News

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...

Businesses continue their support of injured rower

Marion resident and Tabor Academy grad Hannah Strom was training with her Holy Cross rowing team in Florida when the team’s van collided with a pickup truck on Jan. 15. The crash killed one of her teammates, and left Strom with serious injuries...

Marijuana dispensary looks to make Marion location work

MARION — Faced with concerns from the Board of Selectmen on a proposed location for a recreational marijuana facility, its developers presented the Planning Board with two options: changing the spot’s zoning or leasing a town building at Atlantis...

Rochester Selectmen endorse library renovation plan

ROCHESTER – Selectmen endorsed a major renovation plan for the Joseph H. Plumb Memorial Library that will make the facility more handicap-accessible and turn its lower floor into a spacious programming area. In proposing the work, the town's...

Rochester Town Clerk to retire, police appoint new officer

ROCHESTER — Selectmen announced the retirement of a dedicated 36-year town public servant on Jan. 21. Naida Parker said she is retiring on Feb. 7, after serving as town clerk for over three decades and as a selectman for 15 years. She retired from...

Three new members appointed to the Marion Historical Commission

MARION — The Board of Selectmen approved Meg Steinberg’s request to expand the town’s Historical Commission from three to five members, and subsequently approved three new members on Tuesday night, Jan. 21. In addressing the selectmen, Steinberg...

Rochester boy honored by Boston Celtics

BOSTON – Braydon Dion of Rochester was honored by the Boston Celtics as a Hero Among Us at their game against the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 18. Inspired by his hero, Yarmouth Police Officer Sean Gannon, who tragically died in the line of duty, 7-year-old...

Former paratrooper lands in Rochester

ROCHESTER — Ballerinas and paratroopers live in totally different worlds, but Alisa Susan Pate has lived through both of them. The now Rochester-resident grew up in Jacksonville Florida and initially trained to be a ballerina. However, she explained...

Rochester spot draws birdwatchers in

ROCHESTER — Bird watchers have been visiting a local birding "hotspot" in numbers, as there have been three rare species of geese visiting the corn fields located at triangle of Rounseville Road, Bowens Lane and Vaughan Hill Road in Rochester. The...

Photos: Skaters take to Tabor Academy’s rink for an afternoon of fun

MARION — When the Travis Roy Arena opened its doors on Sunday, Jan. 19, it wasn’t for a competitive hockey game, but rather for some family skating fun. Marion Recreation hosts the event, which raises money for the department through a $5 entry fee...

Hear survey results on Marion’s oldest residents

MARION — Last fall, yellow AARP surveys were mailed to all Marion’s 55 and older adults. The Friends of the Marion COA will offer two forums to share the results and for participants to provide additional input. Following the presentation and...

Community rallies around injured rower

The South Coast community has come together after Marion resident Hannah Strom was seriously injured in an accident in Florida on Jan. 15, when a pick-up truck collided with the van in which she and her rowing teammates were traveling. Strom is a...

Marion receives over $20,000 for information technology

The Town of Marion has received $22,688 from a Community Compact Information Technology Grant. According to a press release from Senator Marc Pacheco, the towns of Marion, Carver, Bridgewater, and Raynham received a total of $245,688 from the grants...

An old tradition may see a new beginning

MATTAPOISETT — An old tradition might see a new life in the Town of Mattapoisett in the near future. The Boston Post Cane is traditionally bestowed upon the oldest resident in a community, and was created by Boston Post Publisher Edwin Grozier, who...

Mattapoisett voters overwhelmingly support a minor amendment

MATTAPOISETT — Voters overwhelmingly ruled in favor of an amendment to a public works improvement article at a Special Town Meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 14. The article had already been approved by a Special Town Meeting on Oct. 21, but the wording of...

ORR hockey loses to tough opponent

MARION — Despite solid goaltending, and aggressive play, the Old Rochester Regional High School hockey team lost to a tough opponent on Sunday, Jan. 12. The start of the game saw fast-paced action from two evenly matched teams. Although players took...

Marion, Mattapoisett team up for a successful bird watch

MARION — The Sippican Lands Trust’s Duck Waddle had more birds than people, but with 22 people showing up for the Jan. 11 birdwatching event, the human turnout wasn’t bad either. The group initially met at Silvershell Beach and carpooled to three...

Parts of Shining Tides, Town Landing now open to shellfishing

MATTAPOISETT — The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries opened parts of the Shining Tides, and Town Landing areas to shellfishing on Jan. 9. A map provided by the Town of Mattapoisett details which sections are currently open, and closed to...

Mattapoisett Selectmen will stay short staffed

MATTAPOISETT — There are several options that the Board of Selectmen could have taken after Tyler Macallister resigned this fall, allegedly to pursue the Town Administrator role. But given the realities of a term that was winding down anyhow, the...

Developer gets state feedback on Rochester Crossroads

ROCHESTER — Space wise, a site by Zero Waste and Convanta SEMASS may make the most sense for a 208-unit housing complex. But this week, Purvi Patel stood up for the complex’s future residents, asking how the developers will minimize the impact of...

Waste District works toward winding down operations

MARION — A subcommittee of the Carver Marion Wareham Regional Refuse Disposal District met on Wednesday to start working out the details of the district’s transition away from operating the transfer stations, which will be closed at the end of 2020...

Marion to consider Assistant Town Administrator role

MARION — Town Administrator Jay McGrail presented Selectmen with a job description for a new Assistant Town Administrator role at a Jan. 7 meeting. And he already had someone in mind for the role. That would be current Finance Director, Judy Mooney...

Selectmen take borrowing action on lagoon project

MARION — Selectmen issued a bond to borrow $7,252,294 of money that the last two Special Town Meetings had already allowed the board to borrow to improve its wastewater lagoon. The state had issued a deadline for the town to line its primary...

Selectmen dismiss Marion marijuana dispensary plans

MARION — Selectmen quickly dismissed a proposal for a recreational marijuana facility by noting that it had not been proposed for the correct location in town. At a December meeting, representatives from Lighthouse presented plans for a “high-end...

Marion to take feedback, answer questions on trash transition

MARION — The town will hold a State of Town Trash summit to get resident feedback on how the trash transition is going half a year later, and to answer questions on the system. Town Administrator Jay McGrail proposed the idea at a Jan. 7 Board of...

Route 6 may see changes in the future

MARION — Jed Cornock, of the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD), presented a series of possible upgrades for Route 6, and fielded questions from the community during an informational meeting at Sippican School...

Marion looks to widen affordable housing discussion

MARION — A discussion of how to change or fix Marion’s affordable housing ended not with a solution, but with a desire for a single discussion involving multiple boards. Massachusetts mandates that every town have ten percent of its housing be...

Rochester appoints representative in Superintendent search

ROCHESTER — Selectmen appointed one of their members, Woody Hartley as a member of the Old Rochester Regional High School Superintendent Screening Committee on Jan. 6. Rochester resident Jim O’Brien appeared at the meeting to volunteer for the...

Hiller’s Cove open to shellfishing

MATTAPOISETT — Hiller’s Cove in Mattapoisett was opened to shellfishing on Jan. 1, and will remain open until May 1, unless otherwise noted. The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries determines whether to open or close the area to shellfishing...

Marion committee offers project funding

MARION — Applications for Community Preservation Act funding are available in the Town Clerk’s office at the Marion Town House located at 2 Spring Street. The Community Preservation Act is a Massachusetts Law that allows participating cities and...

Woman’s club to hear about travel program

MARION — The Sippican Woman’s Club will have its first of year meeting on Friday, Jan. 10. Russ Kushner, an ambassador from Road Scholar, will give a presentation about travel with the not-for-profit travel program, designed to inspire adults to...

Polar plunge kicks off the new decade in Mattapoisett

MATTAPOISETT — Dozens dove into the new decade and supported a good cause for the eighth annual “Freezin’ For a Reason Polar Plunge” at the Mattapoisett Town Beach on New Year’s Day, 2020. A crowd of polar plungers gathered at the beach and braced...

The Rochester Senior Center celebrates New Year’s

ROCHESTER — The Senior Center was filled to capacity on Dec. 31, as seniors gathered to celebrate a new year and decade. Volunteers and staff members from the center worked to set up, and serve Chinese food, cake and sparkling apple juice for a...

The Elizabeth Taber Library hosts an early New Year’s party

MARION — The normally quiet Elizabeth Taber Library was momentarily more raucous on Dec. 31, as the library’s youngest patrons, their parents and grandparents celebrated the New Year. The party was intended to give those too young to stay up until...

Marion offers Christmas tree collection

MARION — The town will offer curbside Christmas tree collection during the weeks of Jan. 6 and Jan. 13. All trees should be curbside by 7 a.m. on the day of regular rubbish collection. Waste Management asks that residents do not block rubbish...

A look back at the career of a former Marion Town Administrator

MARION — Ray Pickles, longtime Marion town administrator, town clerk and executive director of the Carver Marion Wareham Regional Refuse Disposal District, died Dec. 20, just days after he turned 86. Pickles’ early afternoon death, from congestive...

Town officials define their 2020 priorities

There's a sewage lagoon that needs replacing in Marion. Mattapoisett is building a new fire station. Rochester is adapting to a new appointed town clerk. As 2020 begins, Sippican Week reached out to tri-town leaders about town priorities in the next...

Marion to take two censuses this year

MARION — Marion will complete two forms of the census this year. One is the town’s Annual Street Listing and the other is the 2020 U.S. Census. The Marion Annual Street Listing or census is sent to both year-round and seasonal residents of the town...

Patriots physician talks career highlights

MATTAPOISETT — The Patriots’ former team physician, Bertram Zarins, calls Mattapoisett his home in the summer, and appeared at his sometimes-local library to give a lecture about the team that he worked for for 25 years. Zarins was also team...

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