Plympton-Halifax-Kingston Express

You are here: Home / Archives for News

SL boys lacrosse coach named Patriot League Coach of the Year

By

The Silver Lake High boys’ lacrosse team enjoyed plenty of success yet again this season — and they received some recognition for it.

The team’s head coach, Derek Weckbacher, was named as the Patriot League Coach of the Year for boys’ lacrosse. It marks the third time that he has received the award.

Weckbacher has built the team from the ground up. He took over the program at a time when the team really struggled. In 2016, the team lost each of the first 17 games of the season. Their lone win of the season came over a struggling Milton Wildcats program. However, in the three years since then, he has compiled a record of 46-26 — meaning that despite that slow start he has a winning record in his career as a Lakers head coach. That record is 47-43 overall.

Since then, the Lakers have enjoyed plenty of success, becoming a perennial playoff contender. The team has had four seasons since then because there was no 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic. In each of those four seasons (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021) the Lakers have made the playoffs. And this year, the program reached another milestone. The Lakers got their first ever playoff win.

The Lakers went 9-6 overall and beat the Barnstable Red Raiders 11-6 in the first round of the playoffs before losing to Hingham in the MIAA Division 1 south quarterfinal round.

Since the Lakers had a strong season, they had five Patriot League All-Stars: Andrew Tilton, Jake Generazo, Kyle Neal, Tommy Condon, and Christopher Broderick.

The team’s season came to a close on June 22.

SL softball makes it to Division 1 South Semifinals

By

The Silver Lake High girls’ softball team enjoyed success in two of their three playoff games last week before their season came to a close.

The team picked up a 17-5 win over the Hopkinton Hillers on Monday, June 21 to advance to the Division 1 South quarterfinal round of the MIAA postseason tournament. There, they also performed well in a bout against Mansfield on Wednesday, June 23. The Lakers won that one 8-5. However, in the Div. 1 South semifinal one day later, they ran into some trouble. The Lakers went up against a tough Bridgewater-Raynham opponent in the semifinal. They lost 14-1 on Thursday, June 24, bringing their season to a close.

After a blowout win over Hopkinton, the Lakers played a competitive game against Mansfield. The Lakers started the game from behind as Mansfield put up two runs in the top of the first inning. However, the Lakers had a myriad of contributors at the plate and scored in four of the six innings in which they had at-bats. Samantha Waters and Brianna Ghilardi each had a team-high three hits in the win for the Lakers. Meanwhile, Waters, Hannah Kelleher, and Quinn Slyker each drove in a pair of runs for the team. On the mound, Ghilardi went six innings, allowed nine runners to reach base and struck out nine batters as she picked up the win.

And in the loss to Bridgewater-Raynham, their opponent had plenty of offensive success early. B-R scored nine runs in the top of the first inning and three more in the inning after that. The Lakers got 10 hits in the game and Jayme Carr had a team-high three of those hits.

With the loss, the Lakers finished the season at 12-4.

Around the field

By

Here is a look at how the Silver Lake High varsity sports teams fared last week

Boys Lacrosse

The Lakers had their season come to a close after facing off against a tough Hingham opponent in the Division 1 South quarterfinal. They lost the game 17-6 on the road on Tuesday, June 22. In the loss to Hingham, Brandon Cavicchi scored a team-high two goals for the Lakers. Other than Cavicchi, a few other players scored goals for the Lakers against Hingham. They include: Jackson Nugent, Chris Broderick (1 assist), Tommy Condon (1 assist), and Will Cronin (1 assist). It was the first varsity goal of Nugent’s career.

Softball

The Lakers picked up a 17-5 win over the Hopkinton Hillers on Monday, June 21. Two days later, the Lakers beat Mansfield 8-5 in the Division 1 South quarterfinal. However, their season came to an end with a 14-1 loss to Bridgewater-Raynham on June 24.

Track

Select Lakers athletes competed at All-States. On the boys’ side, Sam Shirikjian came in seventh in the triple jump and 10th place in the long jump on June 26. On the girls’ side, Riley Paskow had the top performance for the Lakers. She came in 20th in the 400 meter. Additionally, the girls competed in their Division 1 South championship meet on Sunday, June 20.

At that meet, Paskow came in fourth in the 400 meter and seventh in the long jump while Toni Ierardi came in sixth in shotput and seventh in discus.

Should working meetings be recorded?

By

The Plympton Board of Selectmen met virtually via Zoom on Monday, June 21. The first order of business according to Chair Christine Joy was to appoint Jason Fraser to the Silver Lake Regional School Committee to fulfill the remainder of Mike Antoine’s term through May of 2022. The Board voted unanimously to do so with Joy saying, “Thank you Jason, it is awfully good of you to serve.” Fraser previously served as Chair of the Silver Lake Regional School Committee and currently also serves as Vice Chair of the Plympton School Committee.

There was some discussion on a topic that had been brought up at a previous meeting regarding the recording and posting of what is known as “working meetings.” Selectman John Traynor felt that all meetings of the Board should be recorded and wanted a change made to the policy. Both Joy and Selectman Mark Russo disagreed, however, maintaining their belief that some meetings should still be deemed “working” and not recorded. Joy stressed that these meetings were rare. The Board agreed to adopt Russo’s amended definition of a working meeting with the sole nay vote coming from Traynor.

The Board then discussed the tax title land that had been identified and reviewed by the Open Space Committee, the Conservation Commission, and the Town Properties Committee. The Selectmen needed to make recommendations regarding the individual properties. Chair of the Town Properties Committee Jon Wilhelmsen said they were not in favor of selling any of the properties. Former Selectman Rick Springer asked why they were not in favor of selling any of the properties. Wilhelmsen said, “One, these are not particularly high value properties as far as increasing the tax rolls… two, there are benefits to the town that go beyond the tax rolls in small properties even where we have open space… and I think the third piece is I’m not sure we’re particularly in favor of selling properties whereby we’re necessarily increasing the number of houses that we’re adding in the town because the resulting tax benefits to the tax rolls is generally outweighed by the costs of that to the town.” Springer said he disagreed with the last statement. He had further issue with one of the properties that Joy suggested they discuss separately.

There were multiple properties that Open Space and Conservation recommended keeping in order to protect. The Board voted on those six properties as a group. They voted unanimously not to sell those particular properties.

The Board then looked at the properties that Open Space and Conservation did not have comments on, voting collectively on those. Traynor moved that they keep the properties as town owned land. Again, the Selectmen voted unanimously.

The parcel Springer wanted to be sold at auction was lot 18-4-12 on Churchill Road. This lot was discussed separately. Springer explained his argument saying, “The abutting lot to the town owned piece on Churchill Rd. was given a building permit in the seventies, the owners of that lot have been paying taxes to the town of Plympton for almost fifty years, they cannot use that lot; don’t you think you have some moral obligation to make it right for them?”

Joy confirmed that the abutters never built a home on the lot. Springer said the son owns the lot but lives in New Jersey and has no interest in anything except getting some of his money back on the land. Joy asked if the person had ever gone before the ZBA to get a variance. “ZBA might be an option but I was told it wouldn’t hold water if we put a house on it,” Springer said. Joy said that the lot in question is pretty wet and you really can’t build on the property in question. Springer said the owner of the abutting lot in New Jersey would like to sell the lot to his company (Springer’s) and they would sell it to someone to put up a house.  Russo said, “Rick, I hear you and I think you’ve done a really good job presenting the best argument you can.” He went on to say, however, that he was still against selling the lot. The Selectmen voted unanimously not to sell the lot in question.

Bill McNulty of the Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC) was there to discuss ways in which the town might be able to restrict heavy truck traffic on non-state roads. McNulty said they did traffic counts on several roads in the town including Main St., Ring Rd, Prospect St., and Pleasant. McNulty said that east of Rt. 58 there were more options for restricting heavy commercial truck traffic. “The town does have the option… on roadways that are under their local jurisdiction… to request a heavy commercial vehicle exclusion from MassDOT assuming that it meets certain criteria,” McNulty explained.  He said that in looking at the roadway network in Plympton as well as the data they collected, the town could request heavy vehicle exclusion on Main St. between Rt. 58 and Rt. 106. He said the difficulty would be that Ring Rd. connects into that and since it runs into Kingston, they would have to sign off as well. McNulty said, however, that he believes it would benefit Kingston to do that. He said that in addition to the data already collected, the State would look for mapping as well. If a trucking company does have business on that roadway, they can still use that roadway.

Town Administrator Liz Dennehy asked what their option would be if Kingston did not want to participate. McNulty said they could probably still proceed with the other roadways. Dennehy also asked about enforcement. McNulty said that the local Police Department could enforce such exclusions. Russo confirmed that west of Rt. 58 the problem was a lack of alternate routes. The Board voted unanimously to allow OCPC to do whatever necessary to take steps toward a heavy vehicle exclusion wherever possible.

After some discussion the Board voted unanimously to adopt the State’s remote participation provision 940 Mass. Reg. 29.10. It states that remote participation of some Board and Committee members may be allowed subject to certain procedures and restrictions. The hope is that the greater flexibility would allow for more widespread participation in government.

The Board also discussed a three-year agreement with the Plympton Police Union. She said the main point in the agreement is the cost of living saying that they agreed to an increase of 2.5 percent, 3 percent, and 2.5 percent over the three years. “That seems to be very reasonable and kind of in line with increases given to other municipal employees,” Dennehy explained. She said they also came to an agreement on an incentive tool for retention that would allow people after five years of continuous service to cash out up to two weeks of sick time. She also noted that they would be adding the Juneteenth holiday. Dennehy said there was also something in the agreement per the Chief regarding personal grooming. Before voting, Joy said, “I should probably say that we are coming off of several years of them taking a zero percent increase because they wanted to work with the town and knew what our situation was so they have been more than willing to work with us to make our budget work for the town.” The vote to accept the three-year agreement was unanimous.

Dennehy provided a Town Administrator’s update. She told the Board that the town had signed an agreement with Carver for Animal Control Officer services for the next three years. Dennehy said it will save the town $4,500 annually. Dennehy said they also signed a contract for dispatch with the Regional Old Colony Communications Center (ROCC) for this coming fiscal year. The amount is for $150,000 as voted at town meeting. Dennehy said that the rate could reduce in future years as more towns come on board. Dennehy told the Board that the town had received more than $145,000 in CARES Act reimbursements.

The Board also appointed a number of people to various Boards and Committees. They included Dave Alberti to the Zoning Board of Appeals alternate through 2022, Vicki Alberti to the Open Space Committee through 2024, Joan Burke to the Council on Aging through 2021, Nancy Butler to the Community Preservation Committee through 2022, Rick Burnett to the Conservation Commission and Community Preservation Committee both through 2022, Jason Shepard to the Community Preservation Committee through 2024, Stuart Chase to the Historic District Commission through 2022, Robert Doucette to the Jason Park Study and Development Committee through 2022, Jeffrey Haas to the Recreation Commission through 2022, Linda Leddy to the Conservation Commission through 2022, Gavin Murphy to the Open Space Committee through 2022, Charles Nickerson to the Historic District Commission through 2022, Erik and Katrina Player to the Recreation Commission through 2022, Jane Schultz to the Historical Commission and Community Preservation Committee both through 2022, Ethan Stiles to the Zoning Board of Appeals through 2022, and Alan Wheelock to the Wage and Personnel Board and Open Space Committee through 2022 and 2023 respectively. The Board voted unanimously on all.

The Selectmen ended their meeting with their raves for the week.

Traynor said that his rave was for the Council on Aging ice cream social that was happening that week as more and more things are returning to normal. “I’m looking forward to it, it should be a great time,” Traynor said. Russo said his rave was “for this meeting tonight; I think we got a lot done.”

Joy said that her rave was for selling stickers at the dump. “So glad that the Highway Superintendent is going to be offering that service,” she said.

Halifax chooses new town counsel

By

After interviewing four candidates for Halifax Town Counsel Friday morning, the board voted at their Tuesday night’s meeting to hire the Boston firm of Brooks & DeRensis. Selectmen Gordon Andrews and Ashley DiSesa  voted for Brooks & DeRensis,. Garron wanted to retain Attorney Larry Mayo and voted “no” on appointing Brooks & DeRensis.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on Friday morning June 25 during which time they held interviews with four different candidates for Town Counsel.

The first interview was with Paul R. DeRensis. DeRensis began by saying, “I have a history of service to the town going back twenty years; I think I met Troy way, way back… I’ve been serving the town ever since in various capacities… I like the people that I work with, I’ve liked the town, I’ve liked the feel of the town.” He went on to describe his firm as “practical,” “loyal,” and “caring.” He said he has served as a town counsel continuously since 1986. He said that what makes him unique is that he has also been a Select Board member for 9 terms and 27 years. Prior to that he served on the Planning Board and Finance Committee in his own town. DeRensis said that he is also a former president of the Massachusetts Select Board Association. Additionally, he has ten years’ experience on the MMA Board of Directors. “I’ve been an advisor on local affairs to two governors – Deval Patrick and Charlie Baker,” he told the Selectmen. He said that he brings a combination of town counsel experience and an understanding of what it is like to be sitting on the same side of the table as the Selectmen. He confirmed that his firm has a number of lawyers. An associate at his firm also spoke. Leonard Kopelman, who grew the firm KP Law, said that he had previously served as town counsel for Hanson, Pembroke, Carver, Kingston, Rockland, Plymouth, and Lakeville.

Selectman Chair Gordon Andrews asked how many clients they have in the area at this moment. DeRensis said they are very choosy about their clients. He listed several towns including Cohasset that he is currently serving as town counsel for. Selectman Troy Garron asked, “Why should we choose you?” The simple answer given was “because we care” and “I know how to get it done.” Town Administrator Charlie Seelig asked about their preferences for going about giving legal counsel asking if other town Boards and Committees should go through what he called a legal gatekeeper first. DeRensis said that they prefer to use a request for legal services (RLS) and have it signed off on by either a member of the Board of Selectmen or the Town Administrator.

Next to interview was the firm Mead, Talerman & Costa. Partners Lisa Mead, Jason Talerman, and Katherine Feodoroff were all present. Mead, who is a former Mayor of Newburyport, said their firm was formed in 2004 as a municipal law firm that focused mostly on land use law. Mead said that when she was the Mayor, she would often have the City Solicitor come in to work with department heads so there was some cohesion within the legal department and they were “part of the team.” She said that when they created the firm, they aimed to do so in the same way. Mead said that in 2007 they got their first town counsel job with the town of Ashland. “We now represent 23 municipalities as town counsel,” Mead said. She said the goal of their firm is to provide preventative services to a municipality rather than merely acting in a reactionary manner.

Talerman also spoke saying that he is Town Moderator in his town. “Like Lisa, I felt that we should be, again, fostering that team approach,” he explained. He said that they hope to foster an approach where the town would go to counsel before a problem arises to avoid the most expensive option which is litigation. He explained their financial approach saying they provide “this uniform series of contracts and other documents so to help on the contracts or the day-to-day administrative stuff; the rest of it was we developed a series of flat fees… there is tons of shades of gray… but what they are is you have kind of a measurement of what the expected legal budget would be.” “It accomplishes two things, one it provides uniformity and predictability… you pay us a set amount every month,” he continued. He said that financially it all levels out as some months it benefits the firm and other months the town.

Feodoroff also spoke saying that when she was brought on board, she was the Senior Assistant Solicitor in Brockton. “The idea was to broaden the practice to make it a comprehensive, all inclusive firm because in the city of Brockton… I was the lead counsel for all our labor employment matters so I took on that role here,” she explained. She said she also handles marijuana cases.

“I don’t understand, you’re doing so well, why do you want Halifax, why do you want to be counsel here?” Garron asked. “This is going to sound a little geeky, but we really like this stuff,” Talerman said. Mead said they don’t want to sit on their laurels and noted they want to take on more communities. Newest member of the Board of Selectmen Ashley DiSesa asked how accessible the firm would be to the town. Mead said, “One of the things I think that is a hallmark of our firm is our responsiveness.” She went on to say that the town would be assigned a lead attorney as well as a backup. DiSesa also asked how they would like to receive requests for their services from the town. Talerman called it an internal issue saying that there were shades of gray regarding that issue for each of the towns they currently represent. “We are most betrothed to the Select Board,” he did note.

Next to interview was Jason M. Rawlins of Rawlins|Asack LLC. Rawlins acknowledged the prestige of the previous firms to interview before him but said, “I’m a very different situation. I am what I would consider to be truly a local, town attorney.” He continued, “This building is on 499 Plymouth St., I actually grew up at 1115 Plymouth St.” He said he is an active member of the Halifax community and has been volunteering with the senior center for over ten years. He said his wife and father-in-law both work with him. Rawlins said he is currently the town attorney for Bridgewater. He stressed the importance of personal relationships in his work as well as being part of the community. He called his resume extensive saying it would speak for itself. He stressed his differences with the big firms saying how accessible he is and that it would always be him to answer the phone.

Seelig asked what his strategy would be for defending town officials when he knows that those officials have taken actions that he would not have recommended or even actions that are illegal. Rawlins said that his job is to defend the action. “I zealously defend whoever my client is,” he told the Board and Seelig. “My job is to not judge the situation,” he continued.

The final interviewee was Lawrence P. Mayo, the current Town Counsel for Halifax. Mayo has been the Town Counsel for the past 11 years. “I would like to continue the relationship with Halifax; general, municipal, and state government law is my forte I would say; it’s one of the principal components of my practice,” he explained. Mayo previously worked as Assistant Corporation Counsel for the city of Boston for 4 or 5 years. Once he started his own firm, he said he took on a number of municipal clients including but not limited to the city of Lawrence and the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission. “In representing all of these different governmental clients I’ve been responsible, if you will, for advising and representing these different entities.” He said he has handled both complex as well as mundane issues across a variety of governmental areas. “What you have to do as good legal counsel is provide good, accurate, and fair advice, not advice that the particular individual may find most appealing to him or her,” Mayo said. Mayo said that Halifax is the only town that he currently represents. Asked how accessible he is, he said, “I like to think I’m very accessible.”

Andrews asked Mayo how he thought communication could be improved with Town Counsel. “If and when a particular Board member contacts me, it’s made clear whether they are contacting me for purposes of representing the Board… or are they contacting me for purposes of discussing something they need personal guidance on in the realm of their official capacity, of course,” Mayo said. He said it’s important to him to know if a member is contacting him more on an individual basis or as a representative of a Board. Asked about the separation of legal counsel in town, Mayo said “with respect to, in particular, real estate counsel and town counsel… it could be more advantageous to have it wrapped up within one particular entity.”  Asked how he has benefitted the town, Mayo said he believes he is good with prioritizing what needs to be done as well as having an open line of communication.

The Board decided to hold off on voting until the following Tuesday’s meeting. DiSesa said that would allow them to check references.

Board of Health tackles porta potties, e. coli

By

The Halifax Board of Health met in-person on Wednesday, June 16. Newly sworn-in member Candice Greene was sitting in on her first meeting since being appointed to the open position through 2022 by both the Board of Health and Board of Selectmen. Greene holds a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP). Greene requested that they change the time of the Board of Health meetings from 6 pm on Wednesdays to 6:30. The Board agreed.

Chair Steven MacFaun began the meeting by reconfiguring the Board. MacFaun said he would like to keep himself as Chair, Pamela Engstrom as Vice-Chair, and Greene as Clerk. Engstrom made the motion, Greene seconded, and the vote was unanimous. The Board also voted unanimously to reappoint Bob Valery as the Health Agent. “It’s my privilege,” Valery said.

MacFaun turned to Valery saying, “Alright Bob, let’s talk about porta potties.” The question surrounded whether or not Cled’s Tree Service at 0 Monponsett needs to have a porta potty. The Board needed to determine if anyone was working at either property. Valery said, “So, at Cled’s, up until Monday, I haven’t observed anyone working at their property.” He continued, “At 0 Monponsett, I haven’t observed anybody on their property since the… site visits that I did there.” The Board felt that it didn’t make sense to require either property to have a porta potty since there didn’t appear to be workers at either site. Engstrom asked if there was any kind of requirement that accompanied any of the permits belonging to the property that would require a porta potty on site. Valery said that the previous Board of Health had sent a letter to Cled’s letting them know that if there were on-site workers, a porta potty would be required.

There was some discussion regarding whether a porta potty is sufficient from a hygienic perspective. MacFaun said, “I mean it’s always been the way it was; I mean construction sites have porta potties they have self-sanitizer dispensers, they have soap dispensers… I remember past discussions; I’m not going to make them bring in a beauty trailer.” A resident spoke up and said that Cled’s does have employees working there most days. Valery said that the same resident had called in a noise complaint on Monday that Valery had addressed. Valery did request that they first vote on the porta potty concern prior to addressing any other complaints. “I almost think we err on the side of caution and make them have it,” MacFaun said. The Board unanimously voted to require porta potties at both sites.

They then turned their attention back to the noise complaint. Chris Winiewicz of Circuit St. spoke saying, “This has been ongoing since pre-Covid… I’ve never had a problem with Cled’s as long as they have been down at the Industrial Park… until he got what is generally referred to as a tub grinder… you can hear this machine up until about a mile away; inside the house you can hear it reverberating in your ears.” He continued, “I’ve also done research and it looks like that machine is not allowed in any district under our bylaws.” “The best way to a solution to anything we do in this town is through collaboration; we have resources… that collectively should be able to come to a resolve on this situation before we have to involve the DEP,” Valery said. Valery said that the Board of Health is typically the first to address any noise complaints. Valery said they would try to reach out to them first internally. Winiewicz clarified, “I’m not against his business… this is all friendly neighbor here.”

The Board then turned their attention to the beaches. Valery said that the Halifax Beach off of Lingan St. had an initial E. coli reading that is just above the recommended levels. Valery guessed that recent downpours had pushed any debris including dog droppings into the water off Lingan St. raising the levels. He clarified that the levels were only slightly elevated and said that if anyone had been swimming in it prior, they should be fine assuming they don’t have open wounds and weren’t drinking from it. As of June 22, the beach remains closed.

Valery provided a COVID update. “Right now, things are going very well,” Valery said. He pointed out the widespread availability of vaccines at various locations. He recommended that those that cannot or choose not to be vaccinated maintain social distancing and wear a mask.

They also addressed a number of permits including ones for dog shows and seasonal mobile food trucks. MacFaun only questioned the request for a permit by Twin Lakes Package as he said he believed they needed an occupancy permit before they could receive a permit to sell things. Valery said that despite the lack of the occupancy permit, the Board could still approve the other permits for the business. The Board voted unanimously to approve all requested permits. Valery said that the food trucks and other establishments bring in revenue for the town and said it would be wise to encourage residents to attend.

Rep. LaNatra supports extending some popular measures enacted during State of Emergency

By

KINGSTON (June 16, 2021) – State Representative Kathleen LaNatra (D – Kingston), along with her colleagues in the Massachusetts Legislature, passed legislation on Tuesday evening that extends numerous popular provisions adopted during the State of Emergency. The State of Emergency, which was put in place by Governor Baker on March 10, 2020 in response to the pandemic, came to an end on June 15th.

The legislation, which passed both the House and Senate, paves the way for continued remote meetings of public bodies until April 20, 2022, as well as continued remote permission for representative town meetings, nonprofit member meetings, notary services and reverse-mortgage loan counseling. It also included certain eviction protections, flexibilities for assisted living residences, and allowed for medical assistants, podiatrists, phlebotomists, and certain military personnel to administer COVID-19 vaccines.

The House and Senate were able to reach a compromise late on Tuesday afternoon regarding numerous measures that effects restaurants in the Commonwealth.

The legislation permits to-go beer, wine and cocktail sales through May 1, 2022, so long as the takeout and delivery drinks are sold at the same price as those beverages consumed on-site. Special permits for expanded outdoor dining will be valid until April 1, 2022, avoiding an original expiration date of 60 days after the end of the State of Emergency.

“While we are certainly nearing the end of this difficult pandemic, it is not over yet, and it was crucial that we extended some protections for the residents of the Commonwealth,” said Rep. Kathy LaNatra (D – Kingston). “I was thrilled to support this important piece of legislation and see it passed.

Ensuring that our restaurants are able to take full advantage of the economic recovery by keeping outdoor dining and take-out beer, wine, and cocktails. While many are comfortable meeting in-person, many members of town bodies and people who want to attend are not, so this was an important step to keeping people safe.”

 The legislation was signed by the Governor on Wednesday.

Halifax ZBA holds last virtual meeting

By

The Halifax Zoning Board of Appeals met on Monday, June 14 via Zoom. Chair Robert Gaynor said that it would likely be the last virtual meeting before resuming in-person meetings. Town Administrator Charlie Seelig said that whether or not virtual participation will still be possible for the public will depend on the technology piece.

The first appointment of the evening was with David and Laura Gibbons of Oak St. The Gibbons were requesting to appeal the Building Inspector’s denial for a wood burning stove. They were asking for an extension until the July 12 Zoning Board of Appeals meeting.  The Board voted unanimously to accept the Gibbons’ request for postponement.

After accepting several meeting minutes, the Board turned their attention to their next appointment which was a public hearing for an application by Reginald Matthews of Cedar St. for a special permit for an existing in-law apartment. Matthews said nothing had changed since the previous special permit saying, “Nothing has changed to my knowledge so it’s steady as she goes.” Gaynor verified that no walls had been taken down or any such similar changes as well as verifying that it was an immediate family member still occupying the in-law apartment. Gaynor asked if the only permit on file was the one from 1998. Matthews said they purchased the home in 1998. After some digging, Gaynor verified that the special permit was acquired in April of 2010.

Board member Peter Parcellin asked if utilities were shared. “What is shared is the water because it’s a well and the septic,” Matthews explained. Parcellin asked about the electric and was told that they were separate and had always been that way since construction. Board member Robert Durgin asked Matthews if it was an income producing apartment. “They pay me, yes,” Matthews replied. Gaynor then once again verified that it was an immediate family member and was reassured that it was. Asked who was in the in-law apartment now, Matthews said it was a daughter.

Durgin said that the last name associated with both the purchase in 1998 and the special permit in 2010 was McGee not Matthews. “All right, there’s a little bit of a story to that,” Matthews began. “For 60 years I was known as McGee because my mother had doctored my birth certificate and then when I went to the Registry for the real ID, they had a problem with my birth certificate and it’s found out that my mother doctored it but my name is Reginald Daniel Matthews,” he concluded. “Wow, that’s a new one,” Durgin said laughing.

Matthews did inquire with the Board about what the advantage would be of requesting a permit to make it a duplex. He was told that he would be able to rent the apartment to anyone were that change made. Gaynor said the changes required to the permitting process would, however, be substantial. Matthews said that for now, he just wanted to keep things as they currently are and apply for the existing in-law apartment.

Parcellin said that what was on the books from 2010 was unusual in so far as it was for an in-law apartment to become an income producing apartment. Board member Dan Bosari said, “So my question now is it’s not an in-law apartment, it’s an income producing apartment?” Matthews said that it was an in-law apartment saying, “It is, it’s family.” Bosari said it was changed from a single-family home with an in-law apartment to a single-family home with an income producing unit. “The petition says for an existing in-law apartment, well really technically, you don’t have an existing in-law apartment if I’m reading all of this right,” Bosari told Matthews. Gaynor asked the other Board members how they felt about the situation saying of the 2010 permit, “It specifically stated that it was for a five-year period as an in-law apartment to a single-family house with an income producing apartment… and that was in 2010 and it was for a period of five years.” “I think if anything they have no approvals for anything right now because that would have run out, so I think we can approve this on the merits of this application,” Parcellin said. Gaynor asked if there were any abutters that wanted to speak to the application but there were not.

The Board voted unanimously to approve the petition as presented to renew the special permit for the existing in-law apartment.

Gaynor addressed some talent bank forms that had been received saying they had an application for David Mascio and Tom Millias for the alternate position on the Zoning Board of Appeals. Mascio had recently applied for the opening on the Board of Health but the Board of Health and Board of Selectmen elected a different candidate. Millias was a longstanding member of the Board of Selectmen before being bested by Ashley DiSesa in the most recent town election.

BuzzOff with team Shiney Clineys

By

Lori Costa-Cline
Special to the Express

Team Shiney Clineys and Friends held a public BuzzOff for kids with cancer on Sunday June 13 on the Halifax Town Hall Green. They have been working since January to fundraise for OneMission.org. The BuzzOff is the day the team of five- James Cline, Jay Cline, Lori Costa-Cline, Don Cline of Halifax and Christy Winslow of Plympton go bald to help raise awareness and funds to help kids and their families dealing with cancer.

The team put together an event to encourage folks to stop by and see what the “buzz” was all about. Donors were offered an entry to an appreciation raffle to win a prize from local businesses. Donors could write on a thank you sign and were treated to homemade cookies and other treats. Local business owner Teeka Garron of Teeka Lynne’s Salon has volunteered her time, tools and talent for the past two years, as COVID-19 prevented large events at Gillette. This year Amy Allison, fellow Teeka Lynne’s stylist, joined her.

The Salon is also continuing to collect donations for Team Shiney Clineys for anyone who wants to take part.

The scene generated excitement from passers-by with lots of honks. Many community members stopped by throughout the day to offer support. Several people pulled their cars up to make “drive-by” donations.  Some even decided to get a shave on the spot with their donation. Local business owner PJ Small of PJ Plumbing and Heating was driving by on his way from Walmart and took the plunge. Brad White heard about the event on Facebook and stopped by to get more information. He left and came back an hour later with $1000 in donation pledges!

This event is something 15-year – old James Cline, Team Captain, and his Mom Lori Costa-Cline have been talking about doing for years since his first shave. In 2015, at the age of 9 James saw a commercial about shaving heads to help kids with Cancer and asked his mom if he could do this. His goal was to raise $50 by selling candy for $1 at his soccer and baseball games. In the end he raised over $250, five times his original goal.

In 2018, James participated in the OneMission.org BuzzOff at Gillette. The event was so inspiring that his brother Jay Cline and his Mom Lori committed to joining him for the 2019 BuzzOff. Team Shiney Clineys was born with James as Team Captain. In 2020 James’s Dad, Don Cline a cancer survivor himself, joined the team. Family friend and One Mission BuzzOff Veteran Christy Winslow of Plympton paired up with the Shiney Clineys. Christy had wanted to shave her head for years but wanted a good reason and she found it in One Mission. This is Christy’s 5th Anniversary supporting One Mission and she alone has raised over $1800.

On Sunday the team collected $605 in cash donations. The team set a goal of $3000 and has collected over $4500 to date. They are able to accept donations through July 31st and are hoping to reach $5000 by then.

You can support the team through the link here:
http://www.myonemission.org/shineyclineysandfriends?langPref=en-CA#.YLUBKajsuuA.mailto

One Mission is a pediatric cancer charity that does whatever it takes to get kids through cancer.  One Mission programs make living in the hospital less lonely and stressful, bring back joy in a time of fear and uncertainty, and give kids and their loved ones the support they need to get through the emotional and financial challenges of treatment.  Ashley and Ari Haseotes, are the founders of One Mission. They formed this group after their child battled cancer. Ari is the Chief Executive Officer of the Cumberland Gulf Group. Ashley is the President of One Mission.