News

Children make belated, historical valentines

MATTAPOISETT — On Thursday, Feb. 20, the Land Trust and the town’s Museum hosted twenty-five children for a school vacation activity at the museum. Children learned the craft of making sailor’s valentines. During the 19 th century, whaling vessel...

Still no resolution on Mattapoisett wetlands restoration case

MATTAPOISETT — Working together, Mattapoisett and the Buzzards Bay Coalition have filed a complaint for contempt in Plymouth County Superior Court seeking to compel property owner Daniel Craig to comply with his obligations under the law and to...
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Fire breaks out on Rochester’s Snipatuit Road

ROCHESTER — A fire broke out at a 30x50 sheet metal hanger on Snipatuit Road on Thursday afternoon, Feb. 20 and was contained with no injuries a few hours later. Rochester Fire and Police Departments responded to the call reporting dark black smoke...

Friends of the Rochester Senior Center elects new board

ROCHESTER — On Feb. 12, the Friends of the Rochester Senior Center elected new officers. The new officers are: President, Carol Hardy, Vice President, Ann Cambra, Treasurer, Yvette Beaumont and Secretary, Sharon Hartley. The Friends of the Rochester...

Three person race shapes up for Mattapoisett Selectman seat

MATTAPOISETT – Three people are running for one available seat on the Board of Selectmen in Mattapoisett. Papers are now available for the May 19 election, and will be due on April 14. Tyler Macallister will run again for the Selectman seat he left...

Plumb Corner housing development nears approval

ROCHESTER — A senior housing development planned for Plumb Corner, first proposed in 2018, is nearing Planning Board approval after a series of setbacks. At the Feb. 12 Rochester Planning Board meeting, REPurpose Properties and JC Engineering...

Marion police chief to retire in January

MARION — After 34 years of service with the police department, including two years of service as its Chief since 2017, John Garcia will retire Jan. 2, 2021. The chief announced the news at a Feb. 18 Board of Selectmen meeting. In a letter notifying...

Marion to get trash transition feedback, present future plans at meeting

MARION — The town will host an informational meeting and feedback session on outsourcing trash collection, its pavement management plan, progress on fixing the Wastewater Treatment Plant and more on Feb. 24. The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. at...

Marion looks at road conditions, improvements

MARION — Selectmen heard from an expert on Feb. 18, who said that town roads are in average condition for a community of this area, and that most fixes would just be preventative, but also that maintaining or improving the road would require...

Housing, mobility identified as issues for Marion seniors

MARION — Affordable housing and mobility around town are two of the biggest issues that Marion seniors face. That’s according to an AARP survey that the Friends of the Council on Aging sent out this fall to 2,200 Marion residents over the age of 55...

Help elect Rochester’s Democratic delegates

ROCHESTER — The Democratic Town Committee will hold its caucus on Saturday, March, 7 to elect delegates to the State Democratic Convention. The caucus will take place in the Rochester Town Hall from 11 to 11:30 a.m. Everyone may attend the political...

Athletes, parents rally to support coach diagnosed with ALS

MATTAPOISETT — After hearing of coach Glenn Gardner’s ALS diagnosis, players on the Old Rochester Regional High School girls junior varsity basketball team quickly organized a fundraiser with the help of their parents to support their coach. ALS,...

Tabor head of school there to stay

This story has a more recent update as of Feb. 19. For the most recent update, see story here . MARION — John Quirk will remain head of school at Tabor Academy. In the wake of a Jan. 31 incident where he was pulled over and arrested for...

Marion Department of Public Works gets financial, organizational review

MARION — A Feb. 12 meeting with the Finance Committee, Board of Selectmen and Department of Public works was a chance to review both the draft of the department’s fiscal year 2021 budget, and a dramatic restructuring it has experienced over the last...

First responders’ budgets face hikes due to work laws

MARION — A new town personnel policy and national labor safety laws that came into effect in the last year will cause increases in the Fire and Police department budgets for Fiscal Year 2021. That’s what the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee...

Mattapoisett brainstorms efforts to help shellfishers

MATTAPOISETT — A Feb. 11 request to the Board of Selectmen for an expansion of an oyster farm turned into a larger discussion of how the town could help aquaculturists and shellfishers. Michael Ward came before the board to request that his two acre...

Rower continues to recover

MARION — Injured Marion rower Hannah Strom continues to make progress on healing at Massachusetts General Hospital, supported by her family, her town and the community at Tabor Academy, where she attended school. Strom now rows for Holy Cross and...

Proposed Mattapoisett dog park looks for location

MATTTAPOISETT — Dog lovers may one day have another place in town to bring their pooches and pups: a mother and son trying to establish a dog park in town came before the Board of Selectmen on Feb. 11 to start brainstorming on a location. Freemin...

Mattapoisett looks to add third site to National Historic Register

MATTAPOISETT — Selectmen approved a request to add Center School to the National Register of Historic Places, provided that doing so would not place too many limitations on the building’s use. The town’s historic commission had proposed the school...

Update: Tabor head of school charged with drunk driving

MARION — Tabor Academy Head of School John Quirk was arrested for driving under the influence, speeding and negligent operation of a motor vehicle following a Jan. 31 traffic stop in Bourne. In Falmouth District Court on Tuesday one charge was...

Mattapoisett woman dies in Route 195 rollover

The driver of the car involved in a rollover accident at about 3 p.m. on I-195 Westbound in Marion on Wednesday, Feb. 5, has died, according to State Police. Brooke Sweet, 20, was a resident of Mattapoisett. Sweet graduated from Old Rochester...

Sippican School students fundraise for the Stroms

MARION — A group of Sippican School students came up with the idea to sell cookies as a fundraiser for Hannah Strom on Feb. 9 in the Olde Knoll neighborhood. Neighbors responded well to the fundraiser, and they raised $110 in a 45-minute afternoon...

Woman’s Club to hear from voter activists

MATTAPOISETT — The Woman's Club will host Luana Josvold of the League of Women Voters as its speaker on Thursday, Feb. 1 3 . Josvold’s presentation will focus on the League of Women Voters and how the Tri-Town League has expanded to become the...

Eversource gains small Rochester fan club after storm

ROCHESTER — A strong windstorm on Friday knocked down trees and took out power lines in the Tri-Town on Feb. 7. One young Rochester resident was fascinated by the crews that responded on his street. A crew of workers from MTV solutions was helping...

Mattapoisett photographer presents on Cuttyhunk project

DARTMOUTH — Mattapoisett photographer Phil Mello spent one day a month on Cuttyhunk in the off season, documenting the quirks, weather and people of the island. Now, the effort is fodder for a book, and on Feb. 7 was the subject of a talk at...

Rochester Senior Center getting new kitchen

ROCHESTER — The kitchen at the Rochester Senior Center is getting an update. It will get a fresh coat of paint, new stainless steel countertops, appliances and cabinets. The renovations are being paid for by a $20,000 grant from the state, and the...

Tabor Boy crew to speak at New Bedford Whaling Museum

NEW BEDFORD — Captain James Geil and crew members from the Tabor Boy, Tabor Academy’s schooner will speak as part of the New Bedford Whaling Museum’s Sailors’ Series. The crew will talk about what it was like to sail a 100-year-old vessel on the 645...

Marion starts its election process

MARION — Nomination papers for the May 15 town election have been open since Feb. 3 for thirteen positions. Norm Hills is up for re-election both as a Selectman and for his spot on the Planning Board. He intends to run again for Selectman, but not...

Mattapoisett Selectmen choose native for Town Administrator

MATTAPOISETT — The Board of Selectmen voted Feb. 4 to offer Michael Lorenco the town administrator position because of his fit with the town, positive references and financial experience. The offer is subject to contract negotiations on both sides...

Mattapoisett hopes to unlock funds for street improvements

MATTAPOISETT — The town has been compiling road improvement projects, and will send them to the state, hoping to unlock some funding for them. In 2017, the town approved a municipal bicycle and pedestrian plan, which formed a Complete Streets Work...

Rochester to examine fire station needs

ROCHESTER — Fire Chief Scott Weigel appeared before the Board of Selectmen on Feb. 3 to ask for a study committee to study building use at the fire station. The fire station is currently older, and very cramped, but Weigel did not have any initial...

Selectmen ask for details on affordable housing plans

ROCHESTER — Though Selectmen support an affordable housing nonprofit in its cause, the two groups reached an impasse at a Feb. 3 meeting over a lack of concrete plans. Mark Wallington and Gianno Lettieri, representatives for Rochester Affordable...

Rochester Selectmen appoint a Town Clerk

ROCHESTER — Marion town administrator to Rochester town clerk? Selectmen appointed former Marion Town Administrator Paul Dawson as Town Clerk in place of Naida Parker, who will retire Feb. 7. With the 2020 Federal Census and presidential election on...

Naida Parker reflects on her career as Rochester Town Clerk

ROCHESTER — Naida Parker has been the Town Clerk of Rochester since 1984, and on Friday, Feb. 7 she will retire after serving the town for longer than any other clerk before her. Parker said that a lot has changed since 1984. Technology is perhaps...

Mattapoisett Land Trust to begin tree clearing

MATTAPOISETT — In 2018 and 2019, the Mattapoisett Land Trust hired foresters Phil Benjamin and Tom Farrell to create Forest Management Plans for 360 acres of woods in the Old Aucoot and Brandt Island Cove Districts. The foresters recommend selective...

Mattapoisett Land Trust hosts cub scouts

MATTAPOISETT — Mattapoisett Land Trust welcomed scouts, siblings and parents from Cub Scout Pack 53 to Dunseith Gardens on Saturday Feb. 1 for a campfire and winter hike. The Land Trust’s Gary Johnson demonstrated how to build a “log cabin” style...

Students look at history through fossils

The Marion Natural History Museum's afterschool group enjoyed learning about minerals and fossils with geologist Jim Pierson on Jan. 29. Participants compared the relative sizes of Megalodon teeth versus White shark teeth, and took a look at many...

Mattapoisett maintains a link to its firefighting history

MATTAPOISETT— The cost of a new fire engine today approaches $600,000, Fire Chief Andrew Murray said. But there’s one apparatus in town that is hard to put a price tag on. The town’s first fire engine, the Eagle, is on display at the Mattapoisett...

Rochester children learn from, support young Hingham leader

ROCHESTER — The Rochester founder of Creative Little Leaders, Kelly Gagliardi, has been looking for young leaders to help teach other children leadership skills. When she found an exemplar in Hingham boy, Owen Colley, she decided to put her...

Marion committees come together to look at affordable housing

MARION — Selectmen, Affordable Housing Trust members, Planning Board members, Finance Committee members and Assessors all met on Jan. 30 to discuss the town’s short- and long-term strategy for affordable housing. The Planning Board had discussed the...

Mattapoisett library director retiring in June

MATTAPOISETT — After ten years at the town’s Free Public Library Director Susan Pizzolato will retire on June. 30. Pizzolato looks back extremely fondly on her time as director. “Whoever follows as the next Library Director is stepping into a dream...

Marion COA to host six week loss support group

MARION — Facilitator Ken Hart, BS, MA of Compassionate Care Hospice will hold a six week workshop at the Benjamin D. Cushing Community Center to show grievers tools for moving ahead through grief. This series will begin on Feb. 18th at 12:30 p.m...

Rochester candidates prepare for April election

ROCHESTER — Though the Rochester election won’t be until April 8, 11 candidates are already running, and the race for Selectman is already contested. There are 16 positions up for election. Selectman Woody Hartley will run again for Selectman...

Tri-town residents embrace solar, towns start on arrays

Solar is taking root in the Tri-Town. While some large-scale projects have prompted controversy, residents, businesses and the towns themselves are increasingly embracing solar energy. Marion and Mattapoisett are both working on solar projects on...

Rochester board hopes to increase Town Planner hours

ROCHESTER — In forming its budget for this year, the Rochester Planning Board voted against paying its members or their chair to increase the Town Planner’s hours. The board is currently not paid, but had discussed adding compensation for its Chair...

Traffic concerns may slow plans for Rochester development

ROCHESTER — A more than 200 unit housing development in Rochester began its formal hearing and permitting process with the Planning Board on Jan. 28, and got some backlash on traffic decisions. Voters at Town Meeting previously approved a zoning...

Winemaking runs in the family for Marion man

MARION — Joe Napoli may be the ideal dinner party guest. He can tell a good story and as longtime friend Diane Cook explained, “He’ll come for dinner and he’ll always bring wine. And not store bought wine!” Napoli, has found a unique way to not only...

More fundraisers pop up for injured athlete

MARION — On Jan.15, Hannah Strom, a Marion resident, former Tabor Academy day student and Holy Cross student, was involved in a serious accident while training with her rowing team in Florida. The team’s van collided with a pickup truck, killing...

Mattapoisett picks three finalists for Town Administrator role

MATTAPOISETT — The Mattapoisett Town Administrator Screening Committee formed to find Michael Gagne’s successor has narrowed the field down to three finalists, and Selectmen have resolved to make a decision by Feb. 4. The three final applicants are...

Marion woman celebrates 100th birthday

MARION — Louise Sylvia will have no fewer than five birthday parties, and a birthday dinner this year. But with good reason: she was born in 1920, and is turning 100. Born in New Bedford, but raised in Fairhaven, Sylvia said she had a very good...

Signs of support for the Stroms pop up around Marion

MARION — While the town has rallied around injured Tabor Academy and Holy Cross rower Hannah Strom and her family with messages and donations, one sign of support is simpler, but no less profound. Red and purple hearts have been popping up on houses...

Rochester’s first all-girl Boy Scout troop tackles first competition

CARVER — Rochester’s first all girl Boy Scout troop competed against 43 other troops on Saturday Jan. 18, and while the official results are not yet in, by most accounts they did swimmingly. Troop 31G formed just two months ago, and have been...

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