News

Employees at Sippican Healthcare have confirmed, suspected covid cases

MARION — Sippican Healthcare Center has one confirmed case of coronavirus in an employee, but that individual is not working and no residents appear to have caught the virus as of May 19. On May 16, Sippican Healthcare Center reported one confirmed...

Church celebrates pastor’s doctorate

MATTPOISETT — Rev. Dr. Amy Lignitz Harken did her doctoral project on talking circles and faced with coronavirus restrictions her parish at the Mattapoisett Congregational Church found perhaps the perfect way to honor her: driving around in a circle...

Mattapoisett Selectmen devise policy to keep masks on in stores

MATTAPOISETT — Selectman Paul Silva said that he had more complaints about employees and customers not wearing masks in stores than any other issue in his 11 or 12 years as Selectman. So, he asked at a May 14 meeting how to resolve it. Town...

Mattapoisett juggles budget a bit for coronavirus

MATTAPOISETT — Coronavirus has caused a bit of last-minute budget juggling to deal with unexpected expenses and a potential lack of future aid. At a May 14 Board of Selectmen meeting, Town Administrator Michael Lorenco said the town’s strategy in...

Coronavirus cases increase slightly in towns

As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases across the state decreases, numbers in Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester have increased only slightly. As of May 14, Marion has two active cases of coronavirus and seven recovered cases. As of May 13,...

Rochester to hold modified Memorial Day Boat Race

ROCHESTER — The Memorial Day Boat Race will continue in a shorter form, and without any of the events that usually precede or follow it it. The Rochester Board of Health has allowed the Fire Department to sponsor the Boat Race this year, but with...

Read this week’s ‘paper’ online

The May 14 eEdition of Sippican Week is now live on our site. It's a pdf version of this week's edition — looking just like the paper version. Our papers are still available at all regular distribution spots that remain open in this period of...

Rochester mom, medical worker gets $25,000 from Jimmy Fallon

ROCHESTER — Cathy Jones, a physician’s assistant who lives in town and is pregnant with her second child, was surprised over a video call with a $25,000 check and a bundle of Samsung products from Jimmy Fallon and Samsung. She, along with six other...

Rochester Golf Course plans for solar array

ROCHESTER — Rochester Golf Club may one day use its green to get profits from golfers and the roof of its building to get profit from Trinity Solar Inc. Paul Eaton, a representative with the New Jersey-based solar company appeared before the...

Connet Woods residents take dispute up with Planning Board

ROCHESTER — Residents at Connet Woods took a drainage complaint before the Planning Board, although the project’s attorney, Stephen Meltzer, assured board members that he was handling it. Meltzer said at the May 12 virtual meeting that he has gotten...

Tracking down the history of Tri-Town train travel

No trains run through Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester today. But, in the early 1900s, residents had easy access to rail travel to Boston, New York and Cape Cod. The Fairhaven Railroad branch began its in namesake town, ran through Marion and...

Rochester, Mattapoisett bogs part of conservation, restoration project

Two bogs in Mattapoisett and Rochester will be part of a $10 million federally-funded restoration project for bogs across the state, transforming them into protected open spaces with walking trails for the public. The funds to restore Stuart Bog in...

Towns, state update residents on coronavirus cases

As of May 7, Marion has three active cases of coronavirus and five recovered cases. As of May 6, Mattapoisett has a total of 22 confirmed cases in town. Rochester last updated its numbers on May 5, when it had had eight active cases and seven...

Rochester considers coronavirus impact on long-term finanicals

ROCHESTER — Now that the town has figured out the logistics of many safety-issues of the pandemic, it is beginning to look into some of the potential financial impacts. Departments have began tracking coronavirus-related expenditures so Rochester...

Rochester will not hold Memorial Day celebration

ROCHESTER — The town will not hold a Memorial Day celebration and will celebrate veterans on Veteran’s Day instead. Selectman Brad Morse suggested that might be the best plan to keep everyone safe amid the coronavirus pandemic. “That puts us into...

Senior living facilities work to keep coronavirus at bay

From calling lonely residents, to calling in the National Guard, senior living facilities in Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester are working to protect the most vulnerable population from contracting coronavirus. In Marion, Sippican Healthcare Center...

Read the May 7 ‘paper’ online

The May 7 eEdition of Sippican Week is now live on our site. It's a pdf version of this week's edition — looking just like the paper version. Our papers are still available at all regular distribution spots that remain open in this pandemic period...

Mattapoisett to close bridge for repair work

MATTAPOISETT — Mattapoisett Police Chief Mary Lyons advises Mattapoisett residents that from Monday, May 11 to Wednesday May 13 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Acushnet Road will be partially closed for repair work on the bridge. The road...

Mattapoisett Selectmen delay election, Town Meeting

MATTAPOISETT — The Annual Town Election and Annual Town Meeting will be held in June to hopefully give Selectmen candidates more time to campaign with current coronavirus restrictions. At a May 5 virtual meeting, Selectmen set the election date for...

Health board discusses enforcing pandemic rules

MARION — At a May 5 virtual meeting, Public Health Nurse Kathy Downey asked for the Board of Health’s help in dealing with Marion residents that have coronavirus and do not want to reveal who they have been in contact with. Downey said that she has...

Marion makes progress on planning Town Meeting, elections

MARION — As of now the dates for Town Meeting and the Election are June 22 and 26, respectively, though like many things these dates are still fluid. Town Administrator Jay McGrail and Clerk Lissa Magauran presented the Board of Selectmen with...

No resolution on Mattapoisett solar debate

MATTAPOISETT — Solar developer Next Grid Bowman wanted a fast approval and site visit process from the Mattapoisett Planning Board, but board members wanted to slow down and understand all the details. Next Grid Representatives appeared before the...

Buzzards Bay Coalition swim cancelled because of disease concerns

The Buzzards Bay Coalition 2020 Buzzards Bay Swim will be cancelled due to the still-evolving coronavirus conditions. “The health and well-being of our participants, volunteers, emergency personnel, staff, and our community is our top priority,”...

Construction, flowers, friendly phone calls at the Marion COA

MARION — Work on the Community Center renovation project to put walls between different offices, has finished under budget and ahead of schedule. However all programs in the space are cancelled until further notice, though some services are still...

[Photos]: Getting a wildlife close-up

MARION — Photographer Robert Pina set up a motion-activated camera in his backyard on Point Road and captured close ups of a deer and rabbit that visited his yard.

Protestors of state shutdown spotted in Rochester

ROCHESTER — A small crowd gathered at Rochester Town Hall on May 3 to protest Governor Charlie Baker’s decision to close the state. Baker announced April 21 that all non-essential businesses will be closed until May 18 due to the spread of...

Events cancelled, school disrupted: how flu changed the Tri-Town in 1918

102 years ago, churches and schools were closed and public gatherings canceled because of an illness. In 1918, it wasn’t the coronavirus pandemic, but an influenza pandemic, commonly known as the Spanish Flu. Still, the disruptions to daily life...

Mattapoisett harbormaster adjusts to new state regulations

MATTAPOISETT — Harbormaster Jamie McIntosh’s job is to keep people safe on the water. In the age of coronavirus, he said that task takes on several new complexities. Unlike Marion, Mattapoisett’s boat ramp is a state boat ramp, and as such is...

Mattapoisett Board of Health recommends face coverings

MATTAPOISETT — On April 29, the Board of Health recommended face coverings for all residents over the age of two who do not have trouble breathing to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The board recommended that residents cover their face with a...

Rochester selectmen talk recycling changes

ROCHESTER — The town will begin a new recycling inspection program in May to save money by avoiding costly contaminated loads of recycling. Marcia Kessler, the town’s grant writer, appeared before Selectmen virtually on April 30 to explain how the...

Update: No coronavirus deaths in Rochester

No one in Rochester has died of Covid-19. Hours after Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar reported at an April 30 virtual Selectmen’s meeting that someone in town had died from the disease, she contacted Sippican Week to say that through a clerical...

Hazardous Waste Day postponed

The Hazardous Waste Day initially scheduled for May has been postponed due to the pandemic. The event will be held on August 22 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Wareham Department of Public Works site and the Benson Brook transfer station in Marion. The...

Third appraisal of Rte. 28 transfer station confuses the situation

A third appraisal of the Carver Marion Wareham Refuse Disposal District’s Route 28 transfer station seems to have only further confused the situation after the first two appraisers gave the property wildly different values. The first appraiser...

See the April 30 edition of Sippican Week online

The April 30 eEdition of Sippican Week is now live on our site. It's a pdf version of this week's edition — looking just like the paper version. Our papers are still available at all regular distribution spots that remain open in this pandemic...

Marion Selectmen plan for Town Meeting, Memorial Day, facility renovations

MARION — At an April 28 video meeting, Town Administrator Jay McGrail gave updates on the town’s response to coronavirus, including the possibility of Town Meeting taking place on June 22 at Sippican School and Tabor Academy. In previous meetings,...

Shirts support coronavirus relief, Sippican Week

“This can’t happen again!” Raymond Nicoletti, chief operating officer at Soft As A Grape, can’t remember which employee first made the remark. But he knows it was early March, and talk had turned to drastic measures to protect people from a deadly...

Coronavirus puts sailors in uncharted waters

A two week shutdown put Mattapoisett Boatyard behind in getting vessels on the water. Mattapoisett Yacht Club already cancelled an event, and anticipates more interruptions. Marion’s harbormaster is keeping his workers socially distanced while they...

How to help others during the pandemic

Marion Food Drive
Many people have reached out to Sippican Week asking if we know of anyways to help people during the spread of coronavirus. So, we’ve compiled a list of safe ways to help those in need, whether it be donating food and money, or making a video of...

As lessons stop at Cedar Rock, new life begins

MATTAPOISETT — In pre-pandemic times, passing by Cedar Rock Farms often meant getting a glimpse of a riding lesson, but these days, the farm has a little less activity going on. But, there’s still life there. Especially in the case of Pepper, a baby...

Marion gardener awaits the arrival of her avian ‘fairies,’ hummingbirds

MARION — In Liz Hatch’s garden, it’s not just the lovely plants but the 30 to 50 hummingbirds buzzing overhead that set the garden apart. “I can’t remember exactly when I became enthralled by these miracles of nature, but it has been several years...

ORR student draws attention to racist TikTok incident

School has moved online. One black Old Rochester Regional student says insensitive and racist actions have moved online, too. Jendell Teixiera cites a TikTok video posted by another student late on April 15 or just after midnight on April 16. He...

Mattapoisett seeks bids for town wharf concession stand

MATTAPOISETT — The town is seeking bids for a three-year agreement to fill its seasonal concession stand located in the parking lot of Shipyard Park. Anyone interested in submitting a proposal should mail one to Mattapoisett Town Hall, 16 Main...

Mattapoisett provides early voting information

MATTAPOISETT — With the Annual Town Election scheduled for Tuesday, May 19 at Old Hammondtown School, Town Clerk Catherine Heuberger has provided information for citizens on how to vote early. She wrote: “We understand that many people are concerned...

Rochester receives state grant for coronavirus

ROCHESTER — In an April 23 Board of Selectmen video meeting, Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar told Selectmen the town received a grant of $4,100 from the state under the CARES Act to address issues with coronavirus. The town must use the funds by...

Marion Selectmen sign lease for landfill solar project

MARION — After years of work to put a solar array on the town’s capped landfill, Selectmen approved 20 year lease agreements for the project at a video meeting on April 23. There is still the chance that the project may not happen, as negotiating...

Confirmed coronavirus cases remain steady

In Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester, confirmed coronavirus cases have remained relatively steady since last week, when the state first released the numbers on a town-by-town basis. Per the state’s dataset, Rochester has eight cases, Mattapoisett...

Read the April 23 ‘paper’ online

The April 23 eEdition of Sippican Week is now live on our site. It's a pdf version of this week's edition — looking just like the paper version. Our papers are still available at all regular distribution spots that remain open in this pandemic...

Mattapoisett pediatric charity sells, donates masks

MATTAPOISETT — The Friends of Jack Foundation, a pediatric charity, has produced cloth masks in children’s and adult sizes to allow people to follow the Center for Disease Control’s recommendation to wear masks in public. The masks are available for...

Marion Selectmen make police appointments, tackle various issues

MARION — Selectmen appointed two new officers to fill vacancies and appointed Jonathan Castro to the force permanently at a virtual meeting on April 21. One of the new appointees is Kaylah Medeiros who comes to the department from the Rhode Island...

Marion Board of Health discusses parking lots, retirements, masks

MARION — The Board of Health discussed how to reopen Silvershell Beach parking lot after May 4, hiring a new Health Director, and recommended businesses use masks at a virtual meeting on April 21. Following the state’s stay-at-home order, board...

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