With elections only eight days away, Saturday, May 18, our three Silver Lake towns have sprouted lawn signs for their favorites. Not so many this year as in years past, with only a few contested races.
In Halifax, there are two contests on the ballot: Incumbent Amy L Troup is being challenged by Robert J Piccirilli for the five-year seat on the Planning Board. Naja R Nessralla, candidate for re-election, is challenged by newcomer Thomas J Pratt for the three-year term on the Board of Selectmen. Voters will cast their ballots at the Halifax Elementary School, Plymouth St., Rte. 106, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
In Plympton, the only contest on the ballot shows Selectmen Chairman Christine M. Joy being challenged by Dana M. Smith for the three-year term on the Plympton Board. Voters will go to the Plympton Town House, 5 Palmer Rd., Deborah Samson meeting room to make their choices from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
In Kingston, Kimberley Emberg, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, and Sheila Vaughn, incumbent, are being challenged by Melissa A. Bateman for a three-year term on the Kingston Board of Selectmen. The voting is for two out of three contestants.
Megan Garrity Cannon is challenging incumbent Mark R. Guidoboni for the Kingston seat on the Silver Lake Regional School Committee, a three-year term. Laurie A. Casna is challenging Megan Garrity Cannon for the three-year term on the Kingston Elementary School Committee. Cannon is the incumbent.
Patricia Iafrate and Sheryl A. Antoine are the choices for the one Board of Health three-year term. Neither are incumbents.
There are three positions with no candidate: Planning Board 5-year term, Housing Authority 5-year term, and Library Trustee for a 3-year term. Check for write-in candidates.
All four Kingston precincts will vote at the Kingston Elementary School cafeteria, 150 Main St. from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
There’s still time!
KINGSTON,- Do you have a story about what it was like growing up in Kingston? Does the house you live in have an interesting history? Do you have an old photograph of a special event from decades ago? Maybe you know an artisan or a businessperson with a story to tell. Perhaps you would like to share your recollections of our town with a larger audience?
“Tales of Jones River Village: Kingston’s 300 years” will celebrate and commemorate Kingston’s 300th anniversary and will be available for purchase in the fall of 2025, ahead of Kingston’s 300th anniversary in 2026. There has been strong support from the community in the way of articles and photographs, and the publishers are still actively seeking additional community contributions.
This new illustrated history will feature short narratives and fresh accounts which will add to established town histories, chronicling the town and its people through different eras. Contributors to the book have come from the community, and the publishers are seeking additional contributions from interested parties.
“We want to hear from anyone who may have a story to share about life in Kingston,” said Ken Brack, a director and the project’s Managing Editor, who added, “These could be ‘then and now’ items from a neighborhood, snapshots of family histories, postcards or other historical items.” He added, “You don’t need to be a professional writer to be a part of this book. We have an editorial team that will work with contributors.”
The publishers anticipate that the book will be approximately 250 pages in length, and approximately 9.5 by 12 inches in size. Because of the length of time required to design and print a book of this size, the publishers are asking that all material for possible inclusion in the book be submitted by the end of June.
Whether it’s an article on a family business, a family history, a story about veterans and first responders, an interesting story about a house, the publishers want to hear from you.
The publishers of this book are not affiliated with the town’s 300th committee; this is a separate venture. To learn more about the book, please visit http://www.kingston300book.com). To inquire about submitting an article or a story idea, please contact Ken Brack, managing editor, kenbrack5@gmail.com. You could also contact directors Tom Vendetti, tajvendetti@gmail.com , Jan Guidoboni, jan.guido09@gmail.com, or project editor Jim Farrell, jim@farrellpr.com.
Send your stories: “Tales of Jones River Village: Kingston’s 300 years”
KINGSTON – Do you have a story about what it was like growing up in Kingston? Does the house you live in have an interesting history? Do you have an old photograph of a special event from decades ago? Maybe you know an artisan or a businessperson with a story to tell. Perhaps you would like to share your recollections of our town with a larger audience?
“Tales of Jones River Village: Kingston’s 300 years” will celebrate and commemorate Kingston’s 300th anniversary and will be available for purchase in the fall of 2025, ahead of Kingston’s 300th anniversary in 2026. There has been strong support from the community in the way of articles and photographs, and the publishers are still actively seeking additional community contributions.
This new illustrated history will feature short narratives and fresh accounts which will add to established town histories, chronicling the town and its people through different eras. Contributors to the book have come from the community, and the publishers are seeking additional contributions from interested parties.
“We want to hear from anyone who may have a story to share about life in Kingston,” said Ken Brack, a director and the project’s Managing Editor, who added,
“These could be ‘then and now’ items from a neighborhood, snapshots of family histories, postcards or other historical items.” He added, “You don’t need to be a professional writer to be a part of this book. We have an editorial team that will work with contributors.”
The publishers anticipate that the book will be approximately 250 pages in length, and approximately 9.5 by 12 inches in size. Because of the length of time required to design and print a book of this size, the publishers are asking that all material for possible inclusion in the book be submitted by the end of June.
Whether it’s an article on a family business, a family history, a story about veterans and first responders, an interesting story about a house, the publishers want to hear from you.
The publishers of this book are not affiliated with the town’s 300th committee; this is a separate venture. To learn more about the book, please visit http://www.kingston300book.com).
To inquire about submitting an article or a story idea, please contact Ken Brack, managing editor, kenbrack5@gmail.com.
You could also contact directors Tom Vendetti, tajvendetti@gmail.com, Jan Guidoboni, jan.guido09@gmail.com, or project editor Jim Farrell, jim@farrellpr.com.
The Mother’s Day gift
By Linda Ibbitson Hurd
Special to The Express
I was in my bedroom dusting and vacuuming recently and happened to look up over the closets where there’s a shelf holding several items. Among them a wooden plaque caught my eye. It’s a decoupaged picture of a little dog wearing a puffy bonnet with a little blue bird nestled into it and a thin blue ribbon tied in a bow around the brim. It brought back a Mother’s Day memory of when my son Brian was eight and my daughter Heidi was five.
After my marriage ended, I was lonely at times and had concerns about raising two children by myself. I was taking college classes at night and was exhausted, worried about finances and many other things. I got a job cleaning houses during the week while the kids were at school so I could pay the bills and put food on the table. When the kids were small I had gotten piggy banks for them to teach them the value of saving money when they received it. Brian, being the oldest, I was also pleased he hadn’t asked to take any out. It saved us from going hungry one night before I was receiving child support and had used the last of my money for the mortgage payment. There was no food, no money and I didn’t want to ask my parents, who had already helped me with getting a car when mine was no longer drivable. When Brian asked what was for supper that night I told him we’d have to have cereal. A few minutes later he came out to the kitchen carrying his bank with Heidi in tow carrying hers. I had forgotten all about the banks and was so relieved. When we opened them there was enough money to get food with some left over until I got paid at my house cleaning job. From the time they were little, I noticed how caring and generous they were; that’s never changed.
When Mother’s Day came that year I was especially distracted about money I needed for a bill and also had to study for finals as the semester was ending. I often got very little sleep but that Sunday morning I slept late and was so surprised when I got up that the kids hadn’t woke me. I went out to the kitchen and they were nowhere to be found. There was a note on the table in my son’s handwriting that read, “Mom we will be back.” I was relieved after reading the note and thought they must be next door but why didn’t the note say that. I got dressed and was about to walk around the neighborhood to find them when they burst through the door with expectant smiles lighting up their little faces. They were carrying a paper bag and Brian asked me to sit down because they had a Mother’s Day present for me. I was so surprised and doubly so as I had forgotten it was Mother’s Day. They handed me the bag and Brian asked me to be careful opening it. My mind was going a mile a minute wondering how they got these things and where, as I took the bag. Brian had to ask me again to open the bag. I reached in and pulled out the wooden plaque thinking the dog was so cute with her big eyes and hat. “Keep going”, Brian said. I pulled out little cheetah cats made out of china, some small plastic deer, a pretty candle and some candy. I looked up at them and was both speechless and torn because I was a little upset they spent money we might need again and torn because I was touched beyond words they did such a loving and unselfish thing. I wrapped my arms around them, squeezing them tight with lots of kisses. When the hugging was over I asked, “Where did you get these things and how did you get them without money?” Without hesitation and in a very confident way, Brian said, “The Runkles were having a yard sale so we took some money out of our banks to get you a present.”I started to say, “but we need to save.” That’s as far as I got. Brian came back with, “Mom, you deserve a Mother’s Day present, some things are more important than money.” This, from an eight- year-old. I looked at Heidi, her hearing aid was on and she was also reading our lips. She looked back nodding yes with a smile.
In that moment everything changed. I realized how consumed I’d been by worry about my own problems to the point I’d forgotten all about Mother’s Day. I also realized in spite of my worries my kids and I were okay and would remain so.
I felt bad forgetting about my own mother and how awful it would have been for her and what regret I would’ve been left with. I looked at my kids realizing the real gift they had just given me. I said to them, “Why don’t we go pick out a card and a gift for Gramma and go see her today?” They got all excited as we left to spend a wonderful day together.
Halifax Council on Aging celebrates volunteers
Linda Redding
Special to the Express
Wednesday, April 24, the Great Room of the Halifax Town Hall was turned into a cafe serving a full course turkey dinner in appreciation to the many volunteers who give their time to the Council on Aging.
Turkey and the fixings were prepared by Chef Andrew Tate of Trio Community Kitchen in West Bridgewater. The COA staff helped serve the volunteers. Tasty cookies were baked by Caeli McCullough of Golden Hour Confectionery. Caeli is a graduate of the Silver Lake Culinary Arts program and now runs a successful local business. Mike Darsch of Snowy Owl Coffee served hot and cold-brewed coffee.
Volunteers enjoyed listening to performer Bill Reidy who sang and played guitar.
The COA volunteers were recognized with a Certificate of Appreciation from State Representative Kathy LaNatra. Each volunteer left with the certificate and a whoopie pie made by the students in the Silver Lake Culinary Arts program.
Town meeting prep in Plympton
The Plympton Board of Selectmen met on Monday, April 22. Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy reviewed all of the various articles on the town meeting warrant asking the Selectmen to put a hold on anything they wanted to discuss further. Articles include Article 6 that is the Community Preservation funding for the restoration of the historic front entrance of Plympton’s Townhouse. Article 9 seeks to appropriate $4,042 plus repurposing an additional $3,500 for the required 5 percent match for an anticipated award of an Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) grant for communications equipment for the Fire Department.
Article 33 “allows the Town Clerk to make a new section using e-code and it makes it a requirement for people to have a house number somewhere visible so the Fire Department can identify,” Dennehy explained. Selectman John Traynor asked what was driving it and Dennehy said that the By-Law Review Committee has been reaching out to different town departments to get their feedback and this suggestion came from the Fire Department. “I don’t know how enforceable it will be but I think it’s a good start at least for new construction,” Dennehy said.
Dennehy told the Selectmen that the Finance Committee no longer wants to mail the warrants out to residents. “They think it’s an additional cost and it’s not sustainable and we have hardcopies available at Town Meeting… we’re avoiding the bulk mail permit expense and it will be on the website and on social media,” Dennehy said. Selectman Mark Russo was surprised the decision was made for this year. “I think this is the thing to alert citizens that maybe wouldn’t look anywhere else,” he explained. Traynor said he was in favor of forgoing the mailing due to it being a “fairly large expense.” Russo elaborated on his point saying, “the trouble is you have to have your interest piqued to access it anywhere and unless it goes out in the mail there’ s a whole bunch of people that this will go right over their heads; honestly I kind of feel like it’s a connection with the past and a traditional thing… it’s also kind of a manifestation of our work and what we do.” Dennehey said that she would bring Russo’s concerns to the Finance Committee.
Dennehy also reviewed the articles for the Special Town Meeting. The second article is for a Community Preservation project at Holt Field including lighting. Dennehy said they may be able to pass over Articles 3 and 4. Article 5 is for the projected deficit at Dennett Elementary School. Dennehy said that School Committee Chair Jason Fraser and the rest of the Committee are working hard to reduce that deficit as much as possible. Traynor asked how much the School Committee was anticipating the deficit to be and was told that as of that date, it was likely around $130,000 though that number was anticipated to go down.
Dennehy provided a Town Administrator’s update saying, “our vendor is putting the finishing touches on a Green Communities application; the deadline for applying is May 10… I believe we’re going to try again for the library heating system.”
They ended their meeting with their raves for the week. Selectman Chair Christine Joy said, “My rave would be for Liz and the financial team and all the hard work that goes into creating the warrant and vetting all the articles and coming up with funding sources, and transferring money; it’s a huge process and you do a wonderful job and we’re lucky to have you.” Russo said, “I totally agree with that; it’s not just the finished product this year but the process that’s been put in place.”
Learn how to prevent mosquitoes and ticks at the Adams Center
Learn how to prevent mosquito and tick-borne diseases from Erin Morrill and Blake Dinius on Wednesday, May 8 at 6 p.m. at the Adams Center, 33 Summer Street, Kingston.
The program will discuss mosquito and tick-borne bites, life cycles, effective repellants, eliminating stagnant water, and how to reduce the insect population. The pair will also present informative tick and mosquito myth busting nuggets during their presentation. Morrill, is the Community Liaison for the Plymouth Mosquito Control Project, which educates the public about mosquito resources and services available to the community. Dinius, an Entomologist from the Plymouth Extension, will address the tick population.
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 smiller@kingstonma.gov.
Local elections are Saturday, May 18
Saturday, May 18, Plympton, Halifax, and Kingston will all open their polling places for locals to cast their ballots.
Plympton residents will vote at The Town House, 5 Palmer Rd., Rte. 58, Plympton Center, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. There is only one contest on the ballot, incumbent Selectman Christine Joy is being challenged by Dana S. Smith.
Halifax residents will vote at the Halifax Elementary School, Plymouth St., Route 106, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. to mark their choice. Amy L. Troup, candidate for re-election to the Planning Board 5-year term is being challenged by Robert J. Piccirilli; Selectman Naja Robert Nessralla is being challenged by Thomas Jared Pratt for the 3-year term.
Kingston residents will cast their ballots at the Kingston Elementary School cafeteria from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Incumbents for the 3-year term for Selectman Kimberley A. .Emberg and Sheila Vaughn are being challenged by Melissa A. Bateman.
Incumbent Mark Guidoboni is being challenged by Megan Garrity Cannon for the 3-year term on the Silver Lake Regional School Committee. For the Kingston School Committee, Megan Garrity Cannon, incumbent, is being challenged by Laurie A Casna.
For the Kingston Board of Health, Sheryl A. Antoine and Patricia Iafrate are candidates for the one 3-year term.
There are no candidates on the ballot for the 5-year position on the Planning Board, the 5-year position on the Housing Authority, and one 3-year term on the Board of Library Trustees.
Opening Day at the Ballfield!!
PAYS, Plympton Athletic Youth Sports, celebrated Opening Day at the Holt Ballfield, behind the Plympton Town House, on Sunday, April 21, with Plympton Police Officer Laicey Ieronimo throwing out the first pitch.
Plympton’s Baseball, Softball, and T-Ball teams were all in uniform ready to open the season! PAYS is an all-volunteer organization for the benefit of Plympton’s children ages 5 to 12, encouraging the ideals of sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty, and courage, with emphasis on teamwork, cooperation, development of skills, and appreciation of the sport, regardless of the child’s athletic ability. Go to the PAYS website
Regionalization of services?
Chair John Bruno said that he received a letter from the Chair of the Hanson Select Board regarding regionalization of pond management as well as whether the Plymouth County Commissioners could take a role in said management. He read from the letter saying, “Currently each town has its own pond management plan and allocates funds for this purpose; we believe there may be scales of economy and thus savings if we ban together in solving this problem. We recognize that the Conservation Commission in each town would have to be part of the conversation as will the Select Boards in each town. My reason for reaching out is to gauge whether your town would be interested in opening up a dialogue with Plymouth County Commissioners.” Bruno said they weren’t looking for a commitment just yet and said he believed it was a great idea. “Yea, I view it as a strength in numbers thing,” Selectman Jonathan Selig said. Town Administrator Cody Haddad said that it came about because the County is looking to provide more services to its member communities.
Special and Annual Town Meeting Warrant
Regarding the Warrant, Haddad said, “One of the changes to note is we have historically always included the line-item budgets for the school department – Silver Lake and the elementary school; they don’t have line- item budgets so hence we cannot include those in the warrant this year.” He noted that the goal would be to have them in the next few weeks and have them available on the website as well as having them printed to give out at Town Meeting. Haddad went over each article including Article 7 which is the potential approval of the solar pilot on River St. “This is one our Assessor and Counsel are still working to fully negotiate that solar pilot. If we do not have that in the next week or so… we will just skip over.” Article 9 is the Community Preservation Act which Haddad said the Selectmen would need to decide whether to do a 1 percent surcharge or something different. “I know we’re fiscally at a tight spot right now, but I do feel like if we came in at a 1.5 percent that might be more beneficial,” Selig said. The other Selectmen agreed.
Haddad said that Article 15 is an additional $25,000 to fund an HVAC unit at the high school. He explained that $100,000 had previously been approved at Town Meeting but the project was delayed and the cost is anticipated to have risen. Haddad explained that the other towns are funding their portion through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds while Halifax is paying for it out of stabilization.
Haddad said that there was a placeholder article for Special Town Meeting. The schools are anticipating a deficit in their special education line item and they don’t yet know to what exent. “They seem to think that they are going to be able to cover the deficit with their other line items in the budget; they’ve implemented a spending freeze but they do not have that information ready so we wanted to put a placeholder article in case we do have to fund that deficit to some extent… just in case,” he explained. The Selectmen voted to approve the warrant.
Delegation of Educational Funding
Haddad said that this topic was requested by Selig. “I noticed with our education budgeting process this year, it felt challenging. To me it felt like a lot of the challenges weren’t necessarily on the municipal side but more on a lack of support at the State level so I felt like it was worth us to send letters to the State House leadership just to convey how frustrating the process is where we’re seeing these giant spikes in special education costs, but the State isn’t really meeting those costs for us so what we’re seeing happening is… general education students are often feeling the crunch,” he explained. He shared a draft of the letter he wrote with his fellow Selectmen. The Board agreed to send the letter.
Request to Raise Boards at Furnace St. culvert
Haddad told the Selectmen that he was contacted by Brad Chase with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. He said that himself, Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward, and Board of Health Agent Bob Valery met with a few individuals from the State to discuss the town’s priority to get the herring back to Monponsett. Haddad said that Chase felt that raising the Boards at the Furnace St. Culvert would assist in allowing the herring to flow through. Chase is also requesting that Halifax supports moving forward with a study on the hydraulogy, hydraulics, and conditions and operations of the Furnace St. and Elm St. culverts. Jeremy Gillespie spoke up regarding the boards saying, “they’re just slowing down the waterflow, backing it up, they’re creating eutrophic conditions in the river; it is a river that flows out of Monponsett… this needs to be done pretty quick… once the water reaches 50 degrees we’re going to see the herring come up.”
Appointments
Heather Sylvia of the Tipsy Mermaid appeared before the Board to request a one day liquor license for The Farm at Raven Brook. The event will take place on May 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. where mocktails and wine will be served. Tami Herchel also appeared before the Board to request use of the town’s roadways for the Ragnar Road New England Race. The event starts in Connecticut and ends in Quincy. The race will come through Halifax on May 17-18. Selig pointed out that the runners will be stopping in Halifax during the late hours of the night to the early morning hours. “You won’t even know we’re here,” Herchel said. The Selectmen approved the race coming through the town unanimously.
Inter Municipal Agreement with Duxbury Regarding Dispatch Services
The Selectmen voted to agree to a one year contract with Duxbury at a cost of $200,000. Haddad said that they do anticipate another municipality joining thus lowering the fee after this year.
Morse Brothers Update
Haddad told the Selectmen that the Morse Brothers had finished all work under their existing earth removal permit. He said that they would need to appear before the Board again for any further work. Bruno said that for the most part the few complaints that they had were with respect to the trucks moving too slowly. “As far as I can tell, it went smoothly,” Bruno said. There was one incident with a special education bus that was easily resolved as well. Amy Troup spoke up insisting that the Board also received “plenty of complaints” regarding the earth removal being in the aquifer protection zone. “So put it on record that there were actual complaints… our water is not the same anymore,” she said.
Town Administrator Updates
Haddad told the Selectmen that they would be bringing forth an applicant for the Town Accountant position after several successful interviews. He also told them that Halifacts was now live saying that he hoped residents would go there for information rather than believing hearsay on social media. More information can be found at https://www.halifax-ma.org/home/news/halifacts-halifaxs-online-community-forum.
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