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News

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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!”...

Who’s that bulldog? Navy father surprises daughter after 14 months overseas

When a group of Old Rochester Regional Junior High School students were brought outside Friday afternoon, there was some idle chatter, questioning what brought them outside. Some questioned why there were cameras present, and teachers assured that...

Seven speak at Rochester Candidates Night

ROCHESTER — Candidates for the Board of Health, Planning Board, ORR School Committee, Water Commission and Board of Assessors came out to Candidates Night on May 6. Moderated by Selectman Woody Hartley, the event at the Rochester Council on Aging...

Free legal help for those fighting covid evictions

South Coastal Counties Legal Services, which provides free civil legal aid to low-income people across the south coast, Cape and Islands, will continue to offer its Covid Eviction Legal Help Project through the end of 2021. The project was funded by...

Candidate profile: Tucker Burr for Marion Planning Board

MARION — Tucker Burr has lived in town nearly his whole life, and says he isn’t going anywhere else anytime soon. He says that’s an advantage he has running for the Planning Board, which has a vacancy left by Kristen St. Don-Campbell’s resignation...

Candidate profile: Andrew Daniel for Marion Planning Board

MARION — Planning Board incumbent Andrew Daniel says it doesn’t matter what kind of business comes to the board — he tries to treat all of them equally. “It could be a big institution or a small coffee shop,” Daniel said, adding that his job is to “...

Candidate profile: Tom Friedman for Marion Planning Board

MARION — Tom Friedman is thinking green with his campaign for Planning Board. Friedman, a 25-year resident, is currently on the Energy Management Committee, which focused on issues that are “very close” to his heart. “It seemed that we had a lot of...

Candidate profile: Jon Henry for Marion Planning Board

MARION — Former Selectman Jon Henry is looking to return to public service with a campaign for the town’s Planning Board. “Well, no one was running,” Henry said. Henry was the first candidate, other than incumbent Andrew Daniel, to take out...

Candidate profile: Alanna Nelson for Marion Planning Board

MARION — Planning Board candidate Alanna Nelson moved to Marion in 2019, and says she’s ready to start giving back to the town. “I’m sort of a community-minded person,” she said. “I like it here, and I wanted to give back.” Nelson, who says she...

See ‘secret’ gardens in Marion

Marion — The Marion Garden Group will host “Secret Gardens Of Marion” on Friday, June 25, 2021. This event will support the group’s efforts to beautify the town gardens, entrances, and window boxes during the coming year. Secret Gardens of Marion is...

Learn about family events by text

Tri-Town families can now get notified of family-friendly events and programs in their area through a text to their phones. The United Way of Greater New Bedford recently announced it has partnered with Bright by Text, a program providing parents,...

Rochester Women’s Club scholarship winners

ROCHESTER — The scholarship committee of the Rochester Women's Club has announced winners for its three scholarships. From Old Rochester Regional High School , Carly Drew and Paige Sommers will each receive the Raymond C. Hartley $1,000 Scholarships...

Doggett Brook Farm open house

ROCHESTER — The Rochester Land Trust is partnering with the Buzzards Bay Coalition to buy and protect the Doggett Brook Farm. The property was previously a hotpoint of contention between owner Craig Canning and neighbors. Canning had intended to set...

Elizabeth Taber Library survey

MARION — A committee of Elizabeth Taber Library trustees and librarians have created three surveys to gain information to shape the library's new five-year strategic plan. There are surveys for elementary students and middle and high school students...

Liquor license approved for Stone Rooster

MARION — Selectmen approved a liquor license for 27 Wareham Road, the site of Gilda’s Stone Rooster, so long as the bar receives an occupancy permit from the building commissioner. Selectmen approved the license at a May 4 meeting, following a...

What you need to know for Marion Town Election

MARION — Town Election is on May 14, and voters will be able to cast their ballots from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Benjamin D. Cushing Community Center. Early voting by mail is currently available to anyone who wishes to cast their ballot ahead of the...

Rochester yellow, other towns green

Rochester shifted to a “yellow” designation after recording 18 new cases last week, while Mattapoisett and Marion were both designated as “green” in the state’s color-coded covid risk designation system. In data released April 22, Rochester recorded...

Here’s what residents will vote on at Mattapoisett Town Meeting

MATTAPOISETT — Voters at the May 10 Town Meeting will be asked to approve a temporary tax hike to fund road repair and change the name of the town’s governing board to the gender-neutral Select Board. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Monday,...

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