 30, the end of the fiscal year.

While major appointments to committees and boards that keep the town functioning seem to be in place, the Beautification Committee, on the other hand, is in disarray. One previous member asked not to be reappointed and the committee has been expanded from three members to five, leaving three vacancies.

Furthermore, $476 left unspent from fiscal year 2015 will be transferred from the committee to the general fund if not spent by the end of fiscal year 2015, Tuesday, June 30, thus the Board acted quickly.

They interviewed Debra Scioscia for one of the new openings, and heard some ideas she had for an all-season garden that has been in the works for the front of Town Hall for some time. Scioscia was quickly appointed.

The Board also re-appointed Amy Troup Greely and Jessica Raduc as well to the committee, still leaving two vacancies available.

The final re-appointment was Maureen Rogers, to the Wage and Personnel Board.

All of the appointments and re-appointments mentioned above were unanimous.

Selectmen Troy Garron and Tom Millias wished to send a letter of encouragement to the owner of the Monponsett Street property who has made significant progress in reducing the amount of junk on the front lawn. Selectman Chairman Kim Roy agreed, if the letter wasn’t too thankful, as the property should have been kept properly in the first place, according to Roy.

Finally, the Board went into Executive Session.  The agenda listed the reason as ““Chief Broderick – ‘last drink reports,’”  yet when the Chairman called for the Executive Session with the Police Chief she stated it was for “discussions of the security of the Town.” Last drink reports, or, Place of Last Drink (PLD) reports are self-stated reports of where an individual was last served alcohol, given to police usually after being pulled over for suspected OUI.

The state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) keeps track of this data that is then disseminated to the various cities and towns in the Commonwealth and to the police. Selectman Garron, a retired police officer, has been vocal about the unreliability of such reports in past meetings.

It was not known at press time, after contacting the ABCC press office, the state Attorney General’s press office and the Halifax Police whether this information is considered public. It is also unknown at this time how it is related to the “security of the Town.”

Selectmen, without identifying individual offenders, but identifying individual establishments that over-served, have discussed PLD reports in the past at open meetings.

In other news:

• Debra Trotta, representing the Lyonville Tavern, was granted a weekday public entertainment license.

• The second round of treatments on both East and West Monponsett Ponds will begin on Tuesday, June 30.

Don’t forget  – because it does come a week early! –  to come out and celebrate the Fourth of July with the rest of Halifax at the 2015 edition of Halifax in Lights.

There will be plenty of fun for everyone.

On Saturday, June 27th, beginning at 6 p.m. at the HOPS playground located adjacent to the Halifax Elementary School, 464 Plymouth Street, Route 106, Halifax and surrounding towns will celebrate their patriotism with music, a balloon-animal artist, a juggler along with other vendors selling food and novelties. Raffles will also be held, promising plenty of fun for the whole family

At 9:15 p.m., the highlight of the show will begin when some of the most fabulous fireworks on the South Shore will be displayed.

Young and old alike and everybody in between are sure to enjoy this fun festival coming right up on Saturday (and again, don’t miss out– Halifax in Lights is a week before the actual Fourth of July!)

At Monday’s Selectmen’s meeting in Plympton, Debbie Grace, a Silver Lake Integrated Preschool Teacher’s Assistant who has been making rounds of the Silver Lake towns updated the Board on the progress of the privately funded regional playground conceived for the preschool.

Silver Lake Integrated Preschool (SLIP), located at Kingston Elementary School, was created in 1989 to serve the needs of the Silver Lake School District. The program has 107 students. made up of 17 families from Plympton, 17 from Halifax, and the remainder from Kingston. Many have special needs, making a safe place to play with their peers a necessity.

With students of all abilities from ages 2-5, and no proper playground for this age group on site, volunteers (both parents and teachers) recognized an opportunity to fill this need by forming a committee to raise the funds necessary to fund the project.

Approved by the Kingston Selectmen as well as the Silver Lake Regional School Board, the organizers started with a $12,000 grant from the Sampson Fund in Kingston. Originally setting a goal to raise $50,000, they raised nearly all of this in several days. The volunteers realized that they had incredible community support, as further grants and donations came in.

Setting their goals higher, they raised their budget to between $150,000-$200,000 in order to build a 2,900 square foot playground. It will be fully ADA compliant, including access ramps to the main structure and swings that can accommodate wheelchairs, even for paraplegics.

The “floor” of the playground will be made of a rubber-based material, allowing children with stability issues to use the playground– which is nearly as expensive as the playground structure itself, but necessary, according to Grace.

The latest grant the organizers applied for would add a sensory skill and dramatic play element to the structure, allowing teachers and therapists to bring lessons outside.

Although no public money is being used for the project, the playground will be open to the community outside of school hours. It will be located on the west side of Kingston Elementary School. The Selectmen enthusiastically have expressed support for the project in both Plympton and Halifax.

For more information, see “Do You Want To Build a Playground?” on Facebook, where you can find links to the project’s GoFundMe site. The playground will tentatively open Spring, 2016.

Plympton Selectmen met Monday, taking care of some new business, and tabling much of the old.

Notably, both Chairman John Russo and Selectperson Christine Joy addressed meeting decorum, as previous meetings in the past few weeks have become quite heated. Russo rarely reminds the audience of many ground rules other than encouraging a respectful environment. This night, he actually read from Massachusetts Open Meeting laws, stating outright that no one may interrupt a meeting, and that the chairperson must recognize anyone who wishes to address the board.

If someone is disruptive, the chairperson may ask that individual to leave, and if that person refuses the Chair can have him or her removed by a constable. Russo articulated that this was not optional, as this is stated explicitly in the Open Meeting law.

Russo explained that he did not want to create an environment where people were afraid to debate, but that meetings needed to be a safe setting for discussion.

Selectperson Joy reiterated much of this later on in the meeting.

Town Coordinator Dale Pleau reported to the board that he had unused sick days from Fiscal Year 2015, and that he did not want to take them now at the end of this fiscal year because he felt that he had a significant amount of work to finish up. He asked the Board to allow him to roll some or all of the days over to Fiscal Year 2016.

As he had made a similar request last year– and rolled four days into Fiscal Year 2015– the Board had not wanted to set a precedent then. The Board deliberated on what exactly to do. Pleau insisted he would take the days if the Board did not roll over some of the time, and this would amount to him working only one day over the next two weeks.

The Board allowed him to roll over three days in a 2-1 vote, over the objections of Joy, who wished to stick to Pleau’s contract with the Board– even asking Pleau why he hadn’t taken the days earlier, to which he responded that there was nowhere to go in the winter.

Russo made it clear that the Board would likely not accommodate him similarly again.

Although the Board was supposed to approve roughly 54 appointed positions at the meeting, a slight mix-up between the Town Clerk, Tara Wick, and the Selectmen’s Assistant, Kristen LaVangie required the appointments be delayed two weeks, until the next meeting on June 29, 2015.

Selectperson Joy expressed some frustration in not having more time to vet the appointees, since the current positions expire July 1, 2015. Russo affirmed that this was the first time during LaVangie’s initial year in her position that any issue had arose, and was not particularly concerned. He complimented her excellent job performance.

Joy, along with her concerns about decorum at meetings, brought some fresh thoughts to the board. One was regarding changing the agenda format into “old-business” and “new-business” sections, although Russo and Selectman Colleen Thompson did not feel very strongly about this. Russo was concerned that doing this implies that the meeting will go in the order of the agenda (which rarely happens.)

Joy also suggested adding a public forum at the end of the meeting, but Russo objected, saying that he already asks at the beginning if anyone would like to add anything to the agenda. Leaving public forums to the end may cause long discussions as the meeting is wrapping up, according to Russo.

Joy also wanted to explore changing the setup of the room, or moving rooms for the Selectmen’s meetings, as she does not like being on an elevated platform in the current meeting room and would rather be at eye-level with the rest of the audience. The Selectmen currently sit at an 8-inch raised dais. The Board agreed to try out a different setup or room during the summer to see how it works, but no vote was taken on Joy’s suggestions.

The Board approved a “micro-chip reader” to identify lost pets for the Animal Control Officer, which Russo, a practicing veterinarian, believed would cost about $300, and stated that the chip-readers are essential for finding out who pets belong to (animals can be injected with a chip under their skin to identify their owners to veterinarians and ACOs.) Joy added the stipulation that the ACO stay within the Fiscal Year 2015 budget, and the Selectmen unanimously approved the purchase.

The Selectmen continued to divide up future goals and assignments for the upcoming year, including increased regionalization, improving the Town’s website, and addressing the Department of Revenue report on Plympton’s finances.

In other news:

• Debbie Grace presented plans for the new Silver Lake Integrated Preschool playground project, which will be located in Kingston. It is entirely privately funded through grants and donations, but the project volunteers are going to each district town’s Selectmen to inform them of progress. See the article on page 1 for more information.

• The tentative hours for Town House and various boards this summer are as follows. These have changed several times; thus it may be best to call ahead if you have timely or pressing business with the Town:

Selectmen’s Meetings:

Every other Monday evening, 6 p.m. (General Schedule to follow through the Summer: June 29, July 13, July 27, August 10 and August 24 unless otherwise posted.)

Administrative Office Hours:

Assessors, Selectmen, Treasurer/Collector, and Town Clerk

Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Every other Monday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. (General Schedule to follow through the Summer: June 29, July 13, July 27, August 10 and August 24.)

Board of Health:

Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 2  p.m.

Monday Evening from 6 to 8 p.m. (General Schedule to follow through the Summer: June 29, July 13, July 27, August 10, and August 24.)

Building Department:

EVERY Monday evening 6 to 8 p.m. (including Building, Electrical, Plumbing Inspectors and Zoning Enforcement Officer.)

Tuesday through Thursday 2 to 5 p.m.

ALL OTHER COMMITTEES AND BOARDS POST MEETINGS ACCORDING TO THE STATE OPEN MEETING LAW REQUIREMENTS 48 HOURS NOTICE IN ADVANCE.

Tuesday, June 9, Halifax Health Agent Cathleen Drinan and Dan Daly, of the Plymouth County Mosquito Control Board, were guest speakers at the monthly TRIAD meeting chaired by Ken Vinton.

A perennial topic this time of year, the two speakers recommend a risk-averse, prevention-based approach for senior citizens when it comes to mosquitos.

As many as 52 species exist in Massachusetts, but only a dozen or so carry the deadly diseases Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and West Nile Virus.

Both can be deadly, although EEE tends to make headlines as it makes all people sicker; West Nile Virus is something one could have had and never known it, but it can be much worse (or fatal) with older people and symptoms can be vague.

In order to fight mosquitos, the state does some aerial spraying. This is ineffective in swampy areas, though, and as mosquitos are attracted to standing water for breeding, residents can control their own properties by making sure any standing water areas, such as bird baths, outdoor furniture, any place where a puddle can sit for several days after rain, are emptied.

Another line of defense is using mosquito repellents. The first rule to using repellents properly is to follow the instructions on the label. It is important to look for an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registration number on the product, which means that it has been tested for efficacy. “Natural” products, if they have no registration number, may never been have tested scientifically.

Some common products, which can be applied to the skin or clothing, include as their main repellent ingredient DEET, permethrin, IR3535, picaridin, as well as oil of lemon eucalyptus. A few of these are effective against ticks as well, but read the labels well to be sure.

Wearing long sleeves in the evening, tucking your pants into your socks, even applying a product to a tube sock with the closed end cut off of the sock and pulling it over your clothes can be helpful.

One note: The federal EPA does not recommend mixing sunscreen with any mosquito repellant. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health does not issue any warning.

A presentation on ticks that occurred Tuesday at 2 p.m. will be repeated on Monday, June 15 at 6:30 p.m., at the Holmes Public Library, Route 106, Halifax.  That program is aimed at the general public, not just the senior population and is sponsored by the Halifax Board of Health and the Norwell Visiting Nurse Association.  All are encouraged to attend.

HALIFAX – Selectmen on Tuesday interviewed building inspectors, re-appointed lists of committee members up for re-appointment, and spent a lot of time discussing junk.

In fact, for weeks now they have discussed junk at almost every meeting, a lot of junk. They also took care of some general town business, as well, but the junk seems to be fraying a lot of nerves at the Selectmen meetings lately.

A property on Monponsett Street continues, after months of gentle cajoling by the Board, to have an extreme amount of unsightly debris in front of the house and several unregistered vehicles on the property. This is in violation of town by-laws. The owner was approached months ago to come into code.

At first, the Board wanted proof that all the cars on the site were registered. This has not been proven to their satisfaction. According to a town by-law, only one unregistered car may be on any given property.

Then the Board demanded that the debris in the yard be removed. The resident did finally secure a dumpster, but didn’t get the proper permit from the fire department, and is now creating a dangerous situation for neighbors in the event of a fire by blocking a hydrant.

The board ordered that the police and fire chiefs speak with the property owner immediately to rectify the dumpster situation, and to attempt to force them to make more progress, as very little has been made.

Selectman Kim Roy is tired of giving the owner more time before levying fines, and wanted that on the record. She was the most visibly frustrated with the situation, and expressed that the Board was wasting too much time on this matter. She stated that as a mother of four boys, one has to escalate punishments in order to change behavior.

Selectman Tom Millias was concerned that, despite fines sending a strong message, it may not motivate the owner to change the situation and clean up, which is the ultimate goal, he said. The board resolved to deal with the immediate issue first: the dangerous dumpster blocking a fire hydrant.

Selectmen agreed that they were spending too much time discussing junk and attempts to be reasonable working with this property owner have gotten few results.

Also on Tuesday, two of the three candidates for an open Finance Committee position were interviewed, Mel Conroy and Derick Bennett. They will also be interviewed by FinCom, which will make a recommendation to the Selectmen. The Selectmen will appoint one of the three to the position in the next two weeks, after they receive FinCom’s advice. The third candidate has scheduled an alternate date for an interview with the Selectmen.

An opening for building inspector has also opened up as Tom Millias, the current inspector, has been elected Selectman and has thus resigned his position in Halifax.

Millias abstained from the interviewing or voting, as his appointment has not technically ended. The Board interviewed two candidates, Michael White, of Bridgewater, and Robert Piccirilli, of Halifax, a current assistant inspector for the town.

Although no final decision has been made, the Selectmen tipped their hats a bit toward the candidate who has been working for the town for 15 years. Piccirilli also serves on several committees in town and is well known to the Board.

Selectman Troy Garron was concerned as to why Michael White would  take a pay cut to leave a position he says is going well in Bridgewater.

Finally, the Board re-appointed many individuals to various town committees. As these positions expire June 30, Selectmen will hold final re-appointments on the few remaining positions until their next meeting in two weeks, on June 24.

In other news:

• The treatments on both East and West Monponsett Ponds have occurred.  The Board of Selectmen are continuing to reach out to Brockton officials regarding the use of water from the Monponsett Ponds and the water quality problems that may be occurring due to this. They plan to solicit help from state legislators.

• Several standard “use of town property” permits were issued for events in September.