News

Girl Scouts horse around at East Over Farm

Marion Brownie Girl Scout Troop 67047 is expanding. The troop has expanded its reach outside the Tri-Town to “neigh”boring include girls from Acushnet, Carver, Fairhaven, Wareham, and even a virtual member from the Washington D.C. area. But staying...

Library, land trust put on Rochester scavenger hunt, story walk

ROCHESTER — Stroll through a “Trail Tale” with the Rochester Land Trust and Plumb Library. The story walk at the George and Catherine Church Wildlife Conservation Area will take visitors on a half mile walk through the woods, following the story of...

Story time with the Mattapoisett Library

MATTAPOISETT — Join Leigh Baltzer and the Mattapoisett Free Public Library on April 20 for a Zoom puppet show at 11:30 a.m. Participants will meet Newton and his puppet friends for a half-hour storytime show. Newton and his friends take turns...

Mattapoisett Boy Scouts look for donations

MATTAPOISETT — Boy Scouts Troop 53 is searching for donations for care packages for Mattapoisett seniors. The scouts are looking for unopened masks, hand lotion, lip balm, toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, combs, mouthwash, nail clippers, bar...

Debt exclusion question to be featured in Mattapoisett Town Meeting, Town Election

MATTAPOISETT — The Selectmen approved a debt exclusion question of $450,000 for improvements to some of the town’s roads, to be voted on at Town Meeting and to be listed on the Town Election ballot. Selectmen Paul Silva and Jordan Collyer approved...

New covid cases rise in Rochester, Mattapoisett; Marion goes yellow

New cases of covid rose in both Mattapoisett and Rochester, as cases lowered in Marion last week. According to state data, new cases in Marion have decreased from 13 last week to four this week. Despite the decrease of new cases, the town’s number...

Ambulance fees rise in Marion

MARION — Marion hiked up its billing rates for ambulance services for the first time in eight years on Tuesday night. After leaving emergency transport fees untouched since 2013, the Board of Selectmen unanimously accepted a fee increase that would...

Confusion over road status contributes to Cross Neck Road floods

MARION — A one-mile-long, half-paved road stretching from Marion Golf Club to Brainard Marsh confounded area residents and board members alike during the Selectmen’s meeting on April 6. Parties debated whether Cross Neck Road truly lies on public or...

New Harbormaster office plans move ahead full sail

MARION — Plans for Marion’s new Harbormaster office are soon to be in ship-shape condition. After public input last summer and consultation with the Harbormaster and the MRC, the Board of Selectmen have developed new plans for the building that...

Mattapoisett to fly flag for organ donation

MATTAPOISETT — A ceremony will be held in front of Town Hall Wednesday evening to honor the life of Sam Ellis and bring awareness to organ donation. Ellis, a former Mattapoisett resident who passed last summer at age 20, was an organ donor who hoped...

Marion pre-Town Meeting to be held May 4

MARION — The Board of Selectmen has closed the annual town warrant and scheduled a public pre-Town Meeting for May 4 at 5 p.m. The town warrant, which has been in the works since early September, was finalized and officially approved by the...

Hannah Strom hands out a happy Easter

WAREHAM — Hannah Strom spent her Easter next to a white Easter bunny waving to passing cars from outside her parents’ business Kool Kone. Strom stood alongside Madison Lofgren, who was alerting passing motorists to the second annual Hannah’s Drive-...

Safety concerns aired over proposed Marion propane storage

MARION — The Planning Board discussed safety hazards connected to a proposed propane storage area to be located on Luce Avenue near the Marion Indoor Tennis Club on Monday night. Papas Real Estate requested comment on a special permit needed to...

Rochester officials resign

ROCHESTER — The Board of Selectmen accepted the resignation of two key players in town government on Monday night. Laurell Farinon, who has served as the town’s environmental planner and conservation agent for 27 years, and Town Planner Steven...

Marion charges late fees for dog licenses

MARION — The deadline to register dogs for this year was March 31. There will now be a $25 late charge per dog. Residents may license their dogs by visiting the Town House, which is now open to the public Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m to 4:30 p...

Community cleanup in Rochester

ROCHESTER — The Rochester Women's Club is hosting a community cleanup event on April 17 and 18. Volunteers will sign up to clean a street or portion of a street in town. Registration for the cleanup is on April 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the...

Learn about breeding habitats with the Mattapoisett Land Trust

MATTAPOISETT — The Mattapoisett Land Trust is offering an introduction to vernal pools, important breeding habitat for local amphibians and invertebrates, and instructions on how to certify them through two field trips into the Old Aucoot District...

Virtual talks with the Sippican Lands Trust

MARION — The Sippican Lands Trust will begin to offer virtual discussions with an upcoming Zoom talk series. Chad Hyatt, author of “The Mushroom Hunter’s Kitchen” will host the first virtual talk on April 20 at 7 p.m., showing ways to cook with...

Take-home science projects at the Mattapoisett Library

MATTAPOISETT — The Mattapoisett Free Public Library is calling all young scientists for a virtual program including seven experiments. Kids in grades three through seven can join the scientists at SEED, inc. in pre-recorded videos guiding them...

Marion receives $250,000 for wastewater treatment plant

MARION — State Rep. Bill Straus presented Marion with a check for $250,000 on April 2, which will be used to pay down debt from the town’s wastewater treatment lagoon lining project . The $9.5 million project is needed to bring the sewage lagoons up...

Mattapoisett Town Election races take shape

MATTAPOISETT — Four races are shaping up for local offices in the May 18 town election. Multiple candidates have taken out nomination papers for spots on the Select Board, School Committee, Board of Library Trustees and for the position of Highway...

Rochester races see late entries

ROCEHSTER — It turns out there will be two contested races in the May 26 town election. Shortly before the March 31 deadline for taking out nomination papers, challengers emerged for positions on the Board of Health and Board of Water Commissioners...

Aspirants absent for three open Rochester elected offices

ROCHESTER — What if they held an election and no one ran? That’s not exactly the case in Rochester this year — but, with the the March 31 deadline to take out nomination papers in the rearview, one seat on the School Committee, one on the Cemetery...

Marion Town House to reopen April 5

MARION — The Town House is scheduled to reopen to the public on April 5. Hours of operation will be 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Fridays. Masks are required to enter the building and contact tracing...

A bird presentation with the Mattapoisett Library

MATTAPOISETT — The Mattapoisett Free Public Library, in conjunction with the Fairhaven Nasketucket Bird Club, will be hosting a Zoom presentation by photographer Peter Christoph on April 21 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Christoph will narrate a...

All towns at higher risk

Green and yellow. Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester are all out of the gray covid risk designation, as Marion and Rochester move from gray to green and Mattapoisett moves from green to yellow. In the state’s color-coded covid risk designation...

Rochester history: Captain Judah Hathaway

The writer of this piece, Connie Eshbach, is the vice president of the Rochester Historical Society. This is part of a series of Rochester history briefs. Captain Judah Hathaway, born in 1832, began his maritime career in 1849 at the age of...

April activities at the Mattapoisett Council on Aging

MATTAPOISETT — The Council on Aging reopens on April 5, and the council has regular programming lined up throughout the month. Registration will be required for all COA programming, with no exceptions. Registration for each program begins exactly...

Mattapoisett shellfishing area to close

MATTAPOISETT — The Division of Marine Fisheries will close part of Shining Tides and the Town Landing area near the Mattapoisett River for shellfishing. The area between Shining Tides and Town Landing, labeled BB225.10, closes April 5.

Marion Town Meeting to be held in person

MARION — Town Meeting will be held on Monday, May 10 at Sippican School at 6:45 p.m. Due to the continued social distancing requirements and recommendations, anyone wishing to attend the meeting is encouraged to contact the Town Clerk’s office to...

Reforestation begins at Mattapoisett Land Trust property

MATTAPOISETT — The Mattapoisett Land Trust will has started a reforestation project that will last until April 15. The project, a result of the trust’s 2018 Forest Management Plan, will remove invasive plants and poor quality trees in a two-acre...

Tissue paper pompoms with the Mattapoisett Library

MATTAPOISETT — Get your pompom on at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library. In its latest “Take and Make” adult do-it-yourself craft kit patrons can make tissue paper pompoms. Patrons will learn to make decorative tissue paper pompoms through the...

Parting Ways Consignment to reopen

MARION — Parting Ways Consignment, a non-profit consignment store on Wells Road, will have a grand reopening on April 1. The doors will reopen at 10 a.m., and will begin the non-profit’s spring and summer fundraising season, which helps fund its...

Friends of Ned’s Point seeks donations

MATTAPOISETT — The Friends of Ned’s Point Lighthouse are seeking donations from the community for restoration efforts. In June 2019, Buzzards Bay area lighthouses owned by the Coast Guard were closed to the public due to lead paint. Now, the Friends...

Firm shows plans for new Marion pump station

MARION — A new pump station is coming to Creek Road. Kent Nichols of Wesson and Sampson, an engineering firm, updated the Marion Water and Sewer Commissioners on plans to replace the existing Creek Road Pump Station at a March 25 meeting. In a...

Mattapoisett shifts to ‘green’ as other towns stay ‘gray’

Mattapoisett has shifted to a “green” covid risk designation, as Marion and Rochester remain “gray,” according to March 25 state data. In the state’s color-coded covid risk designation system, less than or equal to 10 active covid cases designates a...

Mattapoisett struggles to knock budget back

MATTAPOISETT — Selectmen continued efforts to trim down the Fiscal Year 2022 town budget in a meeting on March 24. “The numbers have come down from what they were originally,” Town Administrator Michael Lorenco said. But more cuts are in discussion...

Bidding open for two Mattapoisett Construction Projects

MATTAPOISETT — Two construction bids are currently open in Mattapoisett, according to an update at a March 24 Mattapoisett Selectmen meeting. Sealed bids for the Mattapoisett River Bridge Replacement Project must be received by the Office of the...

Mattapoisett rabies clinic to be held April 18

MATTAPOISETT — The town’s annual cat and dog rabies clinic will be held Sunday, April 18 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Mattapoisett Fire Station, according to an announcement read at the Board of Selectmen meeting on March 24. Shots cost $15 per...

Deadline to submit Mattapoisett Town Meeting warrant articles approaches

MATTAPOISETT — Town Meeting will be held on Monday, May 10, and the last date to file warrant articles will be April 5, according to a March 24 Board of Selectmen meeting. Selectmen agreed the opportunity to file warrant articles to be considered at...

April activities at the Marion Council on Aging

MARION — Marion Council on Aging activities are back this April, from an Opening Day lunch to strength, conditioning, meditation and Zumba classes. On April 1, the Council on Aging will offer a grab ’n go lunch for the Opening Day of baseball,...

A ‘bright outlook’ for Mattapoisett YMCA, Shining Tides

MATTAPOISETT — After a year with few weddings and a stripped down summer camp, the Mattapoisett YMCA is ready to take on 2021. When lockdowns began last year, many of the brides- and grooms-to-be who were planning to have their weddings at Shining...

Outdoor dining returns to Tri-Town restaurants

Spring has sprung! As the winter weather warms, seasonal Tri-Town restaurants are starting to reopen and year-round restaurants are beginning to resume outdoor dining. Outdoor dining was on hold over the winter, when restaurants were also subject to...

Donation helps land trust hikers stay dry

MATTAPOISETT — A donation from Lowe’s Home Improvement in Wareham Crossing gave the Mattapoisett Land Trust the materials needed to build 120 running feet of bog board bridging at the trust’s Old Aucoot District. Land trust volunteers placed the new...

All discussions on Marion aquaculture bylaws to be made public

MARION — All of the Marine Resources Commission’s discussions on aquaculture and mooring bylaws will be public, as the town takes what Commission Chair Vincent Malkoski called a “conservative” approach to reworking the bylaws. The town decided to...

Observe Holy Week with the First Congregational Church of Rochester

ROCHESTER — The First Congregational Church of Rochester will be hosting in-person worship for Holy Week, and all services will be streamed on the church’s website, rochestercongregational.com. At 7 p.m. on April First, the church will hold a...

Fill out the Town of Mattapoisett annual census

MATTAPOISETT — The Town Clerk’s Office is requesting that residents return the Town of Mattapoisett census forms — which were mailed out in January — as soon as possible. Failure to respond to the census may cause residents to become listed as...

Tri-Town cultural programs receive grants

A total of $11,560 in grants will be awarded to cultural programs in and around town, including the Mattapoisett Free Public Library, Mattapoisett Land Trust, and Mattapoisett Museum. The Sippican Lands Trust and Sippican Choral Society will also...

Learn how to maintain old wooden windows with the Sippican Historical Society

MARION — Join Historic New England on March 30 at 5:30 p.m. for an online lecture: “Wood Windows and Your Old house.” The talk will tackle misconceptions about drafts and wooden windows in old homes, and guide homeowners through how to improve their...

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