Plympton-Halifax-Kingston Express

You are here: Home / Archives for News

Troy to retire after 32 years

By

Effective March 28, Troy Garron will be resigning as a Halifax Selectman after 32 years and 11 terms. Garron will also be celebrating another big milestone that day – his eightieth birthday. Garron was born in Cook County Hospital in Chicago and was raised in Argo, Illinois where he was one of 11 children. “My grandmother and mother had a great influence on me as well as my older brother,” Garron explained. The older brother mentioned is Larry Garron, a member of the AFL Hall of Fame, who played for the Patriots from 1960 through 1968. Troy, himself, played on a championship football team in high school that went 13-0. He also made the Olympic preliminaries in the 100-yard dash. Garron was in his third year at the University of Illinois when he was drafted in 1963 during the Vietnam War.  He served three years.

In 1969, he moved to Massachusetts where he lived with his brother Larry in Framingham. “Larry had a martial arts school, and I went down to work out one day in one of his classes and I met Marilyn there at that time,” Garron said of the first time meeting his wife. “Of course, it wasn’t in fashion for blacks and whites to get married at that time; over 52 years ago,” he said of their marriage.

Garron spent much of his career in law enforcement with a focus on rehabilitating troubled kids including his work as the Commissioner of Youth Welfare. “I was one of the individuals keeping kids off the street,” he said. Garron also worked as a probation officer. “I love working with kids,” he said. During his time as a probation officer in Springfield, Garron was part of a program that paired troubled kids with college students to hopefully show them another way of life.

It was his love for helping kids that ultimately led him to Halifax in 1973. Garron and his wife took their two young children and moved to Halifax so Garron could begin working for the Greater Boston YMCA. Garron worked for the YMCA Juvenile Justice Program out of Halifax where he was in charge of 58 youths who were being held for court or serving time. Garron said the goal of the program was “to try to show them a different kind of lifestyle.” He continued, “Some of those kids had never been out of Boston and had never seen grass… we had classes, we had sports for them, counseling.” The program was closed in the early 1980s. Following his tenure there, Garron began working for the Plymouth County House of Corrections.

Garron and Marilyn purchased a home in Halifax and their now four children attended Halifax Elementary School and eventually Silver Lake. Garron said of Halifax, “I liked the quaintness of it; it reminded me of the town I grew up in which was just outside of Chicago. It was a community… everybody looked out for everybody.” Garron said that he wanted his children to be involved in sports and Halifax had recently started a soccer program, so he volunteered to coach despite having little knowledge of the sport. He ended up coaching soccer for 12 years. Garron also founded Halifax’s first track and field club. “We had really good success for seven years,” Garron said of the club. They traveled all over the State including Boston where they participated in the State Police Tournaments. “It was an enjoyable thing; I loved it,” Garron explained.

Garron, who earned his master’s degree in education with a concentration in personnel management from Cambridge College, first served Halifax as a member of the Wage and Personnel Board for three years. He would also serve the town as the representative to the MBTA, the representative to the Plymouth County Advisory Board, and as the representative to the Plymouth Old Colony Planning Council. He would hold those positions for 20 to 30 years each.

Garron said that what first sparked his interest in running for selectman was a town meeting at which different department heads were stating their goals. He said the head of the Recreation Department spoke at length and made a request for $1,000 to redo the baseball field and track. Garron recalls a resident saying that they did not care if the fields were redone as they did not have school aged children. From there, Garron said he wanted to have a hand in policy making in the town and was told that running for selectman would be one way to do that. He first ran in 1989 when he was defeated by Candace Kniffen. Determined, Garron ran again in 1990 becoming the first Black selectman in Halifax serving alongside Kniffen. Over the years, Garron has become a mainstay on the Halifax Board of Selectmen, serving alongside many others.

Asked what he hopes for Halifax in the future Garron said, “I wish them all the world. I just hope they will be more conscientious of the senior citizens in town. They do well with the schools – the elementary school and the baseball programs and the playgrounds but the senior citizens, we need a senior citizen center – a new center,” Garron said. He noted that the current space for the senior citizens is antiquated and not handicap accessible. “I hope that the town prospers… we are a conservative town and hopefully they will loosen up a little bit,” he continued.

Garron said that some of the many things he particularly looked forward to as a Selectmen were the dedications of flower gardens to different people, clean-up days, and Eagle Scout ceremonies for the Boy Scouts. Garron said his motto has always been fair, firm, and consistent. “I tried to be fair to all the issues that came before the Board no matter how I felt about the individual, firm once I had enough information to make a decision, and consistent in the first two,” Garron explained. He said that he prides himself on respecting others saying, “I realize that every decision I make affects somebody’s life.”

Plympton’s Fire Dept. grant proceeds

By

Over the past several months the Plympton Fire Department has been awarded multiple public safety grants.  According to Chief Silva, “grant money is the backbone of a department our size.  Without these programs we would not be able to provide innovative and needed services to the residents and visitors to our town.  There is simply no way a town of our size could afford to keep pace with the ever-changing challenges for Public Safety, while keeping our members who are serving the public safe.”This year alone we have been awarded:

• A 2021 Custom Forestry / Brush Unit  FEMA $240,000.00

• 12 Self Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) with extra cylinders   FEMA    $84,000.00

• 19 Personal Thermal Imaging Cameras DFS     $12,000.00

  • 9 Personal Carbon Monoxide Meters

• Public Safety Drone with Training   VFA       $1,900.00

• Joint Fire Police Training with equipment CSTF     $11,000.00

• Haz Mat (CBRN) Masks and Filters  CESF    $11,800.00

• 2 Multi Band Portable Radios EMPG      $2,700.00

• 4 year recruitment and retention program funding FEMA  $150,000.00

• 1000 COVID Home Test Kits  Ply County   $16,000.00

• Student and Senior S.A.F.E. DFS     $6,230.00

TOTAL   $523,830.00

Thank you to our team here at Plympton Fire Department for all the hard work and diligence for obtaining these awards!

Chief Silva

‘Thumbs Up’ verdict for Mock Trial

By

District Attorney Timothy Cruz presented a Mock Trial for the people of Halifax in the Halifax Town Hall Great Room, attended by close to 50 people, as TRIAD’s March 1 presentation.

Explaining through action, the Mock Trial showed how the judicial system works at the trial level, using locals to act out the various roles.  TRIAD president Ken Vinton acted the part of the judge, complete with judicial robe, presiding over the event.

Jo Schofield, a mainstay of the Halifax senior population, was the defendant, and various witnesses were called to testify for or against the charge that she had over-celebrated her birthday and was driving while intoxicated.

First to testify was the bartender at the fictitious Ken’s Pub, who stated under oath that she served Jo and her friend Dottie two Manhattans at the bar while they waited for a table to have lunch.   When seated, they had another adult beverage while they dined. The bartender then stopped serving alcohol to Jo, who then became belligerent and stormed out of the pub, got into her vehicle, and crashed into a car in the parking lot.

Officer Cushman took the stand and stated that the defendant failed a field sobriety test at all levels: slurred speech, standing on one leg for a time, and walking a straight line, heel to toe, for ten paces.

When Jo took the stand in her own defense, she claimed to be sober when taking the field sobriety tests, and her inability to perform the tasks had to do with her age – 86!  “See if you can stand on one foot for five minutes when you get to be 86!” she told the court.  And also claimed that the bartender was mistaken in her drinks count, and that she had only had one Manhattan at the bar and had ordered a nonalcoholic beer with lunch.

Jo’s best friend Dottie testified on her behalf saying that the bartender’s memory must have been in error and  they had not over-imbibed.

District Atty. Cruz acting as prosecutor, asked Dottie if Jo was her best friend who drove her everywhere she needed to go.  Dottie agreed.  And would she do anything to help her best friend.  Dottie said yes.  And would she swear to her friend’s sobriety to help her friend.  Dottie admitted that she probably would.

Judge for the day Ken called on the jury – those in the audience  – to render a verdict – and it was guilty.

The verdict for the event was a resounding “thumbs up” for a fun and informative morning.

TRIAD meets the first Tuesday of each month at 10 a.m., regularly at the Halifax Police Station’s second floor meeting room.  This coming April 5 meeting will feature Kozhaya “John” Nessralla, who will speak about his family’s long history in Halifax.  All are welcome to attend.

Hydrogeologist meets BOS

By

The Plympton Board of Selectmen met virtually on Monday, Feb. 28. They had an appointment with hydrogeologist Peter Newton of Bristol Engineering Advisors to review the Rocky Harvest Farm water use. Selectman Mark Russo said, “A little over a decade ago, some decisions were made in town that allowed the Rocky Harvest Company to harvest water in town…they are perceived by many as a misguided decision.” He said that hundreds of thousands of dollars had been spent fighting the decision for a decade and the courts were “not sympathetic.” Russo said that at last year’s Annual Town Meeting they asked for a modest appropriation to spend on having a hydrogeologist explore Rocky Harvest’s reporting and to provide information on the impact of the harvesting of the water.

Newton said that due to COVID he was unable to go into the State’s offices and review the “boxes and boxes of documents” pertaining to the matter. He said that his review was based on those documents that he was able to obtain. He did obtain the application that Harvest Farm filed for access as a public water supply.  “They are authorized to withdraw up to 100,000 gallons a day,” Newton explained. He said that they don’t meet the criteria for the Water Management Act to apply. He said that those that fall under the Act’s purview are held to the guidelines and limitations placed on them by that Act. “They fall below the threshold for the State’s permit,” he explained. He said they have an approved rate of 50 gallons per minute or 72,000 gallons per day. Based on their reported withdrawal they are not subject to any State compliance. “Their water use has been creeping up over the past five years,” Newton said citing specific amounts withdrawn since 2016.

“I guess the short answer is there is nothing that I could see in the documents that I reviewed that says that what they’re doing is not consistent with what the State would require; the caveat there is… approval forward relies on them to submit their own documentation to the State and frankly the State doesn’t have the capability to audit,” he explained.

Newton also said that his job is far more complex than it used to be when the primary focus was strictly on ensuring clean drinking water. He explained that part of his job now is identifying the effects the water withdrawal has on streamflow, wetlands, species, etc. “It’s a much more complicated analysis now to address those questions,” he said. “It doesn’t seem to me likely that if they’re pumping at the rates they are reporting that there is likely to be significant impacts to homeowners or private wells nearby,” Newton told the Selectmen. Selectman John Traynor asked how often the water is tested that is taken out by Rocky Harvest. Newton said he was unsure but said they were required to test. He said it was regulated by the FDA not the EPA because it is bottled.

Russo said that the thing the town should be doing each year is checking on the annual reporting and max per day volume. Russo asked Newton if they should be doing anything else. “That’s really the only thing you have available to you,” Newton replied. “To be honest with you, DEP is understaffed and overworked,” he continued. Russo asked about the accuracy of Rocky Harvest’s reporting. Newton said the town could ask for the meter calibration records. “It’s good to know that we have something that we can do,” Selectmen Chair Christine Joy said.

Selectmen were scheduled to meet with Area 58 but there was no representative on the call, so they agreed to table the conversation for a later date.  Selectmen and Town Administrator Liz Dennehy said that they would like to discuss a hybrid style meeting moving forward so that some members could be present in person while people could still attend virtually.

Selectmen discussed having the Council on Aging exercise class move back into the Old Town House. Dennehy said they were ready to have them return to the building. She briefly touched on getting Wi-Fi in that building but said first they would have to get a phone line installed. She said the cost would be roughly $110 per month. “My feeling is we ought to do it,” Traynor said.

The Selectmen also reviewed the right of first refusal option pertaining to a parcel on Ring Rd. Russo said that no one in town responded saying they were interested in purchasing the property. Russo said that he strongly recommended having a public hearing on the matter before deciding how to proceed. The hearing will take place during the next Selectmen’s meeting.

The Selectmen and Dennehy discussed town meeting preparations. Dennehy said they reached out to the company that had previously provided IT services for Town Meeting. She said the town will once again secure their services. Town Meeting will likely be spread across multiple rooms at the Dennett Elementary School.

Selectmen and Dennehy also discussed the process for Board of Selectmen appointments to various boards and committees in town. Dennehy said there were a few openings in town. “As far as the reappointment process for town employees; there seems to be a disconnect in town as far as who needed to be reappointed and who didn’t,” Dennehy explained. She explained that anyone that is customarily reappointed on an annual basis does not need to go down to the Town Clerk’s office every single year to be sworn in. She said they are also trying to get ahead of any members who may not want to be reappointed before the end of the fiscal year.

Dennehy gave a Town Administrator’s update saying that there were 27 applicants for the Police Chief position. She said the preliminary screening committee would be meeting with her to go over the interview structure. “It appears on the surface that we have a lot of qualified applicants including two internal candidates,” Dennehy told the Selectmen. She also told the Selectmen that the Board of Health lifted remaining COVID restrictions.

Dennehy told the Selectmen that they had correspondence from Silver Lake Regional Schools asking for support for upgrades to their HVAC systems. She said that the town had already previously agreed to their share of the project which is estimated at $190,000. The ARPA funds, which are limited in use, will be used to fund their share of the project. Joy said that it was one of the approved uses. Dennehy also shared that she had correspondence stating that Kimberly Russo was resigning from the Bylaw Review Committee.

Icing on the cake

By

They are the champions — the state champions that is.

The Whitman-Hanson Kingston Peewee A U12 Hawks hockey team wrapped up their season with a 2-1 victory over Burlington to win the Peewee Tier II Small State Championship on Sunday, Feb. 27.

The Hawks did it in style, too, flying back from a 1-0 deficit with five minutes to play.

Amari DeJesus of Abington knotted the score at 1-1 with under five minutes remaining off a play set up by Whitman’s Max LaRosa and Collin McLaughlin as well as Hanson’s Shaun Farrell and Sean Sweeney.

Sweeney wasn’t done there.

Just minutes later, he won the puck at the middle of the ice and split two defenders for the breakaway goal to put WHK up 2-1. That was the difference.

Hawks goalie Bren Dougherty, also of Hanson, gave up just six goals in five games during WHK’s tournament run.

“It was an overwhelming feeling when that final buzzer went off and we had achieved our goal,” said WHK head coach Ryan Cole. “Our team has all types of players on it. We have been focusing on that every player has role on a team and that individual skill doesn’t win championships. It is doing the little things that wins championships. This group of young boys and girls was able to understand that and made a dream come true.”

Katrina Huff-Larmond pulls nomination signature papers for 2nd Pymouth & Norfolk senate seat 

By

RANDOLPH – On Monday, Feb. 14, Randolph Town Councilor Katrina Huff-Larmond took an important step in her campaign for the 2nd Plymouth & Norfolk State Senate seat by taking out nomination signatures papers at the Commonwealth’s Elections Division in Boston, MA. Huff-Larmond now must collect at least 300 signatures by May 3, 2022 in order to get on the Sept. 6 Democratic primary ballot.

“I am running for State Senate because the residents of the 2nd Plymouth & Norfolk need active and engaged leadership for our communities to succeed,” Huff-Larmond said. “When COVID-19 first hit, our community wasn’t getting the attention or resources that we needed, despite having one of the worst infection and spread rates in Massachusetts. Working with my fellow town councilors and our town manager we reached out to leaders on the state level, and thanks to that work we got the support that our community needed. The issues that caused Randolph, Brockton, and the other communities of the 2nd Plymouth & Norfolk district to be overlooked and ignored during the pandemic aren’t going away just because COVID numbers are declining, and we need an advocate on Beacon Hill to really address that.”

If elected Huff-Larmond would be the first woman to represent the 2nd Plymouth & District in the State Senate, and the first person of color to represent any of the communities in the district on Beacon Hill. This is not Huff-Larmond’s first experience breaking barriers in a run for public office. In 2015 Huff-Larmond was the first woman of color ever elected to the Randolph Town Council (no women of color were ever elected to Randolph’s earlier Board of Selectmen), and was the first woman to serve as Council Vice President.

Katrina Huff-Larmond, candidate for State Senate in the 2nd Plymouth & Norfolk district, is a clinical social worker and experienced community organizer.

A graduate of Northeastern University and Simmons College, Katrina has worked with at-risk youth and young adults for more than 30 years across Massachusetts, including in all seven of the district’s communities.

She also advises companies and institutions on workplace culture and diversity and teaches social work classes at several Boston-area universities. As a Randolph Town Councilor since 2015, Katrina has successfully advocated for more youth programming and for more transparent & professional municipal government.

Katrina was a leader in the successful 2021 fight for more fair and more diverse state legislative districts which created the new 2nd Plymouth & Norfolk district among other gains. The 2nd Plymouth & Norfolk state senate district consists of Randolph, Avon, Brockton, Whitman, Hanson, Halifax, and East Bridgewater.

Katrina lives in Randolph with her husband, son, and dog Andre. To learn more about Katrina, visit katrinaforsenate.com.

Farewell dinner planned for Fr. Lee

By

Linda Redding
Special to The Express

On Saturday  Feb. 26, at the 4 p.m. Mass at Saint Joseph the Worker Church in Hanson, Father Hobson, announced that Father Kwang Lee has been appointed to a new parish assignment by Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston.

Effective March 12, 2022, Father Lee will serve as Parochial Vicar of Our Lady of Grace Parish serving Groton and Pepperell, as well as Saint John the Evangelist Parish in Townsend.

Father Lee has served  Our Lady of Lake Church in Halifax and Saint Joseph the Worker Church in Hanson since 2015.

 It has been a year since the two churches have formally combined as the Holy Apostles Parish.

In addition to his parish duties, Father Lee also was chaplain at hospitals in Brockton, Milton, and Plymouth.  He also served as chaplain for the Hanson Fire Department.

A farewell dinner for Father Lee is planned  for Thursday March 10, at 6 p.m. in the parish hall of Our Lady of Lake Church in Halifax. .

Please contact the parish office at 781-293-7971 by March 6, 2022 if you plan to attend the dinner.

No net increases in Dennett budget

By

The Plympton School Committee met virtually on Monday, Feb. 28. The committee and administration discussed next year’s budget. Committee member Jason Fraser shared good news on the Chapter 70 front. Fraser said that Governor Baker’s House 1 budget contained a “nice surprise” for Plympton. “This is from years of trying to be recognized for our small-town needs… but also due to the 20 percent enrollment increase,” he explained. He continued, “I think that the State is definitely stepping up to help us with that tremendous enrollment growth.” Fraser said that due to the increase in Chapter 70 funding, the town “wouldn’t show a net increase in funding the Dennett for next year.” Committee Chair Jon Wilhelmsen said they would need to have a discussion with the Finance Committee to drive this point home. Fraser also said that due to something called being held harmless, even if the town were to see an enrollment decrease down the line, the town wouldn’t be held responsible.

Superintendent Jill Proulx shared an updated version of the preliminary budget with the Committee. Director of Business Services Christine Healy said that all shared cost positions, including a Human Resources Director and a Technology Technician, were now included in the budget. Additionally, Proulx said that Circuit Breaker, the State’s special education reimbursement program, was now estimated at 70 percent to get closer to what it will likely end up being. Additionally, there was an increase for ELL (English Language Learners) as well as a .2 added to the music position.

Proulx told the Committee that she had submitted a grant for $20,000 that would be used to offset the cost of a kindergarten teaching position. Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch also provided an update on grant funding. He said that they would be receiving a mix of grants at the State and Federal level including rural aid, ESSER funding, Title II A, Title IV, and special education allocations.

Regarding the current year’s budget, Healy said, “right now the budget is still supporting all of the activities within our building and some outside the building.”
Dennett Elementary Principal Peter Veneto provided a Principal’s Report saying there were 242 students currently enrolled. Veneto said that the DARE officer had completed his curriculum with the sixth-grade class and would soon be moving to the fifth-grade class. The intention is to provide DARE education to all grades before the end of the school year. The Assistant District Attorney will be holding an assembly on cyber safety in March for the older students at Dennett. CASA will be holding Winterfest on March 18. Veneto also said that they remain hopeful that they will be able to hold a talent show this spring provided the COVID numbers continue to move in the right direction.

Additionally, the Dennett is hoping to create a mural made entirely out of painter’s tape as an art project in early April. A similar one was made at Silver Lake Regional High School which Veneto called, “absolutely amazing.”

Proulx shared with the Committee a brief update regarding masking. The CDC is no longer requiring masks to be worn on school buses. Massachusetts previously removed the mask mandate for K-12 schools effective following February break. “Individuals may continue to wear them if they so choose and will be supported in that,” Proulx said. Lynch said that they had held a professional development day earlier that day. The focus was on inclusivity and relationship building.

Five selectmen for Halifax?

By

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on Tuesday, Feb. 22. The Selectmen discussed an article put forth by Selectmen Chair Gordon Andrews as a private citizen to change the Board of Selectmen to a five-member board. “It seems like there is a number of occasions where two of us want to go to a meeting and we didn’t post it as a meeting and we can’t both attend; it just seems like with a larger board there would be overlap of information and knowledge as to what happens at other meetings and the ability to communicate and more than one person’s take on what happens at a meeting,” Andrews said. Selectman Ashley DiSesa pointed out the benefit of more members should someone need to recuse themselves from a discussion or event. Town Administrator Ed Thorne said he could prepare a survey of neighboring towns comparing their populations to the number of selectmen on their boards. Selectman Troy Garron simply said of the three-person board, “it has worked well the last 30 years.”

Amy L. Troup told Selectmen that the Beautification Committee was requesting to use the Great Hall for a vendor fair. Troup described the fair as “anything that’s going to promote saving the earth; making it beautiful.” She told the Selectmen that they were aiming for April 2. Andrews made a motion to accept the proposed date of April 2 pending approval from the Board of Health for the food trucks that will be present. The Selectmen voted to approve the motion.

Gerard Joy presented an article on behalf of the Solar Farm Committee. He noted that Alan Winkler was the Chair of the Committee. He said, “the biggest asset that the town has is the landfill and I think that’s where the most money that the town can get with little effort.”

Joy said there were two options. One being similar to Pembroke with at least one megawatt (MW) or more depending on what can fit on the site. The company that would do the estimate, PowerOptions, is a non-profit. He said it would be a fixed rate that would be locked in for 20 years for the power. Joy said he would recommend a lease to own option. “There’s no responsibility for the first eight years; they’ll come in, they’ll do it, they’ll own it, they’ll operate it,” Joy told the Selectmen. He said the life of a solar farm should be 30 years.

Regarding the cost of the plant, Joy said, “the U.S. average open field… the cost goes anywhere from $0.83 to $1.39.” He said he took the higher number of $1.39, which he explained was per watt, and multiplied it by two. “I’m looking at the cost of $2,780,000 to install the solar farm and that could go up or down,” Joy said. He said that the battery storage system would be another $1,000,000. Joy said the town would receive roughly $86,000 for the first eight years.

The option to buy the field exists after eight years. “Typical payback… is $470,000 per year in revenue… that’s what the town should generate if you own,” Joy explained. “So, at the end of 16 years, we now own the system; but we’re still getting roughly about $72,000 per year in revenue,” he told the Selectmen. He continued, “At the end of thirty years we’ll make $6,000,142.00” “There’s a reason why everyone is throwing these solar fields everywhere; it’s a money-making machine,” Joy said. He added that the cost of maintenance was low. Joy said there was a waiting list but noted that landfills have priority so it may be possible to bypass some people on the waiting list. The Selectmen said they would review the materials and think it over.

The Selectmen also had an appointment with the Halifax Fireworks Committee. The representative said they wanted the Selectmen’s feedback on them planning the fireworks for June 25. They said that they already had approval from the Fire Chief and the Board of Health. “You guys have done such a great job in the past; why should we doubt the future,” Garron said. Asked about Covid, Garron said, “As far as Covid is concerned, it will be up to individuals.” He noted that people could wear masks if they desired. There will, however, be no jumpy houses, etc. as there was two years ago.

Andrews said that a fundraising idea would be to raffle off an ideal parking space for the winner. “I just think it would be cool, especially to get to pick your own spot on the field and have it coned off… this is the winner of the raffle and this is what supports these fireworks and make it into a big deal,” Andrews explained of his proposal. Currently there is $8,000 in the account. She said they have enough money for a small display but noted that they would rather put on something more impressive so as to not disappoint. DiSesa said that they were happy to help with fundraising or any other needs that arise. “All your time and effort is appreciated and I’ve been to every one of the fireworks,” Garron said.

Thorne gave a brief update saying that the Ethics training they held for various boards and committees was a great success. The town is planning to hold another one regarding open meeting laws. Thorne also said that the town is moving forward with the pond treatments that are needed.

The Selectmen had an appointment with Steven MacFaun of the Board of Health to discuss the Massachusetts Health Board Trust Fund Agreement (MAHB). MacFaun said they were granted $5,000 to assist with contact tracing, etc. He said that they hired a nurse initially but needed to terminate her. As a result, the Health Agent took on those responsibilities. MacFaun explained that the Board wished to give some of those funds to the Health Agent as well as the Fire Admin. He explained that “both were doing jobs outside of their jobs that were specifically supposed to be being done by someone else.” The Selectmen were in support of the bonuses.

Building Inspector James Perry appeared before the Selectmen to go over a proposed revision to inspection fees. Perry said that no changes had been made since 2011. Perry said that Halifax was on the low side in comparison to neighboring communities. “If it puts us in competition with other towns what they’re doing then the compensation is proper,” Garron said. The Selectmen voted to approve the new fee schedule effective March 1.

Cesar Calouro met with the Selectmen to request use of ARPA funds to purchase an interactive display for meetings.  He said he would like to also get a secondary, non-interactive display to be used for overlap. The Selectmen decided to delay the vote of $6,400 for the interactive display and corresponding tTV until March 8 in order to allow Thorne to verify that the ARPA funds could be used for that purchase.

Lindsay Laws is 1st in State

By

Over the weekend of Feb. 26 and 27, Silver Lake Regional sophomore Lindsay Laws became the State Titleholder in the 160lb weight class for girls wrestling after besting her opponents at the MIAA Wrestling Tournament.

Laws, who also plays soccer for Silver Lake, has been wrestling since seventh grade though she didn’t wrestle in her first live match until just last year. Laws’ brother Grant is a Division I State Heavyweight Champion who started his career at Silver Lake before winning his title for Xaverian Brothers High School in 2019. Laws credits her brother with sparking her interest in the sport. “He would always wrestle me in the living room; I would pretend that I hated it, but I didn’t actually hate it,” she laughed. “I’ve always just been kind of fiery,” she added.

Laws said that her parents recognized talent within her and encouraged her to pursue wrestling. Initially Laws said she was hesitant as she was worried that she would be judged for being a girl in what has traditionally been a male dominated sport. Attending the MIAA Tournament in 2019 when her brother won his title and seeing the girls wrestling competitively, helped to assuage those fears. “I thought it was so cool; wow – look at all those girls that are wrestling,” Laws explained.

In seventh grade Laws began training at Dungeon Training Center in Lakeville. Laws, who has practice or a meet for Silver Lake five days a week, also attends Dungeon twice weekly on Sunday and Tuesday. After her school practice on Tuesday, she heads to Dungeon for an additional two hours of training. Laws wrestles 12 months a year, upping her training sessions to four times per week in the off season. Of her practices at Silver Lake, she said, “The practices were run well; the coaches did a really good job, and I learned a lot this season.” She credits much of her success to the Silver Lake coaches including head coach Wayne Reissfelder and assistant coaches Alex Rollins, Jake MacDonald, and John Frieburger. Laws said that Reissfelder was a huge part of her brother Grant’s success as well. Laws’ mother Lauren said, “I am proud of Lindsay for making the goal of winning a state championship this year and being coachable, studying wrestling through film and working hard with multiple workouts per day and achieving this goal.”

Laws, who mostly wrestled boys during the regular season, went into the MIAA Tournament as the number one seed so she didn’t have any matches on Saturday. She had to best two opponents, however, during Sunday’s meet. Laws faced Olivia Agudelo from Agawam High School first. No points were earned by either opponent during the first period of the match. “We were both working; it was just a tough mutual period… nothing really finished,” she explained. Her father Gordon noted that she had to defend a strong head-and-arm attempt during that first period. Agudelo had the choice for the start of the second period and chose to be on the bottom. Laws pinned her 30 seconds into the two-minute period and secured her spot in the finals. Her father credited her skilled top game for securing her the win.

She next faced Kennedy Kampe of Shepherd Hill Regional High School in the final round. “I got the first takedown in that match, so I was on top and about 15 seconds into me being on top, she actually caught me in a roll and I was on my back and I had to fight off my back,” Laws explained. “I reversed her and got back on top and was able to pin her from that position,” she continued. Of the short but action-packed match, Laws said her parents called it “the longest minute and 39 seconds of their lives.”

Laws’ father Gordon said of his daughter’s mistake, “rather than freak out or give up, she worked herself free, executed a reverse, and then moved for a pin. The combination of perseverance through hard times and the moves to capitalize when in a better position came from a season of tough matches against quality boy opponents.”

He continued, “Not being discouraged and making small gains with each match are the things I’m proudest of; those are the things that add up to success in all fields in life.” Laws’ mother Lauren shared a similar sentiment saying, “One of my favorite things about wrestling is anything can happen in a match, it is unpredictable like life… In order to persevere and get on the podium at a state championship requires handling all of the different scenarios any wrestler can bring.”

Laws said the magnitude of the win keeps hitting her in waves. In the moments following her victory, she hugged her coaches and then sprinted into her father’s arms.

“I wanted to stay humble because the other girl put up a good fight,” she explained. Laws said she was overcome with joy and grateful that all her hard work had paid off. Laws, who described feeling both joy and relief, said she was grateful for the outcome as the match could have easily ended differently. She emphasized how grateful she is for the love and support of her parents, siblings, and foster sister. She also expressed gratitude for all her coaches. Laws’ mother said of her daughter, “Lindsay’s determination, confidence, and strength is an inspiration to me.” Just as Laws drew inspiration from the older wrestlers all those years ago, there is no doubt that she is now serving as a role model for all the young girls who watched her take home the title.