There is nothing that matches the vibrant color of a cranberry harvest! The dull deep red that tries to call itself cranberry does such an injustice to the fruit. From the flooding of the bogs, to floating the fruit, corralling the berries, bringing them in to ride up the escalator that loads them into the back of a truck, it is a labor of love. Think about it when you open that bag of fresh cranberries for your Thanksgiving dinner; you can almost feel the crisp autumn air of harvest!
BOS approves Eagle Scout project
The Halifax Board of Selectmen met Tuesday, Oct. 10.
Chair John Bruno led the meeting saying, “I would like to begin the meeting tonight with just a brief comment and a recognition of the passing of John Campbell. For those of us who have had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Campbell, he was a wonderful gentleman – lived in Halifax, I think somewhere around the order of 60 years and was involved in projects for 60 years. The Council on Aging, and in particular, I don’t think there is a building in town that he doesn’t have his name on… he helped rebuild all the buildings in town.” Selectman Jonathan Selig echoed the sentiments and said that during the playground project, he was willing to print anything that was needed through his business and never charged the town. Selectman Naja Nessralla said that Campbell was a family friend and that he would “give you the shirt off his back.”
The Selectmen’s first appointment of the night was with Ed Bryan for an appointment to the Finance Committee. Bryan would be finishing an existing term that would end in 2026. “I have looked at your talent bank and it is impressive,” Bruno said. Selig said that he knew Bryan personally and thought he would make a great addition to the Finance Committee. Given his personal relationship, however, Selig did abstain from the vote. The Chair of the Finance Committee also spoke recommending Bryan. Bruno and Nessralla voted unanimously to appoint him.
Cam Russell also appeared before the Board to discuss his proposal for his Eagle Scout project. He was proposing to make a board that will go by the flagpole on the town green, explaining different elements of the flag, including the folds and the ball at the top. “I’m excited and I wholeheartedly support this project,” Selig said. Scout Master Peter Burgess spoke saying it would be “high-quality, weather-proof, no maintenance to the town.”
Health Agent Bob Valery spoke to the Selectmen regarding a public health excellence grant. Of the grant, Valery said, “There is a distinct goal that is prevention through education, disease tracking, enforcement of existing sanitary codes, and then what’s the exact inspectional process… the grant itself, funded through the State… establishes a minimum public health standard for communities, it increases capacity and effectiveness by incentivizing shared services, create a uniform data collection and reporting system, and increase, near to my heart, equity.” He continued saying that the State would fund them to do anything above and beyond where they currently are at least through 2027. “We are trying to hit anybody that has been historically left behind,” Valery said. “I appreciate you guys and the work that you do,” Selig said of the Health Department. He continued, “This is going to give us more coverage as far as the level of service for health in this town and I think residents should be excited that this exists and that, like you say, it’s not going to cost us anything extra but we’re going to get extra services which I’m all for.”
The Selectmen also met with the head of Halifax Youth Baseball and Softball, Pete Barone regarding a proposal for a new scoreboard for the field near the Police Station. “Basically, we are paying for everything,” Barone said of the plans. He said that they hoped to have it up by the spring. Bruno asked if it would be considered a donation to the town and was told that the town would own it. Selig said that Halifax hosts the biggest town tournament in New England for softball every year for the last two decades. The Selectmen voted unanimously to approve the scoreboard.
Town Administrator Cody Haddad addressed the property at 265 Monponsett (Halifax Trails). Thorndike Development has proposed a development on the land which includes a senior center. “We’ve been working since the Board authorized me to negotiate with them on a Master Development Agreement and draft zoning; we actually met earlier today and with the assistance of Town Counsel, we were able to nail down the zoning language to be proposed at the Special Town Meeting in December… we’re hoping that at your Oct. 24 meeting, we will look to have Thorndike in to present their Master Development Agreement,” Haddad said. Haddad also went over some of the zoning changes that would need to pass in order to allow the development to continue. He asked the Selectmen to recommend it to the Planning Board so they can start their process and eventually it could be voted on at Town Meeting.
The Selectmen also discussed the salary range for the Building Commissioner position. Bruno said that they have been searching for candidates to fill the position since March. “It seems to me, our pay scale is just out of whack for what we would be able to get,” Bruno said. Haddad said, “We’ve been actively recruiting for this for some time; we really have not gotten a significant number of qualified applicants.” Haddad said the average salary for neighboring communities is around $92k while the range Halifax is hiring at tops out around $79k. Haddad asked for a salary adjustment. The Selectmen agreed to increase the salary grade.
In other business, Haddad said they did receive an application for earth removal for Morse Brothers and are in the process of scheduling a public hearing. He said the date would be in the newspaper. Regarding Board and Department trainings, Haddad said they would be doing a three-part training for Department heads in November. Regarding staffing he said that they are currently conducting interviews for the Outreach Coordinator position for the Council on Aging. He said that they have also scheduled interviews for the Conservation Agent. He also said that he started taping “Cody’s Corner” which is a segment with Area 58 on different things going on in Halifax.
Before adjourning, Selig thanked Scott Materna and his department for lighting the Town Hall pink for the month of October.
Holly Fair at South Meadow Village Saturday, Oct. 21
The Holly Fair at South Meadow Village in Carver is being held Saturday, Oct. 21, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For more than 40 years, people from Carver and surrounding towns have made The Holly Fair part of a holiday tradition.
There will be a wide selection of home baked goods, preserves, crafts, jewelry, gift baskets and much more. There will be various items to take chances on including a top prize of $500. There will also be informational tables with the Carver Fire Dept., Carver EMS, the Carver veterans’ agent, and Carver Council on Aging. Mr. and Mrs Santa Claus will make an appearance from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The White Elephant barn and Ladies Boutique will also be open.
Please note, they only accept cash. For directions, we expect a detour in effect near our main entrance so please use our entrance on Federal Furnace Road in Plymouth. Turn at the intersection next to the Mormon Church at 747 Federal Furnace Rd. onto Rocky Neck Road to Village Way to our back entrance.
The Annual Oak Point Fall/Holiday Craft Show
The annual Oak Point Fall/Holiday Craft Show will take place on Saturday Nov. 4 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Oak Point Clubhouse, Grand Ballroom and Gym. The Oak Point Clubhouse is located at 200 Oak Point Drive in Middleboro.
There will be over 40 tables of handmade items, such as jewelry, quilted items, outerwear, wreaths, wood working, ornaments, cards, holiday décor, knitted items and more! Most of the items and tables represent the residents, clubs and organizations of the Oak Point Community. Admission to the Craft Show is FREE!
Silver Lake is in crisis!
Pine DuBois, with the Jones River Watershed Association, spoke to Kingston selectmen at their Tuesday, Sept. 26 meeting, showing them a video of black, stinky water coming into Silver Lake from a mile and a half long culvert bringing water from Monponsett Pond. The increased rainfall has caused the Halifax ponds to overflow their banks and water has been diverted from the ponds through the culvert that empties into Silver Lake. “We did reach out to the Plymouth County Water District,” she said, “… we knew they had just completed a water quality study of Silver Lake in 2020 – 2022.” She told the board that the technical study had just been released Sept. 26, and encouraged them to review it. “Basically, it says that Silver Lake is in the worst condition it has ever been in.” If this is its worst condition as of 2022, and this stinky black material is being introduced to Silver Lake, “there needs to be a better plan,” DuBois said. Her suspicion is that the black muck is from the swamp – “My hope is that’s the swamp, and not somebody’s new wastewater treatment system… Nevertheless, it is a crisis in Silver Lake.” DuBois also said the black muck might be coming from a break in the pipe, explaining that in 2016 when the lake level was down quite a bit – dry everywhere – still there was water flowing through the pipe. DuBois went on to say that over the past years the water coming from the pipe has been brown or orange, but never this black, and not with this smell. She spoke of various projects and grant- funding applications that are in process, “to get things going to get a better management plan,” and asked selectmen for their support.
“Kingston is affected by the management of Silver Lake. It’s 17% of our watershed that we don’t get anymore, so the Jones River is in a perennial annual drought … because Silver Lake doesn’t release to the Jones River anymore.” Silver Lake, the remnants of a glacial lake, is 80 feet deep at its deepest point, DuBois explained. Monponsett is 12 feet deep. She went on to tell of the importance of the Jones River, the largest river draining into Cape Cod Bay. “The problem with this is the way Brockton is managing it (the water from Silver Lake) currently affects three rivers and three bays, Narragansett Bay, Mass Bay, and Cape Cod Bay. Silver Lake is one of the 12 largest natural lakes in the state. We forget that because it has been trapped so long.” She said that the plan is out as an RFP (request for proposals) and hopes that by the end of the month she will know who the consultant will be and Kingston will be asked to weigh in on the project. Silver Lake and the Jones River are critical ecological resources that need to be protected and restored.
Silver Lake is a Great Pond and comes under the Great Pond Law. It’s protected by the Clean Water Act. “All kinds of laws are being broken today and we’re at this critical point because Monponsett Pond had so much cyanobacteria… finally DEP does their work on it and says to Brockton ‘You can take half as much water as you used to take from Monponsett Pond.’ So instead of 30 million gallons of water a day, they were diverting 13 or 14 million gallons a day from October to May. There’s a caveat in there that says if Monponsett Pond is flooding, then the DEP can approve a diversion … if the Central Plymouth County Water District Commission approves it. In 1964 when the state legislature allowed these diversions, they did the same thing at Stump Brook, used to be the Snakey River. Stump Brook is the outflow of Monponsett Pond, and they put a dam there that raised the water level a foot above natural. So when they did that, at that time, there were summer cottages around Monponsett Pond. Now there are permanent year-round homes. And those summer cottages with the pipes to the lake, you know, have now got septic systems. But when you flood it, all that nutrient goes into the pond. It creates heavy phosphorus, heavy nitrogen loading cyanobacteria. Those things get diverted into Silver Lake, along with invasive plants. That’s why we have very high nitrogen, very high phosphorus, and invasive plants in Silver Lake today.”
Jones River Watershed Association is working with the Town of Kingston, has been for decades, to clean up the water in the Jones River. “Mostly we started with stormwater, then the sewer, and now the dams. We took out two main stem dams. The fish are knocking on that door of the Brockton Dam. They want to get in. We put in a temporary fish ladder in 2019. The river herring actually go there. “This spring I lifted 2,700 eels into Silver Lake that we trapped in a little box down there. So we know the fish want to go and we know that both the eels and the river herring are pretty close to being called endangered species. We don’t want to see that happen. We want to see them recover. There’s a project going on right now with the division of Marine Fisheries, where they’re assessing how many eels are in Silver Lake. Eels are a very important species for us, especially with our wetlands around here. They love to eat mosquito larvae when they’re babies. It’s way easier to (let the eels) do it than with a backpack sprayer.”
“All I’m saying,” DuBois continued, “is that we’re going to need to call on the Town of Kingston pretty soon. The Conservation Commission and Jones River are jointly writing a grant to NOAA right now to do the fish ladder and the culvert removal. We think this is a great opportunity to work with the City of Brockton, an Environmental Justice Community. We want them to want this to happen. And that’s what the regional plan is all about, is trying to figure out, well, if this happens and there’s always flow to the Jones River, Brockton’s going to need additional supply. They’re not using Aquaria (a desalinization water plant on the Taunton River) now, even though it was built for them. But they don’t use it. So we need to have a say in satisfying the needs of that community as well as the regional communities so that we all have a sustainable future. And with the money that’s being poured out right now, both in order to have us spring back as well as to develop the economy, I think we cannot miss these opportunities.”
Town Administrator Keith Hickey spoke to five ARPA fund requests: the Council on Aging and the fire suppression system failures they’ve had over the past couple of years. Two requests came from the fire department. The board approved $45,045 to replace the HVAC units at the fire station. There was an additional cost of $30,978 to make additional repairs so the system is operating as it should. Fire Chief Mark Douglas was present and asked the board to approve the additional funds for that work. Also, Chief Douglas asked to have the Smith Lane HVAC system reviewed as it is at the end of its useful life. “It could last five years, it could last ten minutes, and the vendor recommended that it should be replaced at a cost of $37,437,” Hickey told selectmen. The Chief requested the additional cost. Hickey told selectmen that would leave a balance of just over $500,000 in ARPA funds.
Hickey reminded the board that during the coldest night of last year there was a fire suppression system break, causing significant damage to the selectmen’s office. They have since discovered a live suppression head in the IT server room, above the server. Luckily it has not gone off. Chief Douglas consulted with a fire suppression system engineer, and the recommendation is to move that nozzle to a safe location and modify the suppression system to eliminate the risk of damaging the server room, at a cost of $53,649. Selectmen approved the use of ARPA funds for those projects.
The upgrade of fiber optics in the Town House is another ARPA project request in the amount of $14,780 to purchase items needed for the improvements, rather than lease them through Comcast for $12,000 annually. The board approved the project.
Hickey told the board that the Council on Aging had a break in its fire suppression system and in order to greatly lessen the it happening again, they designed improvements for $58,500. Selectmen agreed.
Selectmen chairman Emberg made the following announcements:
• Financial assistance applications are available through the office of the Board of Selectmen.
• The Board of Health is offering flu clinics on Wednesday, Oct. 18, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Register by calling the health office at 781 – 585-0503. Registration is required.
• Special Town Meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 24, at the Kingston Intermediate School.
• Brush chipping day is Saturday, Oct. 21.
• The playground at Gray’s Beach is now open. Check it out!
• For those who would like to get involved in the community, please check the Kingston website, kingstonMA.gov for a complete list of vacancies, including a seat on the Kingston Affordable Housing Trust, that will assist in the creation and preservation of low and moderate-income housing. Interested persons can also reach out to the selectmen’s office
• Selectmen took a few minutes to congratulate their fellow board member Tyler Bouchard on the recent birth of his daughter.
Kingston Foundation for Education presents $60,000 check
Allison Brown
Special to the Express
At the Tuesday, Oct, 3, meeting of the Kingston School Committee, the Kingston Foundation for Education presented a check for $60,000, their 9th annual check, the result of their fundraising efforts.
The Kingston Foundation for Education (KFE) is a non-profit organization run by parents who are interested in supporting the Kingston Public Schools. The foundation works with Kingston school leaders and district administration to raise funds to supplement the school budget. By doing this, they can provide the Kingston schools, and its children, the same opportunities as neighboring towns. Each year, a group of about 15 dedicated parents, and four executive board members, help KFE raise money and volunteer at events.
Since its foundation in 2014, KFE has raised nearly $1 million dollars to supplement the school budget. Over the past two years, the KFE has funded the purchase of Chromebooks, the Lu Interactive System, Lab Headphones, a Beth Ferry author visit, Moxie, and the repaving of the KES recess yard with new educational pavement stencils. The $60,000 KFE has donated this year will be used to upgrade and buy new technology and provide funding for additional STEAM programs and other educational materials needed this year.
Traditionally, KFE will raise money by planning several fun, charitable events including the Boosterthon Fun Run and the Kentucky Derby Party. Last month, it hosted its first ever Back-to-School Brews fundraiser at Mayflower Brewery, complete with an awesome band (the Rippers!) and a thrilling beer pong tournament. It was such a success that KFE will plan to do it again next year!
Its mission is simple: to help members of the Kingston community channel their positive energy into improving the already phenomenal public school system. As parents, we all love our kids, and we want to set them up for success. And we also want them to have the best opportunities and latest technology available when it comes to learning. We want to thank our Kingston community of parents and educators, and the small businesses of Kingston and the South Shore who help make our goals possible.
Highway barn bid gets green light selectmen story
The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, Sept. 26. Town Administrator Cody Haddad told the board that Halifax’s Veteran’s Agent Steve Littlefield has been working on Hometown Heroes. Haddad said it consisted of banners that are hung throughout town. “We were a little bit short on funding as it is funded all through donations; we just want to acknowledge a lot of people came together at the end and made some donations to push the project over the finish line. There was also an organization who donated quite a large amount of money and they previously operated an organization to assist veterans in the area and then they moved out of State, and they gave the balance of their funds… to Halifax,” Haddad said. Selectman Jonathan Selig added a special shout-out to resident Mary Gravinese who “put the call out that more funds were needed.”
Regarding the contract for the Highway Barn project, Haddad told the Selectmen that the winning bid is with Cape Cod Builders in the amount of $289,000. The Selectmen voted to approve the contract. They also approved a contract for the buildout of the municipal maintenance shop in the amount of $26,200. Resident Frank Johnston, who is also a member of the Finance Committee, asked where the contracts came in relative to the original budgets. Haddad said that the Highway Barn Project is coming in right at budget and noted that they would be using $20,000 of Chapter 90 funding. The shop project is under budget.
Haddad mentioned that a Special Town Meeting would be held to deal with several items including the reclassification study as well as the Regional Schools Agreement. He said that there were also potential zoning changes due to the senior center project. The Selectmen voted to set the Special Town Meeting for Thursday, Dec.14.
Haddad provided an update regarding the need to change the Regional School Agreement per the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Haddad said that town counsel had reviewed the most recent draft and that they provided some proposed changes that were submitted to the schools. “It has to pass for all three schools; it really comes down to the way the pre-K is set up right now. It had been run as a regional program although it wasn’t laid out as a regional program in the actual agreement so DESE came back and said if you want to continue to run this, it needs to reflect accurately in the actual agreement,” Haddad said. He told the Selectmen that the Superintendent would be attending a meeting to explain the specifics.
Haddad brought up some proposed changes to the operating hours at Town Hall. “Previously Town Hall was open Monday through Thursday, 7-4 and then staff would work a half day on Friday, although the building wasn’t open to the public. So, over the summer, offices have been open Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 7-4:30 and then on Tuesdays until 6:30.” Following the trial run, Haddad said that he put out a survey to everyone in Town Hall regarding their preference. He said that 75 percent said they would like to stay with the changes that occurred over the summer. “With that being said, my recommendation would be to make the hours we have now, a permanent solution,” Haddad said. The Selectmen voted to approve the revised hours that were trialed over the summer.
Haddad told the Selectmen that the previous Board had approved $450,000 in ARPA funds for upgrades at the Water Treatment Plant. “It was an oversight, we thought it had been $600,000; we had been planning for $600,000,” Haddad said. The Selectmen approved the cost increase. “This is the American Rescue Plan Act funding that came from the Federal Government… basically as a stimulus to municipalities, cities, counties across the country as a result of the Covid pandemic, so the town received probably in total around $2 million. A lot of that has been allocated… we had been accounting for that $600,000 for this project,” Haddad explained. He continued, “the portion that came from the County was more designated for the purposes that the Federal Government had laid out in addition to revenue replacement, which was broadband, water/sewer infrastructure, so this falls directly in line with the water infrastructure.” The Selectmen voted to approve the $600,000.
The Selectmen were asked for a letter of support for Hybrid Programming for a Council on Aging Grant. “It’s a hybrid program that, depending on the individual and how they want to approach it, it would give the opportunity for homebound people to have some type of programming at home,” Council on Aging Director Darlene Regan explained. “That’s awesome,” Selig said.
Haddad provided the Selectmen with some updates at Town Hall including some recent office moves. He pointed out that the Selectmen were meeting in a new meeting room. He also told the Selectmen that he submitted a Com
School Committee chair will give 10-minute briefing at Library
This coming Saturday, Oct. 7 at 10:30 a.m. stop by the Plympton Public Library for coffee, snacks and good conversation with your neighbors.
Joining us for the “Saturday 10-Minute Briefing” will be Jason Fraser, Dennett School Committee Chair and Silver Lake Regional District School Committee Member. Jason will be discussing the Silver Lake amended Regional Agreement warrant article to be presented at the upcoming Oct. 18 Special Town Meeting, and more.
Re-dedication of Rte. 58 Ferguson Bridge
More than 30 friends and Ferguson family members gathered at the intersection of Route 58 and Winnetuxet Road in Plympton to re-dedicate the newly reconstructed bridge named for Hugh Ward Ferguson, missing in action since December 1, 1950 in the Korean Conflict. No one saw him fall and his body was never recovered. Standing at the newly re-dedicated bridge Tuesday morning were, from left, Sue Ferguson, Norman Ferguson, Bruce Ferguson, Jean Ferguson, Douglas Ward Ferguson, Ward ’Tony’ Ferguson, State Rep. Kathy LaNatra, Melissa Ferguson Meo, and Cathy Ferguson. More on page 7.
Take a photo with the historic flag chest
Take part in history – take a photo with the historic flag chest that held the giant Mount Rushmore flag on its many travels throughout the world. Now the chest is ending its two million mile journey and is retiring from the road.
Halifax, Hanson, and area residents are invited to be part of the final steps in its incredible journey. Shown here is the chest on board the U.S.S. Constitution. The crew are regular Navy seamen, wearing authentic 1812 era uniforms.
This final tribute to the magnificent 900-pound treasure is sponsored by the Halifax Council on Aging and the Halifax Historical Society. Sunday, Oct. 15, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. show your support for local history at 12 Dwight St., at the Ivy Cottage, Scout’s Rest, Monponsett. Bring your cell phone or camera and take a photo with the beautiful chest before it leaves Halifax. The chest was designed and built in Halifax by master craftsman George Sturtevant of Halifax. Sturtevant gathered cherry wood from each town in Plymouth County to build the chest and assure that each town would be represented. The chest was originally commissioned by the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, to be used intergovernmentally by the United States for official ceremonies both here and around the world, starting with a presidential ceremony at Mount Rushmore on July 4, 1987, for the 50th year re-dedication of the Lincoln figure.
The chest was dedicated at the Kennedy Presidential Library, and stored for a time aboard the U.S.S. Constitution. It was taken to sea aboard America’s Tall Ship, the Eagle. It has been in all 50 states, all the Canadian Maritime Provinces including the island of Newfoundland, as well as British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories. It was rescued by airlift from a remote airstrip in the Yukon where it was carried as part of a winter expedition to the Arctic Circle in February.
This chest was carried to the top of Pike’s Peak, and taken to the top of Mount Washington, aboard the cog railroad. It was a centerpiece at a presidential ceremony inside a volcano high above Honolulu, has crossed three continents, crossed the English Channel four times, crossed the North Sea from Holland to England, crossed the Pacific Ocean four times, the Atlantic Ocean twice, visited several kingdoms and palaces, including Buckingham Palace, the World Court in the Hague, Netherlands. It has crossed the Equator twice from the Great Barrier Reef to the Coral Sea, New Zealand, the Soloman Islands., Guam to Japan, completing a 10-year tour of the Battlefields of World War II. It even spent the night in Sherwood Forest!.
Now the chest is being called back to the Dept. of the Interior. The giant flag that it carried throughout the world is being retired. Final plans to see the chest into the next stage of its service are not yet confirmed.
On Flag Day, in 1987, when the chest was dedicated, thousands of people walked behind an authentic 1890 firewagon drawn by two white Percheron horses as they made their way to the waiting train. Route 58 was closed to traffic to allow people to walk the half-mile journey to the Monponsett train station.
The train, provided by the Bay Colony Railroad, brought the chest to the Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston to be dedicated, after making several stops along the way.
Sunday, Oct. 15, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. stop by the Ivy Cottage at 12 Dwight St., Scout’s Rest, Monponsett. There is no charge, just an opportunity to touch a part of history before it is gone.
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