Halifax will be all aglow, on Saturday, Dec.9, with Holiday celebrations at a number of locations.
The Christmas Tree will be lit at 4:30 on the Town Hall Green. The Silver Lake High School choir and the Halifax Elementary School choir will offer Holiday Songs. There is an amazing train display in the Great Room in the Town Hall, with food tables and music for your enjoyment.
The Congregational Church Bell Ringers will play at 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. and also there is a silent auction of beautiful Gingerbread Houses.
There’s hot chocolate and goodies at the Brockton Store.
Five food trucks will be in the library parking lot with a tent and tables for your dining pleasure. More surprises for the children inside the Library.
The Council On Aging and the Fire Station will be open for your enjoyment, as will the Multi- Purpose Room at the Elementary School where crafters will be there for your shopping pleasure.
The evening will conclude with FIREWORKS at 8 p.m. behind the Elementary School.
Come enjoy an evening of family fun.
CPCWDC releases new water quality report
The Central Plymouth County Water District Commission (CPCWDC) announces the public release of the Silver Lake Water Quality Monitoring Program Technical Memorandum: Halifax, Plympton, Pembroke, and Kingston, Massachusetts (2021-2022 Monitoring Results). The report was prepared by TRC Companies (TRC), on behalf of the CPCWDC, to address concerns regarding potential aquatic life and recreational water quality impacts to Silver Lake from watershed sources and water diversions to the Brockton Public Water Supply (PWS). The primary objectives of this Technical Memorandum are to provide a baseline understanding of current water quality to support aquatic life, identify key water quality drivers in Silver Lake, as well as potential management solutions and the next steps needed to address the observed conditions.
The Silver Lake Technical Memorandum findings raise concerns for public water supply consumers and the residents who live in the vicinity of these waterbodies. Silver Lake is the primary source of water for Brockton Public Water Supply System, and the supplemental sources of Monponsett and Furnace Ponds experience similarly compromised water quality. If source waters are left unmanaged, there is potential for blooms to increase the cost of finished water treatment and the associated cost of water. “We encourage the City of Brockton to collaborate with surrounding towns and other stakeholders to address water quality in the lake and the associated waterbodies as well as immediately pursue back-up alternatives, such as a connection to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA)” stated Jack O’Leary, Chairman of the CPCWDC. “The reduction in water withdraws from Silver Lake would also help mitigate the stress on aquatic systems identified in the report.“ The Silver Lake Water Quality Monitoring Program Technical Memorandum: Halifax, Plympton, Pembroke, and Kingston, Massachusetts (2021-2022 Monitoring Results) can be accessed at: Technical Memorandum.
The full water quality data set can be accessed here: Data Set Public flyer can be accessed here: Trifold More information on Cyanobacteria can be accessed here: EPA Fact Sheet for Public Water Supply MassDEP Cyanobacteria Resources MassDEP Guidance Cyanobacteria and Public Water Systems Questions and written comments on the report or the monitoring program should be directed to:
Francis G. Basler Jr.
Administrator, County of Plymouth
44 Obery Street, Plymouth, Massachusetts 02360
o: 508.830.9104 m: 781.718.9967 f: 508.830.9106
[email protected]
Warrior Mites bring home the trophy!
Special to the Express
Marc McGarry
The Silver Lake Warrior Mites returned to the Opachinski Football Field on a humid summer night on Monday, Aug. 14. With their returning athletes and newcomers, the talented coaching staff knew they had a big title to live up to as the 2022 Super Bowl Champions. Head Coach Doug Carbone, and Assistant Coaches Seth Malmberg, Marc McGarry, John-Michael Fontes, Trever Ponte, Brian Hill, and Frank Deaton have been working assiduously to prepare for the upcoming season. To be a football player, it takes a lot of grit and determination. For the first three weeks, these athletes spent five days a week practicing in the grueling summer heat. Once school started, practice went back to three nights, and the temperature fluctuated, even dropping down to brisk temperatures some evenings. The coaches worked with the young athletes as they learned new positions.
The first game of the season kicked off at home, and it was a tight battle against the Plymouth South Jaguars. The Warriors won 14-8! The second game was the only loss of the season losing to D1 Raynham 28-0. This loss ignited a flame in EVERY Silver Lake Warrior and turned into the turning point for the season. As a result, these athletes did not let in a single touchdown for the rest of the season due to the strong defense. The Warrior’s defense is a force to be reckoned with! The Mites ended their regular D3 season 7-1, allowing them to be the first seed for the playoffs.
The Silver Lake Warriors played under the lights at Plymouth North High School against Barnstable during the playoffs. These young athletes were unstoppable, taking a commanding lead and winning 26-0!
A week later, these athletes traveled down to the Cape at Barnstable High for the 2023 Super Bowl against Plymouth North. Fans knew this was going to be a game they didn’t want to miss!
During the regular season, Silver Lake only won by six points in overtime against Plymouth North. The coaches knew that they had their work cut out for them. Coming out in a never seen formation, the Warriors scored six points in two plays at 1:30 into the game. From that point on, the offense took control of the scoring. Defense took control of the other side of the ball, only allowing one first down the whole game! With the offense dominating the scoreboard, this allowed the Warriors to play every player on the field at one point in time. By switching up the playbook, these Warrior Mites won the 2023 Super Bowl, 20-0!
These young athletes spent countless hours working together as a team for the past four months. To them, football is more than just winning and losing. Through football, these players can learn how to become a better person on and off the field. To end the season, the Warriors handed out roses to the Silver Lake Cheerleaders as a thank you for their continuous support though out the season.
The future is bright for these young, talented Silver Lake Warriors, and time will tell what lies ahead. Who knows what the future will bring for Silver Lake High School! Thank you, families and friends, for your continuous support on and off the field this season.
Go Warriors!
Morse Bros. get their permit
The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Wednesday, Nov. 15. Chair John Bruno told those assembled that following the public hearing regarding earth removal for Morse Brothers, they compiled all the questions posed by the public. He said that they did their best to have answers prepared for those questions.
Bruno said, “Transparency is a critical part of assuring everyone concerned that the Board of Selectmen when called upon to make decisions, has taken their role seriously and thoughtfully. Accordingly, I will take this opportunity to set out my thoughts, observations, and reasons. I’ll begin by describing as I see this matter, what we’re being asked to do.” He continued, “Understand that in 2022, Morse Brothers requested a permit to dig a pond, remove earth from their property on Lingan St. That permit was withdrawn before a public hearing was held. The request for a permit that is before the Board of Selectmen now is not the same project.” He noted that the current project is smaller in scope and proposes removing 20,000 yards of earth from a hill and does not involve excavation below grade or into the water table. According to Bruno, Morse Brothers is a cranberry/agricultural business that has been in business for 60 years.
Bruno also reminded those present that Halifax is a right- to-farm community. He said that three other earth removal permits have been issued in Halifax for bog operations – Turkey Swamp on Monponsett St. received a permit for over 36,000 yards, Harju Bogs on Thompson St. for a permit for 20,000 yards, and White Dog on Palmer Rd. for 84,000 yards. “The request by Morse Brothers is not unusual for cranberry operations nor is the amount of removal requested excessive,” Bruno said.
He further stated that the Board has done everything possible to hear and consider all the concerns brought forth by the public. He noted that the concerns fall into two major categories consisting of environmental and public safety. Those concerns include effects to the ponds and water table, traffic implications, road maintenance, and effects to underground utilities. Bruno said that the application has been reviewed by Halifax’s Board of Health, Conservation Commission, and the Water Commissioners. “If any of our town authorities, who are the experts on our town water, had raised even the slightest concern, I personally, would not even consider moving forward with this application,” Bruno said. He also specified that the State had also looked into the property and found no concerns. Bruno said that the Board needs to move forward based on evidence rather than conjecture. He said that the Police and Highway Department have raised no concerns regarding traffic or utilities.
Bruno said that the truck traffic will not run on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays and would work around the school bus schedule. He further said that he would propose limiting the trucks to 25 trucks per day at maximum. He said that the work should be completed within a 29-day time period while telling those assembled that fewer trucks allowed would delay the project.
Selectman Jonathan Selig also gave a statement. “The last thing anyone wants to do is put our town into any sort of jeopardy. This project has been reviewed by our Highway Surveyor, our Board of Health Agent, our Water Superintendent, our Police Chief, our Land Counsel, an Independent Engineer – all paid employees whose job description is to help be watchdogs for our Town. The site has also been inspected by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection – an agency’s whose sole purpose is to literally protect the environment… I believe the Town has done its due diligence… this project does not pose a threat to our Town’s drinking water or our natural resources. For this Board to turn a blind eye to all of these findings would not only be in poor taste, in my judgement, it would be irresponsible.” Selig added that approving the permit would not be the end of the Board’s work, saying that they would be ensuring that the rules and regulations would be followed.
Before turning things over to the residents in attendance, Bruno noted that it was not a public hearing. The first resident that spoke asked how many times the residents on Lingan St. would be asked to endure the heavy truck traffic. Bruno said that while he hears the concern, they can’t change the fact that it’s where the bogs are located. The resident also complained about the condition of their road saying she would like to see it paved. Bruno cut her off saying, “you’re mixing up a whole bunch of issues.” Another resident spoke, again, citing concerns around underground utilities. Bruno told the residents that should anyone see that the rules are not being followed, they should take pictures and submit them to the appropriate authorities.
Jeremy Gillespie, who has been an outspoken critic of the earth removal project, said, “Boy, I’m disappointed but not surprised.” He continued, “the bylaw says that you don’t have the authority to give an earth removal permit in that zone and, in fact, the peer-reviewed town engineer said, they may need a permit from the Planning Board… the bylaw says no permit can be issued greater than 50 cubic yards, yet somehow they’ve gotten away with about 160,000 cubic yards… the other cranberry operations aren’t in the Division 2. You don’t have the authority; you’re taking the cheap way out.” Bruno said that according to Town Counsel, “no zoning ordinance or bylaw shall prohibit, unreasonably regulate or require special permit for the use of land for the primary purpose of commercial agriculture.” He said that they are following Town Counsel’s advice as to whether they should be the regulating authority. Another resident spoke saying that the attorneys for Morse Brothers used Bruno’s words to support their case in a lawsuit that she was a part of against them. She also showed them dirty water filters which she said need to be changed far more frequently than recommended since the last earth removal.
Another resident asked, “What kind of fines are these companies going to get slapped with?” “We haven’t discussed any of that yet. We haven’t even voted on the permit… but that’s an issue that could come up if it somehow became necessary,” Bruno said. He noted that it was something that could be considered.
Resident Dave Mascio asked Bruno and Selig if they told Selectman Naja Nessralla that he should recuse himself from voting on the matter as he is an abutter. Both Bruno and Selig said that they left the choice up to him. Nessralla wasn’t present at the meeting that night. “It does hold water against what you guys are going to decide,” Mascio said of his abutter status. He also brought forth an issue another resident asked about. They both asked that there be some type of monetary payment made to the town for use of the roadway should an incident occur that would require the town to fix something. “Have some contingencies put in place so that if something should happen… that’s what everyone is here for John, it’s not to piss you off,” Mascio said. Mascio also asked that there be some kind of training program for the truck drivers who will be driving down Lingan St. to safeguard the children and other people using that roadway.
Several residents, including one that owns an abutting farm, spoke out against Morse Brothers saying that they weren’t trustworthy. “We need to protect that land out there, that is all sacred ground,” a resident said. He further claimed that trucks were removing earth at night already. Bruno said that they investigated a complaint about that and the Highway Surveyor said there was a water main break and the Highway Department trucks had to go down Lingan St. to address the issue. Resident Claire Hughes also spoke out against Morse Brothers saying that they have gone town to town digging up earth and there have been many problems that have arisen as result. She told the Selectmen that they claimed to make their decisions based on facts, but said that it appears that they didn’t have all the facts. “There really should be more research into who you’re dealing with and their history and it didn’t take me long to find out that they do have a long history of not holding up their word,” she said.
Another resident spoke about the heavy truck traffic saying that the limitations seem reasonable until you are actually living on the street and seeing that kind of traffic. “I just hope that there is something in place to consider the residents; to consider the noise, the traffic.” Another resident said, “As part of that training program that Dave suggested, it should be ‘this is the speed limit that you are allowed to do on Lingan St.’ There’s a new state law, 4 ft. berth to vulnerable persons on the road; they need to know that they are going slow enough that they can brake for those people.” She noted that during the last earth removal project, there were four trucking companies utilized, two of which were courteous and two that were not. She said that they try not to call for every incident as they don’t want to be a nuisance, but said that going forward, they would “blow up” the non-emergency Police line, if necessary.
Cheryl Howell began her remarks saying “I’m going to be open and up front about stuff that happened a year ago when they wanted to pull the permit.” She continued, “One of the Board members was actually having an affair with another Board member and that one Board member was having an affair with Ryco which was one of the companies that was going to do the hauling. And that’s why a lot of the stuff we were having trouble with was because we felt as if it was just going to be pushed through. You cannot tell me that people that were dating weren’t talking about it behind the scenes.” Selig said, “Can I just say for the record that no one here is associated with Ryco and John and I are not having an affair.” This was met with some muffled laughter.
Bruno outlined the limitations associated with the project including that the earth removal will only take place between the hours of 7 am and 5 pm Monday through Friday and never on a legal holiday. A request was made by residents to reduce the hours to 7 a.m. through 3 p.m. in the interest of protecting elementary school aged children who are likely to be out after 3 pm. “Vehicles loaded with soil or sand should be suitably covered to prevent dust and contents from spilling and blowing on the road,” Bruno said. Selig said that he would like to see the vehicles limited to 10 or 15 mph rather than 20. Other regulations included that the town reserves the right for weekly inspections even without prior notice. “No excavation below the natural grade of any boundary line shall be permitted,” Bruno said. A regulation is also in place requiring Morse Brothers to provide reports outlining the amount of earth removed. Residents also asked that truck drivers have to sign an agreement and that should they violate that agreement, they will be fined.
There was also discussion regarding increasing the $0.25 per cubic yard of removed earth to be paid to the town to $1 per cubic yard. The Town Counsel said that the bylaw called for $0.25 or greater but said that there would need to be a reasonable justification for the increase. Residents said that repairs necessary, etc. would justify the increase. Town Counsel said that increased monitoring of the roads would likely justify an increase. Bruno and Selig agreed that doubling it to $0.50 would be reasonable especially considering that any repairs to the road need to be taken care of by Morse Brothers.
Before adjourning, both Bruno and Selig stated that the decisions they make are always with the best interests of the town in mind. Selig called Bruno “a man of character.” Bruno said, “If I made a mistake here, I’ll be the first to admit it and do everything I can to correct it.” Bruno made a motion to approve the permit with the conditions as discussed, that night in the draft form. Selig seconded it.
Matt York Adams Center Holiday Concert
Longtime New England musician Matt York will perform “Holiday Songs and Stories” at the Adams Center, 33 Summer St., Kingston,, on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m.
York’s selection of songs will run the gamut. Some songs date back hundreds of years, while others are more modern Christmas and holiday classics.
York will talk about the origins of many of these songs while performing them. Attendees are encouraged to sing along.
Matt York has been known for his classic country performances, especially showcasing the talents of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and supergroup The Highwaymen.
To register for this event, please visit – https://kingstonpubliclibrary.org.
For more information, you can contact Steven Miller, Reference Librarian at (781) 585-0517 x6272 or at [email protected].
MCAS Plusses and Minuses ennett’s MCAS Results
The Plympton School Committee met on Monday, Nov. 6. Chair Jason Fraser was absent, so Vice Chair Dan Cadogen led the meeting.
Dennett Elementary School principal Peter Veneto gave an MCAS presentation. “We have some things to celebrate and we have some things to improve upon,” he told the Committee. Veneto also said that at both the District and State level, there is still a lot of ground to make up to get back to pre-pandemic scores. “Recovery is underway,” Veneto said.
Some key takeaways from the presentation include ELA scores for Grades 3 through 10 for the State. While Grade 10 was at 58 percent meeting expectations, Grades 3 through 6 all fell somewhere between 40 and 44 percent meeting expectations. At the elementary level, Grades 3, 4, and 6 took MCAS in the subject areas of ELA and math while Grade 6 also took a test in math and technology. Grade 10 is at 58 percent meeting expectations for ELA.
Dennett Elementary performed well across the board compared to the State average. Grade 3 Dennett students were at 72 percent meeting expectations for ELA compared to just 44 percent across the State. For math, 65 percent of Grade 3 Dennett students were meeting expectations compared to the State average of just 41 percent. Overall, the State-wide averages have increased from 2022 to 2023, but they are still not where they were pre-Covid.
A Committee member asked Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch how Dennett compared to the rest of the District. Lynch said that they performed similarly though he noted that given Dennett’s small population, the numbers can become skewed more easily. Coordinator of Student Support Christine Marcolini told the Committee that the Dennett third graders outperformed the District saying, “I think that was the other big standout.”
Veneto said that the school goal is to have 70 percent of students meeting or exceeding expectations for all subject areas. Veneto said that the Grade 5 science scores for Dennett have typically been quite high but noted that was not the case with the most recent round of MCAS. “We traditionally have really hit the ball out of the park in terms of science and unfortunately that was not the case last year,” Veneto told the Committee. He said that he wants the administrators to get into the classrooms more during science so they can witness the types of lessons being implemented including hands-on learning.
Regarding student growth for Dennett on the ELA and math MCAS, Veneto said that the school shows typical growth with higher achievement compared to the State. “Typical growth is okay; in my opinion, we can do better,” Veneto told the Committee.
One area of disappointment for Dennett was a designation assigned to them as a result of the MCAS participation rate for one sub-group of students. They were deemed as requiring assistance or intervention by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) due to the participation rate for this sub-group falling below 95 percent. Given the Dennett’s small population, it only took a few students not participating for that rate to drop as low as it did. Veneto said that he planned on addressing the issue with the families that opted out of the testing. Committee member Kaitlin Johnson asked Veneto how he planned to broach the issue given the reason for opting out probably centers around student stress. “The language we typically use with our kids is just do the best that you can do… inherently there is stress that is associated with the test,” Veneto said.
Superintendent Jill Proulx said that there is a corrective action plan that the school will have to do. Marcolini said that they have had in-depth conversations with the families involved and they don’t anticipate having this problem next year. “If families or children are expressing stress… I think it is incumbent upon us to really be talking with the families and talking with the children… I think our doors are always open and I think that seeing us fall below that number for us, that is a significant event and we need to do everything we can to make sure our kids and families feel supported,” she told the Committee.
Some of the actions planned by the Dennett administration to address improving MCAS scores include putting support teams in place to identify students who may need more supports and interventions. There will also be data meetings for K-6 to identify and target interventions for math and reading. Additionally, there will be enhanced co-teaching and an intervention model to provide more support in the classroom.
Veneto also reviewed the results of a student survey that assessed a wide variety of social and emotional issues. Committee member Robert Montgomery asked if any of the questions evaluated self-advocacy. Marcolini said, “A lot of the questions really are around themselves as workers and how supported they feel.” She also noted that, “the kids really are accurate raters of themselves.” Regarding the survey, Veneto said, “A lot of positive information here I thought.”
Marcolini said that she was happy to see the “grit” scores come up the way they did. She also noted the positive change in reporting from the sixth-grade class. Cadogen asked if she felt this was due to it being a different cohort of students than last year’s sixth grade class or if it had more to do with changes implemented in the school environment. Marcolini responded that she believed it to be a little bit of both.
The issue of increasing the daily substitute rate as well as the custodian substitution rate was addressed during the meeting. The proposed increase for the sub rate was from $107 per day to $110. It was said that the increase would make Dennett more in line with neighboring communities while still being below the paraprofessional starting rate. It was explicitly stated that the intention was to be competitive without making it more lucrative than being a paraprofessional. The increase to the custodian rate would be from $18 an hour to $19. The Committee voted to accept the increased rates.
Veneto also provided a Principal’s Report which included that the current enrollment stands at 253 students. He also said that they have a new art teacher and a building substitute. Veneto said it was “probably the first time in about a year that we can say we are fully staffed… and I would like to keep it that way.”
Homeschool enrollment was also briefly touched upon. At the Dennett, the numbers have increased by 1 from 4 students to 5. Proulx said, “District wide, overall, the numbers have decreased substantially especially since 2020.”
Before adjourning, the Committee asked Veneto and Proulx to touch upon an incident that happened during the night of parent teacher conferences. A student was found to have three live bullets on their person. The student showed another student who notified an adult. The Police came and investigated and found nothing else. The student reported finding the bullets on the side of the road. “The Police deemed that there was no credible threat,” Proulx said. Asked if the story regarding the origins of the bullets could be verified, Veneto said, “the Police can’t confirm that there was anything just lying on the ground.” Cadogen pressed asking if it was possible the story was fabricated. “That’s a strong possibility,” Veneto said. Committee members then asked if the issue was being addressed with the student’s family as there were concerns over items not being locked up properly. Veneto said that it was his understanding that the Police had done that.
Honor Society Phi Kappa Phi inducts new members
The following people recently were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.
Caroline Bryson and David Shoblom, both of Kingston, were inducted into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.
Founded in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Phi Kappa Phi inducts annually approximately 25,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni. The Society has chapters on more than 325 select colleges and universities in the United States, its territories and the Philippines. Membership is by invitation only to the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students and 7.5 percent of juniors. Faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction also qualify. The Society’s mission is “To recognize and advance excellence in all fields of higher education and society.” For more information, visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org.
Plymouth County Comfort Dogs
NORWELL – Though it’s been a program that had a slow start, the Plymouth County Comfort Dog Program has quicky gained advocates as one by one, police departments have gone to the dogs.
District Attorney Timothy Cruz developed the program to offer additional services to county communities, providing emotional support for the well-being of drug endangered children, students with adverse childhood experiences, and others in need of emotional support in the county community.
“The schools, to me are really [important] now, as our kids are facing challenges that they’ve never faced before, whether it be from COVID issues, mental health issues,” Cruz said in his opening remarks at the event. “The kids were locked out for a while. Now they’re coming back, and a lot of schools are dealing with a lot of issues with the kids. The dogs have been a tremendous asset.”
Hingham was the first town to adopt the program, seeing some initial reluctance from the School Committee, but was quickly warmed to by educators who have seen its value in action. Now there are 14 departments employing the program.
Cruz credited the success of Hingham Chief David P. Jones and resource officer Tom Ford in really getting the program going a little over one year ago with that department’s first dog – Opry.
To celebrate that success, and provide more information about it, Cruz’ office held a meet and greet Wednesday, Nov. 8, featuring the dogs and their handling officers at JBS Dog Park at 106 Longwater Drive in Norwell. There was pizza, soda and cake for the humans and all-natural specialty dog biscuits provided by Polkadog Bakery in Boston.
But first, there was some mingling on the part of both officers and canines.
As Hanson therapy dog Ziva rolled over for belly rubs from handler and school resource officer Derek Harrington and Chief Michael Miksch, Hingham’s Opry, a mix-breed rescued from a Southern kill shelter, showed off her skateboard skills a bit with Ford. But, as more dogs arrived, Opry gave the skateboard a dismissive kick, sending it rolling back to bounce off a wall. The arrival of the aptly named Star, a harlequin Great Dane from the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department, grabbed all their attention as she sauntered in with Dennis Desroches.
Miksch said he had some hesitation about the comfort dog program, but that Ford, in fact, was a huge help to Hanson’s adoption of it.
Concerns about funding and the union’s willingness to take on the project were soon discovered to be unfounded. As soon as he mentioned interest in the program, Hanson provided funding mid-year even though there was no budget for it.
“The next thing, somebody’s calling me saying, ‘Hey, can I deposit $1,000 to the town for the dog?’” Miksch said, adding that Deputy Chief Michael Casey raised the initial funding on top of Hanson’s grant money. The union also bought right in and overcame a rough start when their dog, Lucy, had to be euthanized due to a kidney ailment.
“We unfortunately lost our first dog, but the support from the community kind of brought back the impact that she had. There were a lot of messages, a lot of support. … Lucy was worth her weight in gold to us to start off and Ziva’s showing the same [qualities].”
The handlers are the ones who make the program successful, however, Miksch said.
“The dog, in a lot of ways is the easy part, but you need the right handler,” he said.
Harrington advised to those averse to dog hair, this program is not for you.
“But, they make lint rollers; it’s all good,” he said. “We all have stories about how this affects our school, our community, our kids.”
Ziva helps with kids who don’t want to go to school by walking with them to class, he said.
When a W-H student took their life last May, Harrington said he was able to call on several other officer/dog teams in the program to help.
“That happened late at night,” he said. “The school, and the kids – her friends – didn’t find out until they showed up at school the next day and it was a disaster, however we were prepared because we have this network of community resource dogs.
It helped a lot of kids get through the day and open up and talk and have those conversations that they didn’t want to have.”
Jones said Ford’s work with Opry at Hingham High School, too, has impressed just about everyone.
“Opry’s not only the most-recognized ‘person’ in the school, but also in my department,” Jones said. “The connection that’s been made with students at the high school has been incredible.”
She’s got a weird personality, Ford said, but that seems to appeal to students. He said if there is a negative to Opry it’s that he can’t go anywhere without her.
“If you show up someplace without the dog – leave and come back with the dog,” he said.
While the Hingham School Committee had some reluctance to agree to the program, results are speaking for themselves.
“It was a long road, but we’re having fun,” he said. Opry’s trainer makes time to go to the school the next day if there are any issues with the dog, Ford said. “The path is so much clearer [now] if you want to do this,” he advised departments considering the program.
In Halifax, Officer Paul Campbell is one of the newest participants in the program, having just completed the two weeks of training officers undergo with his dog, Roxie. They now transition to once-a-month in-service training.
“I participated in DARE Camp, and I saw the impact [the dogs had] on the children,” he said. “They loved the dogs. So that just attracted me to the program and how much it has a positive impact on children.”
He said Roxie, at six months, is an awesome dog.
“She has so much energy, a really good dog,” Campbell said. “I look forward to working in the community, getting in the schools and we’ve already had a big fundraiser.”
Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph D. McDonald Jr. spoke of the impact the dogs have on people’s lives – something, he said, anyone who grew up with dogs in their lives could understand, comparing it to the old expression, with negative connotations “going to the dogs.”
“Looking around here, I can say this – I think we’ve all gone to the dogs, but I want to thank you all for making that something positive,” he said.
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 funding that we get – we’re able to utilize drug forfeit money, to put it back into our community – I think that makes a difference,” Cruz said.
Among the dog trainers on hand to speak about the program was Michael MacCurtain, owner of Hanson’s Five Rings training and day care business.
“The need [for the program] over the last several years has increased tremendously,” said MacCurtain, who worked on Whitman Fire for 20 years and had been asked to work with UMass Boston, Abington and Hanover in training their dogs. Working both on an ambulance crew and alongside law enforcement, he said the mental health of officers can also benefit from the dogs.
“We’d love to get them in all of our schools and also in our Boys’ and Girls’ Club,” Cruz said. “These dogs are making a difference.”
Two students from Kingston inducted into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi
BATON ROUGE, LA– The following people recently were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.
Caroline Bryson of Kingston
David Shoblom of Kingston
Founded in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Phi Kappa Phi inducts annually approximately 25,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni. The Society has chapters on more than 325 select colleges and universities in the United States, its territories and the Philippines. Membership is by invitation only to the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students and 7.5 percent of juniors. Faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction also qualify. The Society’s mission is “To recognize and advance excellence in all fields of higher education and society.” For more information, visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org.
Plympton to send out tax bills quarterly
Christine Kelley, Plympton Town Treasurer/Collector, wants residents to know that beginning with the February (3rd Qtr.) RE tax bill ALL RE & PP bills will now be mailed four times a year.
All residents of Plympton will receive a bill for EACH quarter a payment is due.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Treasurer-Collector’s office at 781-585-0409 Mon-Thurs 9 a.m to 2 p.m.
Our office is also pleased to announce that the Building Department & Board of Health will be accepting debit/credit card payments for permit applications effective Monday, Nov. 20.
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