Rochester Memorial Day Boat and Kayak Race

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The Rochester Fire Department will again sponsor the Rochester Memorial Day Boat Race.

            A boat building seminar will be held at the Rochester Fire Station, Saturday, April 13, 1:00 to 3:00 pm. The focus will be on the wooden boat construction. We are planning on demonstrating the process of building a Mattapoisett River Racer on a small scale to show the process and techniques. We are asking people who have a boat that is no longer needed to bring it to the Fire Station to sell, give, or loan to someone looking for a boat to use. Anyone in need of a boat should come and see what’s available for them.

            The Rochester Memorial Day Boat Race on the Mattapoisett River will take place on Monday, May 27, starting at 8:30 am at Grandma Hartley’s Reservoir, Snipatuit Road, in Rochester and finishing at the Mattapoisett Herring Weir at River Road and Route 6.

            A Kayak Division will again be included in the race this year. Basic guidelines for the division are: minimum age 18, single person kayak that the contestant can sit inside of the cockpit, contestant must wear an approved USCG personal flotation device for the entire race, and there will be a $10 entry fee. See the rules document for all information pertaining to the kayak division.

            For the Mattapoisett River Racer (MRR) boats, the minimum age for contestants is seven years old on Memorial Day. There will be two persons to a boat. The boat must be a homemade river racer design of any material you choose. There are no limitations or restrictions on types of paddles.

            Divisions include the new kayak division and the MRR open/men’s, women’s, junior boys, junior girls, co-ed and parent/child divisions. Junior division teams are both contestants under 14 years old. Parent/child is for a parent with his/her child (child under 14 years old) or an adult (25 or older) with a child (child under 14 years old). Trophies will be awarded to the first, second and third place finishers in each division.

            Preregistration is required. Only one registration session will be held at the Rochester Council on Aging (RCOA) Senior Center, 67 Dexter’s Ln, Friday, May 17 at 6:30 to 8:00. Starting positions will be assigned or drawn after the registration closes. A signed registration form must be submitted by each contestant for a team to be eligible for a starting position. Registration forms and rules may be obtained by April 13 at Lloyd’s Market, at Art’s house, 319 Cushman Road or at the registration session or email Art (artbenner@comcast.net) and request the rules and registration form.

            You may deliver the completed forms to 319 Cushman Rd. Or, you may return the forms by email but you must bring the original, signed forms, to the registration session. OR, you may return them by regular mail (USPS). If returned by email or USPS mail, you’ll get acknowledgment that they were received. If you don’t get a reply from Art, assume the forms were not received and hand deliver a set. Registration forms must be in the Committee’s hands by Friday, May 17, 8:00 pm in order for last year’s teams to be assigned a starting position based on last year’s finish position or for new teams to draw a starting position this year. Kayak contestants will draw starting positions after the MRRs.

            The traditional Ham and Bean Supper will take place at the RCOA, Senior Center at, 67 Dexter’s Ln, Saturday, May 25, 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Supper ticket price: adults, $10.00, children under 12, $5.00.

            There will be raffles for each of two carbon fiber racing paddles made by Bill Watling III and a silent auction for each of two carbon fiber paddles. And also, a raffle for a hand crocheted afghan, made by Cecelia Hall. Tickets will be sold at the registration session and at the Ham & Bean supper. The winners will be drawn at the supper.

            For further information, contact Boat Race Chairman, Arthur F. Benner, 508-763-2024 or email; artbenner@comcast.net. Check Facebook ‘Rochester Memorial Day Boat Race for updated info.

Intro to Photoshop Workshop at to the MAC

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Join professional local photographer Cathleen Broderick for class at the Marion Art Center, Introduction to Photoshop: Unleash Your Creativity with Digital Editing. The one-day workshop is scheduled Saturday, May 4, 10:00 am-2:00 pm in the MAC’s Anne Braitmayer Webb Theater.

            Are you ready to transform your digital imagery and unleash your creative potential? Join us for an exhilarating journey into the world of Adobe Photoshop. Whether you’re a budding photographer, a graphic designer, or simply eager to learn new digital skills, this workshop is tailored just for you. In this introductory workshop, participants will dive headfirst into the fundamentals of Photoshop, the industry-standard software for image editing and manipulation. This hands-on session will equip you with essential techniques and tools to bring your artistic visions to life.

            The cost is $75 for MAC members and $90 for nonmembers. Students will need a laptop with Photoshop installed. (A link for a free 7-day trial can be found on the workshop registration page.) Students should also bring lunch or snacks; there will be breaks throughout the day. Learn more and register online at marionartcenter.org/events.

Rochester Christian Learning Center

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Rochester Christian Learning Center is a Christian homeschool cooperative sponsored by First Congregational Church of Rochester. There will be a parent & family information session on April 13 at 10:00 am in the fellowship hall of the church. Please preregister to attend the info session by visiting the website www.RochesterChristianLC.org

            Applications for September enrollment for children in Grades K-8 are being accepted and can also be found on the website.

Mattapoisett Republican Town Committee

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The Mattapoisett Republican Town Committee welcomes all to join us on Thursday, April 18 from 6 to 8:30 pm to attend our annual “Meet the Candidates Night” at the Knights of Columbus, 57 Fairhaven Road, Mattapoisett. Candidates up for election on May 21 are welcome the opportunity to share with the community their overview of qualifications for the position and why they are seeking office in a relaxed friendly atmosphere.

            Opening the meeting at 6:30 pm is Guest Speaker, Tom Johnson with a presentation reminding us that it is We the People responsible for enforcing, through peaceful, lawful means, the magnificent Law that our Founders left us and that beginning our reformation at the local level is essential. Very fitting since our voices will be heard at the ballot box on May 21.

There is always good food, good people, and a cash bar. Candidates, please RSVP by Friday, April 12, PCMattyGOP@proton.me

Screening Remains a Problem

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The March 26 meeting of the Rochester Planning Board included discussion about screening for the solar facility planned by Renewable Energy Development Partners, LLC at 109 Neck Road. The project will feature a number of ground-mounted panels, including a newer, solar-construction concept of “dual use,” solar-plus agriculture and placement of panels over cranberry-bog canals. But the issue of screening remains a bit of a contentious matter.

            REDP, headed by Hank Ouimet, came before the board to ask if it would be possible to install a “few” panels to “give a real-life” idea of proposed screening. Planning Board member Ben Bailey agreed in principle to a few panels being installed but cautioned that if more than that were allowed, the developer might use that to prove acceptance of the screening versus testing of the screening’s ability to mask the development.

            Bailey said that from Snipatuit Pond, screening in place now looks “horrible … this is a real, serious screening problem,” he said, noting that screening in other locations seems to be missing. He said it looked like an industrial site.

            Ouimet said he would look into screening options. The project includes three screening locations along Neck Road, Snipatuit Pond and Long Pond.

            The board agreed to the installation of a few panels and requested that Town Planner Nancy Durfee send letters to the three abutters impacted by the project to get their input on screening. The date for that meeting is pending.

            The board also held an informal discussion with Bill Madden of G.A.F. Engineering regarding a proposed hobby-barn construction for Mark and Ashley Briggs at 0 New Bedford Road.

            The site as described by Madden is 10 acres with 3 acres planned for development. He said that the project still needs to be approved via Special Permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals and is also pending a sign-off letter from the Historical Commission.

            The former dairy farm has lain undeveloped for years, he said. Test pits were completed, and stormwater drainage design includes infiltration systems. Fire safety for the 7,500 square-foot barn will include a sprinkler system, and a mechanical closet will contain utilities.

            Chairman Arnie Johnson asked for a joint meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals, Historical Commission and the Planning Board. A meeting date and time is pending.

            The Planning Board also met informally with Highland Development Ventures for the Rochester Crossroads project, self-storage facility on Cranberry Highway. The project will feature both interior units and drive-up units and a floor-drainage system.

            Johnson said that the Highway Surveyor needed to weigh in on the project over possible roadway-surface impact from heavy construction vehicles.

            Another self-storage facility, planned for Kings Highway and Cranberry Highway by JPF Development Ventures, was heard in a reopened, public site-plan review. This project contains seven buildings and an office. Madden also represented JPF Development Ventures.

            Madden said peer-review consultant Ken Motta of Field Engineering made no comment regarding previously requested waivers, that the fire-protection engineer had no issues but that a final review/report from Motta is pending. Johnson said the site-plan review should be completed during the next meeting.

            The board also met with Eric Weinstein of New Leaf Energy regarding battery storage units and with Matt Monteiro of the Rochester Land Trust regarding Agricultural mapping.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Planning Board is scheduled for Tuesday, April 9, at 7:00 pm.

Rochester Planning Board

By Marilou Newell

Kidney from A Pig – Is It Really A Big Deal?

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            Your kidneys are critically important organs that clear toxic substances from the body and regulate your fluid balance. Kidney disease is very common, affecting millions of Americans. So-called “end-stage” kidney disease is kidney disease so advanced that without treatment, death is imminent. Presently, over 800,000 Americans are affected by this advanced stage of the disease.

            It is very rare that kidney disease can be cured surgically or medically. Instead, you must either get a new kidney from a donor or go on dialysis. Dialysis is a technique in which the blood is filtered by a complex machine that tries to do what the kidneys are no longer capable of doing. The technique was developed in the 1940s but only became widely used in the 1970s.

            Dialysis, to be blunt, is no fun. You have to be connected to the machine 3 times a week and stay at the center for 3 to 4 hours each visit. About 1 in 7 dialysis patients, who have good home support, can do the procedure at home. While it is life-saving, patients on dialysis rarely feel really well.

            A breakthrough in the treatment of kidney failure came in 1954 with the first transplantation of a kidney from a human donor to a patient with end-stage kidney disease. This was done by Dr. Joe Murray at the Brigham, and the donor was the recipient’s identical twin. The first transplant from an unrelated donor came 8 years later, in 1962.

            Any time an organ is transplanted from anyone but an identical twin, the body recognizes the transplanted organ as foreign and tries to eliminate it the way it tries to eliminate bacteria. To prevent rejection of the new kidney, the body’s immune system must be suppressed, leaving the recipient at higher risk of infection.

            When transplantation is successful, the recipient of the new kidney feels much better, physically and emotionally, as they can now lead a normal life rather than being tied to a dialysis center.

            Why don’t all patients with end-stage kidney disease get a transplant? Simple: There are not enough organs available. Of the 800,000 with the condition, over 2/3 are on dialysis and fewer than 1 in 3 have had a transplant.

            If the recent transplant, from a pig that was genetically engineered to have kidneys that were closer to human genes is successful, the huge bottleneck that is availability of kidneys for transplant would be removed.

            Can we declare success? Not yet. The two men who had pig hearts transplanted both died soon after the surgery. We hope the Boston man who got the recent transplant does well, but only time will tell. There are too many unknowns to predict the outcome. In addition to the problem of rejection of the new organ, pigs carry many viruses that humans do not, and one or more of these may cause problems.

            If this volunteer is alive and with a functioning kidney in several years, a giant step will have been achieved.

            The number-one cause of chronic kidney failure is poorly controlled, high blood pressure, so if you have hypertension, be sure to have it controlled with medication.

            Dr. Ed Hoffer is the chairman of the Marion Board of Health, a graduate of MIT and Harvard Medical School. He is Associate Professor of Medicine, part-time, at Harvard and a Senior Scientist at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

What Does The Doctor Say?

By Dr. Ed Hoffer

MAC’s First Ever YArt Sale

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The Marion Art Center will host its first ever “YArt” Sale on Saturday, April 27 from 10 am-2 pm in the multipurpose room at Sippican Elementary School (16 Spring Street, Marion). Come shop for lightly used art supplies, equipment, books, and teaching resources.

            Want to offload some art supplies? The MAC will sell your unwanted materials. The Marion Art Center will retain a 50% commission on all sales. Items must be in good condition and approved by the YArt Sale committee in advance. All vendors will pay a $25 registration fee once accepted, which will be refunded after vendors collect all unsold goods. Have a lot of items to sell? Vendors are invited to sell their own items at the event but must be present for setup and cleanup and remain throughout the entirety of the event. To see more details, including a list of approved items, or to apply to sell your materials, visit marionartcenter.org/events. Fill out the simple online vendor application form, and a committee member will contact you with more details. Submissions are due no later than Friday, April 19. The Marion Art Center cannot accept donated items at their location ahead of time. All materials must be delivered to the event site on the day of the sale.

New Exhibit at Marion Art Center

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The Marion Art Center is pleased to announce its newest exhibition, featuring paintings by Joshua Baptista and Bernie Klim. The show runs April 13 through May 17, with an opening reception on Saturday, April 13 from 3-5 pm at the MAC.

            Primarily a painter, Joshua Baptista also mixes various media to create a parallel world filled with strange, mercurial, and innocently curious creatures. Heavily influenced by his roots in the 90’s skateboarding and street art scenes in New England, he projects a “hesher” mindset in his pieces, but does so with a wit and sharpness that illuminates the beauty in the oddities.

            Bernie Klim was raised in Cambridge, MA and attended Massachusetts College of Art (BFA, 1983) and Cambridge College (MEd, 2009). Klim continued his painting interests as a member of the Waltham Artists Association where he exhibited his work each year at their annual Open Studios event along with a number of galleries, coffee houses, and retail stores in the Boston area. Today, Klim resides in Mattapoisett, MA where he has summered since birth and now lives year round.

            Klim will be exhibiting paintings from his series, Nature’s Cakewalks. The cakewalk was a pre-Civil War dance originally performed by enslaved peoples on plantation grounds. The evolution of the creative dance-step/stroll, where the dancer creates their own style and rhythm, inspired numerous composers and musicians over the years. In 1908, the dance inspired Claude Debussy to compose a piano piece called Golliwog’s Cakewalk, and years later in 1972, American Blues musician Taj Mahal’s Cakewalk into Town was released. Klim states, “I found myself humming [to these songs] during my walks, rides in the car, and while painting… these two [songs] are the inspiration for my recent paintings.”

            “The collection of paintings shown here explores the different stages of my painting process. Like many painters, the intuitive exploration allows me to wander and wonder around ideas for interesting composition, color, light, subject matter, painterly relationships, and application. Some paintings are left at their initial response while others are more realized for their subject, color and light.”

            To learn more and see all upcoming events and programs, visit marionartcenter.org.

Academic Achievements

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Mason Tucker of Marion, was recently initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society. Tucker was initiated at University of Rhode Island.

Boat Plan May Need Some PR

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            Marion Finance Committee Chairman Shay Assad is concerned that the deviation from the original plan to pay for a new $800,000 patrol boat may not sit well with voters at the May 13 Annual Town Meeting.

            Before committee members voted during Monday night’s public meeting to recommend the proposal that will be seen in Article 16 of the Annual Town Meeting warrant, Assad reminded Harbormaster Adam Murphy and Police Chief Richard Nighelli that the original plan was to finance a new patrol boat via the Waterways Account.

            “The plan was always for the Waterways fund to carry this in its entirety. That’s how the Marine Resources (Commission) pitched it. It will be an article of interest,” said Assad.

            As proposed, Article 16 pitches a sourcing evenly divided between the Waterways Account ($403,250) and the Treasury also known as Free Cash ($400,000). If the article fails in Town Meeting, the plan would be to borrow the money.

            “One of the things that I’m trying to do is shift the culture … the Harbormaster is not a ‘they,’ it’s a department in the town,” said Town Administrator Geoff Gorman, further emphasizing that ramifications of statewide police reform.

            Noting that the purchase now falls under the Police Department and must be explicitly categorized as public-safety equipment, Gorman said the Harbormaster is “not a stepchild organization” but “part of the police, part of the commission.”

            Gorman said the new patrol boat will have firefighting capabilities.

            “Right now, we don’t have a safe boat,” he said.

            Assad clarified that the Finance Committee does not view the Harbormaster Department in any kind of lesser manner but nonetheless stressed the need to explain to voters why the financing plan has changed.

            “I know there are a number of people who are very sensitive to this. It came up with the harbormaster building itself. You might want to provide some fallback position in an article,” said Assad. “The issue is, frankly … the whole purpose of this Waterways Fund was to cover this kind of stuff. … I know Judy (Mooney, recently retired finance director) and I were assured this was going to happen. This is going to be an issue with the townspeople.”

            The original plan to finance the patrol boat entirely out of the Waterways Account went off the rails when construction costs of the new harbormaster headquarters presently under construction at Island Wharf were inflated by approximately $1,000,000.

            Meantime, the state’s Seaport Economic Council supplied the lion’s share of the design and construction costs through grant funding but fell short in the final installment of the amount for which Marion applied. In a Special Town Meeting in October, the town voted to appropriate $1,200,000 from the Waterways Account to make up the difference.

            The Waterways Account has been boosted in the last year by across-the-board, harbor-related fee increases that Gorman told Assad would continue to replenish the fund. Gorman stated that the new plan will save at least half the money in interest.

            “At the end of the day, we have three debt articles in a row. This is the one we have two completely different buckets, treasury funds that we can pay without debt,” said Gorman.

            Finance Committee member Tom Crowley told Gorman, “You’re going to want to make this story really tight.”

            With five committee members attending the remote meeting, four “I” votes were confirmed via roll call, resulting in the committee’s recommendation of Article 16.

            Informational efforts have been critical to other Town Meeting votes, most notably a second-effort zoning change making land off Route 6 eligible for a townhouse-style, residential development (yet to break ground).

            In another move to address post-COVID, construction-cost inflation, the Finance Committee voted to recommend Article 15, which will ask voters to approve the transfer of $803,195 (for materials) out of Free Cash and to borrow $896,450 to complete the cost of building the new operations center for the Department of Public Works operations building at Benson Brook.

            Gorman reported that bids came in last Friday afternoon, the lowest being from South Coast Improvement Corporation, the same company building the new harbormaster headquarters. The bid was higher than the estimated 2021 Town Meeting appropriation, so Article 15, explained Gorman, will total approximately $1,660,000. Gorman said the resultant annual increase in the average Marion homeowner’s annual tax bill will be $18.

            After a brief interview with Old Rochester Regional District Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson and Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Howard Barber, the committee also approved Article 2, the FY25 operations budget.

            The FY25 Schools Budget features a $7,080,780 assessment for Sippican Elementary (a 6.22% increase over FY24) and a $5,551,389 assessment to Marion taxpayers for ORR Junior and Senior high schools (a 5.24% increase over FY24).

            Nelson and Barber also laid out the results of a hired firm’s recent review of ORR facilities for the committee’s consumption. The school district has debt coming off the books at the end of FY24 and discussed the advantages of taking on new debt to address critical needs of the school buildings.

            Three major issues are being prioritized: a complete update of the HVAC system, replacement of 60 entry doors and a new public-address technology that will bridge the Junior and Senior high school buildings.

            The Select Board was scheduled to close the Annual Town Meeting warrant during its regular public meeting on Tuesday night. The next meeting of the Marion Finance Committee was not scheduled upon adjournment.

Marion Finance Committee

By Mick Colageo