News

News

Upcoming events at the Rochester Senior Center

ROCHESTER — Seniors can get down, grab lunch and go to a book club in the coming months at the Rochester Senior Center The center is hosting a Hip Hop Chair Exercise class on Wednesday, May 19 at 11:00 a.m. This one-time event is sponsored by the...

SEMASS recognized for drinking water quality

ROCHESTER — The Covanta SEMASS waste-to-energy and recycling facility won the MassDEP annual award for drinking water system operations for a second-straight year. SEMASS competed with a field of 253 other, non-community water supply systems in...

No covid cases in Marion, other towns in single digits

For the second week in a row, Marion recorded no new cases of covid. State data show the town had no new cases of covid in the week leading up to May 27, and Rochester and Mattapoisett both had new case numbers in the single digits. Marion’s lack of...

Rochester elects newcomer Sarah Eby to Board of Health

ROCHESTER — Just 347 voters decided the outcome of three contested elections on May 26. Newcomer Sarah Eby ousted 26-year incumbent Dale Barrows for a spot on the Board of Health, Rochester government veteran David Hughes won a seat on the Water...

Marion raises water and sewer rates, adds new usage tier

MARION — A typical household with an average of two and a half people will pay an additional $55.97 in their annual water and sewer bill in fiscal year 2022, based on rates approved Wednesday by the Board of Selectmen. In an effort to keep rates...

From bags to benches

Five hundred pounds of plastic bags will be transformed from an environmental eyesore to a beckoning bench, thanks to a community effort sponsored by the Rochester Lions Club. The organization recently completed a challenge sponsored by Trex, a...

Marion Council on Aging June happenings

MARION — From art presentations to shortcake socials, there’s no shortage of things to do at the Marion Council on Aging in June. On June 10 at 1 p.m., the council will host a strawberry shortcake social. There, strawberry season will be celebrated...

Marion Democratic Caucus June 6

MARION — Registered Democrats in Marion will hold a caucus on June 6 to elect Delegates and Alternates to the 2021 Massachusetts Democratic State Convention. The caucus will take place virtually. Registered Marion Democrats are welcome. This year’s...

Rochester boat race ham and bean supper May 29

ROCHESTER — The Rochester Memorial Day Boat Race Ham and Bean Supper will be held Saturday May 29 at the Rochester Senior Center, 65 Dexter Lane. The supper will be served from 5 to 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door. Diners can opt to eat...

Memorial day happenings in the Tri-Town

After services were scaled down last year due to covid, Marion and Mattapoisett will host Memorial Day remembrances complete with bands and walks to the water. In Marion, Memorial day services will start at 9:00 a.m. at the Old Landing veterans...

Hiring gets tough for Tri-Town businesses

Covid restrictions have eased, but some Tri-Town businesses are facing a new challenge: Finding enough staff to keep them fully operational through the busy summer season. A diminished workforce in the area is forcing some local restaurants to close...

Budget, capital plan items pass Rochester Town Meeting

ROCHESTER — There wasn’t much in the way of passing Annual Town Meeting articles on May 24. Every agenda item at Rochester’s Town Meeting, held at Rochester Memorial School, was passed with little discussion. Voters at the meeting passed the town’s...

Sippican Woman’s Club Independence Day illuminations

MARION — A Sippican Woman’s Club fund-raiser aims to light up the town while raising money for 2021 Marion student scholarships. Starting June 1, kits with red, white and blue luminaria with star cutouts may be purchased for $25 at The Marion...

Mattapoisett Memorial Day services

MATTAPOISETT — The Florence Eastman Post 280 of the American Legion will recognize Memorial Day with a short service at noon on May 31. The 15-minute long service will be held outside the Mattapoisett Free Public Library, and move to Town Wharf to...

Eagle Scout project helps Mattapoisett elderly

MATTAPOISETT — From toothpaste to masks to sudoku puzzles, Andrew Poulin is leaving no box unchecked in his Eagle Scout project. The Old Rochester Regional High School sophomore is donating care packages to the Mattapoisett Council on Aging to be...

Mattapoisett takes out the trash

MATTAPOISETT — Coffee cups, light fixtures and tires litter the roads in Mattapoisett — or at least they used to. Mattapoisett Cub Scout Pack 53, Mattapoisett Boy Scout Troop 53, the Mattapoisett Woman’s Club, the Mattapoisett Land Trust, the...

Covid risk status steadies in Tri-Town

With covid cases remaining low in the Tri-Town, Rochester is holding walk-up vaccine clinics at the fire station. The first clinic will be held on May 26, with a second dose clinic slated for June 16 at the station. First doses will also be offered...

School district investigating racist graffiti at junior high

The Old Rochester Regional School District is investigating racist remarks and racial epithets that were found written on a bathroom wall inside the OR Junior High School. According to the district, school administrators were notified by a student...

Here’s what you need to know for Rochester’s Town Election

ROCHESTER — For some contests in Rochester’s Town Election, the race is on — for others, the town has had a hard time getting candidates to the starting line. The election is on May 26 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Rochester Council on Aging...

School district remembers Nolan Gibbons

The students and faculty of the Old Rochester Regional School District won’t forget Nolan Gibbons. The OR high school held a remembrance and plaque unveiling for Gibbons, a student who died last summer, on May 18. The ceremony included speeches from...

LZ Bravo: A Vietnam Tour of Duty performed at Marion bandstand

MARION — The Marion Art Center hosted local playwright and Tabor Academy teacher John Heavey for a showing of his play “LZ Bravo: A Vietnam Tour of Duty” on May 13 at the Island Wharf Bandstand. The play was part of the Art Center’s second weekend...

Marion Selectmen approve improvements to community center

MARION — A new walkway and possibly a new pavilion are coming to the Benjamin D. Cushing Community Center. The Selectmen approved a number of improvements to the community center at a May 18 meeting. The Selectmen heard a presentation from Harry...

Complete a Marion natural hazard survey

MARION — Town of Marion has begun the process of developing a Hazard Mitigation Plan and encourages community members to participate in a survey on public disaster preparedness. A Hazard Mitigation Plan assists in identifying the community’s natural...

Donate clothes at the Mattapoisett Library

MATTAPOISETT — Donate clothes to the Cradles to Crayons Clothing Drive through May 21. Clothes can be dropped off at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library. Drop-off boxes are upstairs by the front door, and in the downstairs children's area. Newborn...

Rochester First Congregational to resume gatherings on the green

ROCHESTER — Back by popular demand, First Congregational Church of Rochester’s worship gatherings on the church green will resume on Sunday, May 30 at 10:00 a.m. and continue throughout the summer. In the event of inclement weather, the worship...

Rochester Historical Society exhibit

ROCHESTER — Track Rochester’s growth and more in a new exhibit at the Rochester Historical Society Museum. In pictures, visitors can see the boarding house in Rochester Center that was home to out of town students attending the Rochester Academy...

Help tidy Mattapoisett

MATTAPOISETT — Help clean up the town on Saturday. Mattapoisett Cub Scout Pack 53, Mattapoisett Boy Scout Troop 53, Mattapoisett Woman’s Club, Mattapoisett Land Trust, Mattapoisett Tree Committee, Old Rochester Community Service-Learning Club and...

Marion to hold Memorial Day remembrances

MARION — The town’s Memorial Day Remembrances will be Monday, May 31 starting at 9:00 a.m. at the Old Landing Veterans Memorial on Front Street. The remembrances will feature the Sippican School Band, led by director Hannah Moore, and The Portuguese...

Marion Scholarship winners

MARION — The Marion Scholarship and Education Committee has announced its 2021 scholarship awards. All applicants were required to live in Marion. They had to submit their academic transcript, letters of recommendation, and a personal statement...

Bauer wins race for Mattapoisett Select Board

MATTAPOISETT — The voters have decided: Jodi Lynn Bauer will be Mattapoisett’s newest Select Board member. Of the 5,593 eligible voters in town, 1,994 — about 35.7% — turned out to vote in Tuesday’s Town Election. Bauer won retiring Board Chair Paul...

Rochester to host walk-in vaccine clinics

ROCHESTER — The town will host two covid clinics with no appointment required in the coming weeks. Those ages 12 and up can get their first dose of the Pfizer covid vaccine on May 26 at the Rochester Fire Station from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The clinic...

Food truck proposed outside Tri-Town Barber Shop

MARION — A snack and a shave. Food trucks may be coming to the Tri-Town Barber Shop on Route 6 in Marion this summer. The Planning Board heard a preliminary proposal from Sean Lynch of the barber shop, who is looking to bring a food truck to the...

Rochester Council on Aging gets new director

ROCHESTER — A new Council on Aging director is coming to town. Starting June 1, Eric Poulin will take over as director of the Rochester Senior Center. Poulin was previously Program Manager for the Community Affairs Unit for the Bristol County...

Marion fire responds to capsized boat

MARION — The Marion Fire Department responded to an overturned boat with six fishermen in the water in the Hog Island Channel Sunday morning. According to the department’s Facebook page, Marion boat M225 arrived at the scene and took three fishermen...

Covid cases drop in Mattapoisett, Rochester

“Gray”, “green” and “yellow.” New covid cases lowered in Mattapoisett and Rochester in the week from May 6 to 13, while cases raised slightly in Marion. In the week leading up to May 6, Marion reported no new covid cases. In state data released May...

New and familiar faces favored in Marion Town Election

MARION — Marion has decided. Former Selectman Jon Henry and newcomer Alanna Nelson edged out incumbent Andrew Daniel in a five-way race for two positions on the Planning Board in Marion’s May 14 Town Election. Of 4,335 registered voters in town, 565...

Vote early in the Rochester Town Election

ROCHESTER — Early Voting is available for the May 26 Annual Town Election. Ballots are now available through the Town Clerk's Office. Go to townofrochestermass.com/town-clerk or click here to download a Vote By Mail Application. Once completed, the...

Here’s what residents will decide at Rochester Town Meeting

ROCHESTER — Town Meeting is on May 24, and seven capital plan spending items are on the agenda. The Annual Town Meeting, open to all registered Rochester voters, will start at 7 p.m. at Rochester Memorial School. Voters will decide whether to spend...

Walk-ups welcome as Southcoast vaccine clinics open to those 12 and older

Anyone aged 12 and over is now eligible to get the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine at Southcoast Health clinics across the region — and walk-ins are still welcome, the not-for-profit health system announced on May 13. The decision comes after the federal...

Smooth reopening for ORR high school, junior high

The return to full in-person learning at the Old Rochester Regional High School went off “without a hitch,” Principal Silas Coellner said. The principals of ORRHS and ORRJS gave the ORR School Committee updates on school operations following the...

Mattapoisett Special Town Election July 27

MATTAPOISETT — A special Town Election will be held on July 27 to fill the Select Board position left by the death of John DeCosta last month. DeCosta’s term would have ended on Town Election day in 2023. The winner of the July 27 election will...

Learn about the Marion Planning Board candidates

MARION — There are five candidates vying for two spots on the Planning Board in the May 14 Town Election. On the Ballot are incumbent Andrew Daniel, Alanna Nelson and Tom Friedman of the Energy Management Committee, former Selectman Jon Henry and...

What you need to know for Mattapoisett’s Town Election

MATTAPOISETT — Town Election will be on May 18, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Old Hammondtown School, with 11 elected offices and a question on the ballot. Leading the ballot is the race for the newly renamed Select Board, between Nicki Demakis and Jodi...

Lions Club announces scholarship winners

MATTAPOISETT — The Mattapoisett Lions Club has announced the 2021 Peter Hodges Memorial Scholarship awardees. The two $2,500 scholarships are sponsored by the Lions Club. This year’s recipients are Colin Mackin of Rochester, a senior at Old...

Plant Passports for the Mattapoisett Woman’s Club

MATTAPOISETT — It’s gardening season, and the Mattapoisett Woman’s Club is offering a way to save money on outdoor and indoor plants including shrubs, vegetables, and flowers with Pathway to Planting Passports. Proceeds from the Pathway to Planting...

Rochester crash proves fatal

ROCHESTER — A motorcyclist was fatally injured in a crash at the intersection of Route 58 and Route 28 on May 1. The motorcyclist, identified by the Plymouth District Attorney’s office as Mitchell Romano, 57, of New Bedford, was hit by an SUV...

Restaurant meal tax passes Mattapoisett Town Meeting

MATTAPOISETT — The town’s governing board has a new name, and the town has issued a new Mattapoisett-specific meals tax. Voters at Monday’s Town Meeting overwhelmingly approved a change of the board’s title from Board of Selectmen to Select Board. “...

Housing density restriction shot down at Marion Town Meeting

MARION — A bylaw change which would restrict the density of housing allowed to be constructed in town was shot down at the May 10 Town Meeting. The change, which did not receive a necessary two-thirds majority of voters at the meeting, would have...

Rochester, Mattapoisett at higher risk

Rochester and Mattapoisett both reached higher covid risk designations, while Marion shifted down to “gray” in state data released May 6. Rochester reported eight new cases in the week leading up to May 6, down from 18 the week before. However, the...

Marion to hold Independence Day parade

MARION — The town confirmed Friday it will be holding its annual Independence Day parade. “Based on the latest guidance and regulations from the state we are pleased to share that the Town of Marion will hold our annual Independence Day Parade!”...

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