News

Selectmen get cracking on appointments

MARION — As Selectmen approach the end of the fiscal year when many appointments expire, they have made a number of appointments to various committees and subcommittees at a June 18 meeting. After interviewing three Planning Board candidates,...

Marion Selectmen to research, cast wide net on solar

MARION — Selectmen decided to issue a broad-ranging request for proposals for a solar development project on Benson Brook. The area previously had a proposal for a solar project there, but the project sank when it ran into an interconnection issue...

Town Administrator to sign contract with Waste Management

MARION — Selectmen authorized Town Administrator Jay McGrail to sign a contract with Waste Management on June 18, revealing more details about the start of the new service in their discussion. The town intends for Waste Management to start on Aug. 1...

Marion looks to go cash free when accepting payments

MARION — Selectmen eventually envision a Marion where residents wouldn’t use cash to pay for any town services. But that vision is still a ways off. The board and Town Administrator took the first small step in the direction of money management...

6-year-old entrepreneur saves money for college

ROCHESTER — After overhearing his parents talk about the high cost of college education, 6-year-old Atticus decided that he would go into business.The young Rochester entrepreneur is the founder of Atticus’ and Nixon’s College Fund Egg Co. Atticus...

Buzzards Bay Coalition looks to preserve 109 acres of Decas property

ROCHESTER — The Buzzards Bay Coalition is looking to preserve a 109-acre area across from Decas Cranberry’s Stuart Bogs one of two ways. At a June 17 Board of Selectmen meeting it got the Selectmen’s approval to go after a grant that would enable it...

Water commissioner reassured about development

ROCHESTER — Water Commissioner Frederick Underhill presented his concerns about water usage for the proposed Rochester Crossing development, but town selectmen were able to reassure him. Steen Realty and Development Corp., the developer for the...

Mattapoisett fire department helps with overturned truck

MATTAPOISETT — A tractor trailer partially rolled over in the Bay Club on June 17, spilling its load on the side of the road. The cab of the truck remained on the ground, and there were no reported injuries. The fire department responded to help...

Marion beautification group to hold second fundraiser

MARION — The Marion Garden Group has been planting and tending window boxes, planters and urns throughout Marion Village for many years, in an effort to beautify the village. Building on that mission, Liz Hatch, Marion Garden Group Vice President...

Congregational Church seeks donations for church fair

MARION — On Saturday, July 27 The First Congregational Church of Marion will host its Annual Summer Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Main Street and throughout the whole church campus. This year, the church will add a food court to the event. The...

Rochester man involved in Raynham crash, motorcyclist hospitalized

RAYNHAM — A Rochester resident Michael Harnden was involved in a crash on Sunday evening that had a motorcycle operator airlifted to the hospital. Harnden, age 39, was driving a 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser SUV, and was not injured. He remained at the...

Mattapoisett Library takes off to space for summer

MATTAPOISETT — The Free Public Library continues this year’s theme of space with a special visit from the Museum of Science, and other space-related events. On July 10, the Museum of Science will be visiting Center School on Barstow Street to...

Ned’s Point tours begin for summer 2019

MATTAPOISETT — Jeff Caton has been photographing and drawing pictures of the lighthouse at Ned’s Point since he was in high school, but on Tuesday June 11, the day before his 53rd birthday, he saw his old subject from a new angle. Coast Guard...

A walk around the block doubles as a history lesson

MARION — Town resident Sandria Parsons was on her way to the post office when she stumbled upon a crowd gathering to take a walking tour of her neighborhood. It was Sippican Historical Society treasurer Judy Rosbe and a 32 person group (including...

Marion works to meet new stormwater management permit guidelines

MARION — Town Administrator James McGrail and Department of Public Works (DPW) Director David Willett announced that the town sent in materials for a state-mandated permit for stormwater management ahead of schedule. To discharge stormwater into a...

Marion releases information about new trash pickup

MARION — The Town is currently finalizing its plans to transition its town-run residential curbside trash pickup service to a contracted waste removal service with a private company this summer, Town Administrator James McGrail said. Marion...

Parts of Mattapoisett, Marion closed to shellfishing

Parts of Marion and Mattapoisett were closed to shellfishing and to swimming on June 14 after Marion’s Wastewater Treatment Plant malfunctioned. The Division of Marine Fisheries issued a notice that the waters, flats and tributaries of Aucoot Cove,...

Marion to Bermuda 2019: photo gallery

MARION — A total of 38 sailboats took off from Buzzards Bay on Friday, June 14 to embark on the twenty second Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race. One medical incident happened as the boats took off, forcing one crew member to stay behind. The...

Run a fast 5k with prizes

The 23 annual Marion Village 5K will be held on Saturday, June 22 at 9 a.m. Race applications are available at www.racewire.com , where runners can register on-line. All proceeds from the race will benefit youth recreation programs in Marion. The...

Summer running series for kids kicks off

The Marion Mile summer running series for kids will open its 18 season on Tuesday, June 25 at 6 p.m. on the Tabor turf fields on Spring and Front streets. The runs are open to all kids age 14 and under. There will be a mile run for ages 7 to 14 and...

Mattapoisett Town Scholarship goes to ORR graduate

MATTAPOISETT — Lifelong Mattapoisett resident Rosemary Loer managed to find the perfect service project to combine her love of math, machines and the environment: flying drones over Sippican Lands Trust and Matttapoisett Land Trust properties and...

Sippican Woman’s Club announces scholarship winners

MARION — The Sippican Woman’s Club has awarded 23 scholarships to Marion students, based on scholarship, community service, activities and need. Students came from three different, schools, with ten awardees from Old Rochester Regional High School,...

Harbor Days festival returns to Mattapoisett

MATTAPOISETT — Shipyard Park will be home to live music, local vendors and fresh food from July 14 to 21 for the Mattapoisett Lions Club’s Harbor Days. Events leading up to the Harbor Days festival will begin on Sunday, July 14 with a triathlon...

Shop the Summer Farmers’ Market

MATTAPOISETT — The Junior High School parking lot will host the Farmers’ Market every Tuesday from June 11 to September 10 from 3 to 6 p.m. The farmers’ market hosts a rotating cast of vendors, which includes 1773 Roasters, Amir’s Natural Food, Say...

Boston Post Cane awarded to Rochester woman age 101

ROCHESTER — Edna Chadwick received the Boston Post Cane for being Rochester’s oldest resident on Tuesday, June 11. Selectman Brad Morse honored the 101-year-old with the cane that has been passed from resident to resident since 1909. The New England...

Town of Mattapoisett asks for feedback

MATTAPOISETT — Town residents have been asked to read and respond to newly proposed rules and regulations on aquaculture, the rearing of aquatic animals or cultivation of aquatic plants. Posted on Friday, June 7, the introduction to the new...

Facts and images from a long-lost shipwreck

MARION — On Friday June 7 the Jeff Kaeli presented at the Marion Natural History Museum about the challenges in discovering a more than 300 year old shipwreck, the San Jose. Kaeli works for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, and described how...

New Rochester business a little too open

ROCHESTER — The Town Planner Steven Starrett had Town Counsel draw up a letter to Zero Waste Solutions after Planning Board Chair Arnold Johnson observed the facility with its doors open at odd hours despite several requests to close them. Johnson...

Buzzards Bay Task Force investigates missing boat

MARION — An unmanned two-person paddle boat was found in Buzzards Bay roughly two nautical miles south of Butler’s Point in Marion resulting in the Buzzards Bay Task Force activating a search at 9:01 a.m. on Tuesday, June 11. A good samaritan who...

Engineers present recommendations for Marion pumping stations

MARION — A new study of the impacts of severe flooding on Marion pumping stations led engineering consultant CDM Smith to recommend that Marion move electrical controls on all stations up higher, and consider replacing four of the stations entirely...

Seniors see animals up close and personal

MARION — Most people wouldn’t say “aww” when presented with a skunk. But when Bethany Jakubson from Amazing Animal Ambassadors pulled Flower the skunk out of a container at the Benjamin Cushing Community Center, the skunk was met with a hearty round...

Hazardous waste day turns many away

WAREHAM — The Carver Marion Wareham Regional Refuse Disposal District’s Hazardous Waste Day itself turned hazardous on June 1 as waiting cars queued up all the way down Wareham’s Charge Pond Road onto Route 28. In the past, hazardous waste days have...

Preserving the best of the past

MARION — With a months-long renovation project behind them, the Sippican Historical Society and Marion General Store held a celebration of their efforts to preserve the historic General Store building on June 9. Renovations on the building started...

Athletes inducted into ORR Hall of Fame

MATTAPOISETT — The Old Rochester Regional High School Athletic Hall of Fame recognized five standout athletes and one record-breaking team on Saturday, June 8. The Hall of Fame held its 2019 Induction Banquet at the Knights of Columbus Hall, and...

Selectmen consider expanding Senior Center parking lot

ROCHESTER — Rochester Selectmen are considering a $200,000 parking lot expansion between the Senior Center and Dexter Lane Ballfield that would clear four acres of trees to add 100 extra spots, giving both community groups expanded capacity for...

Woman’s Club awards two scholarships to ORR graduates

The Mattapoisett Woman’s Club will award two $2,500 scholarships to Old Rochester Regional High School students, Julia Cabral and Rosemary Loer. The club writes that “both students possess excellent academic achievements, have done multiple...

Saint’s relics to visit Mattapoisett church

MATTAPOISETT — Relics of Portuguese-born Saint Anthony of Padua will visit Saint Anthony Church in Mattapoisett on Wednesday, August 28. At the invitation of the pastor, Father John C. Ozug, Father Alessandro Ratti will bring the holy relics from...

Students collect books for Kenya

MARION — Students at Sippican Elementary School participated, and are still seeking funding for the African Library Project to send 1,000 books to the Ebenezer Primary School in Kisumu Kenya. School librarian, Jessica Barrett said they chose to send...

Marion Selectmen get update on outsourcing trash

MARION — At Town Meeting and the Annual Town Election voters decided to outsource trash collection. On June 4 Selectmen gave a tentative timeline for when and how the public would learn more about that process. The town currently handles waste...

Fallen firefighter to get memorial

MARION — Long-time firefighter Thomas Nye, who died after responding to a chimney fire in February, will have a memorial in town. Nye served as a volunteer firefighter in Marion for 45 years. A Vietnam veteran, he worked as an automotive mechanic in...

Selectmen take more active role in appointments

MARION — Selectmen interviewed three candidates for two positions on the Zoning Board of Appeals in an effort to take a more active role in the approvals process. The board has two open positions after Betty Dunn resigned from the board and...

Elizabeth Taber Library to hold Open House

MARION — The Elizabeth Taber Library will host an open house celebration on Monday June 10 from 3 to 5 p.m. At the open house, the library will showcase its new collection of musical instruments, STEM toys and more. Attendees can also test out the...

Happy birthday, Rochester!

ROCHESTER — How do students wish a town happy birthday? With cake, birthday cards and a history tour, of course. Third grade students from Rochester Memorial School celebrated the town of Rochester turning 340 on June 4 with a special field trip...

Tri-town veterans office answers questions in Rochester

ROCHESTER — At the Rochester Town Meeting, Selectmen promised they would have the Veterans Office at their next meeting, after multiple veterans said they had a difficult time getting benefits. On June 3 they made good on that promise. Veterans...

Church to host chicken barbecue

ROCHESTER — The Saint Rose of Lima Church in Rochester will hold its Chicken Barbecue on Sunday, June 23 at noon. St. Rose of Lima prepares the chicken on its open barbecue pit. The menu includes half a chicken with cranberry sauce, a vegetable,...

Elizabeth Taber Library to host bridge benefit on Aug. 2

MARION — On Friday, Aug. 2 The Elizabeth Taber Library Bridge Tournament will return to the Marion Music Hall. Both duplicate and social bridge players are invited to participate in this bi-annual fundraiser. Director Alan Hudson will manage the...

New walking tour to teach about tri-town history

New tri-town walking tours will enable residents and visitors to experience a piece of history and meet others this June. Dr. Elise Frangos, Marion resident and assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for the Old Rochester Regional...

Senior center gets new helper and other notes

ROCHESTER — The Rochester Senior Center will bring in a new Afternoon Program Assistant, Barbara Wilson. Wilson is a Senior Aid sent by Coastline Elderly Services. The Greater Boston Food Bank Free Commodity Food distribution will take place...

Rochester Historical Society to host talk

ROCHESTER — The Rochester Historical Society will host Howie Smith of the Wareham Minutemen and Militia and Chris MacDonald of the Lafayette Durfee House, who will present on their experiences at a re-enactment of George Washington’s crossing of the...

Committee starts statue fundraising

MARION — The Celebrate Elizabeth Taber Committee has raised $60,000 of a $200,000 goal to erect a life-size bronze statue of Marion’s benefactress in Bicentennial Park in 2020. The group plans to continue fundraising efforts over time, even having...

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