Coast Guard Safe Boating Classes

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            Earn your boating certificate in one day.  Boat America is a new boating certificate class that offers an in-depth boating safety course with personal instruction and materials that provide the knowledge needed to obtain a USCG boating certificate. This will be offered each first Saturday of the month, February through June, at modest cost, including a complete course book. All those with none-some-or long experience are welcome.

            Topics include: Intro to Boating, Safe Operation & Navigation, Boating Law, Safety Equipment, Handling Emergencies, Trailering, Sports & Boating, plus time for Q&A. Some insurance companies also offer discounts when you obtain this certificate, plus you and your passengers will enjoy your boating days with more confidence.

            All this in one 9 am-5 pm day, with breaks and your certificate at the end after a review. Dates are February 4, March 4, April 1, May 6 and June 3 at the West Wareham Fire House #2, 2368 Cranberry Highway (Rt 28N.) You must register ahead to attend, so get the details at: www.flotilla63.org, email to flotilla.63@ yahoo.com, or call 508-322-1224. See you there and out on the water.

Mattapoisett Woman’s Club Offers Scholarships

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Mattapoisett Woman’s Club is pleased to offer (2) $2,500.00 scholarship awards to Mattapoisett residents who are high school seniors, graduating June 2023.

            In addition, there will be a $1,500.00 scholarship granted to a Mattapoisett resident who is reentering the academic world after graduation and is in pursuit of a postsecondary degree or certificate.

            Scholarship applications are available at guidance offices of Old Rochester Regional High School, Bishop Stang High School, Old Colony Vocational Technical High School, Tabor Academy, Bristol County Agricultural and online at www.mattapoisettwomansclub.org/

            Final deadline for returning completed applications is March 31. Submissions received after the deadline will not be considered.

            The Mattapoisett Woman’s Club is a philanthropic organization that plans and executes fund-raising events to help generate the revenue for these scholarships and other charitable donations.  In offering these scholarships, the club supports educational leadership and helps to support the community that has partnered with the club in its fund-raising efforts. Membership is open to any woman who is interested in the objectives of the organization.

An Essay on Inner Peace

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            Once there was a legend about a village where everyone carried a 200-pound load of rocks on their back wherever they went. As soon as they got up in the morning, they would put this bag of stones on their backs and go about their business. Even little children, as soon as they could walk, carried a little bag of stones on their backs.

            One day a stranger came to their village and was amazed at what he saw. He stopped a man and asked, “Why is it everyone carries a big bag of rocks?” A man replied, “Because we have always done it. Our fathers and grandfathers always did.”

            “But why?”

            “I don’t know, but we’ve always done it.”

            So the stranger said, “Why don’t you put down your bag of rocks?” The man took off the bag and put it on the ground. Suddenly, a huge smile lit up his face and he called out to his friends, “Why don’t we all take off our bags of stone, because we don’t know why we need to carry them!”

            So, one by one, they put down their bags. Soon there were smiles and sighs of relief and joy. Then there was dancing and singing in the streets. The village declared a holiday and thanked the stranger for helping them to see a different way to live.

            Aren’t we all like that – carrying on our backs a load of worry, guilt, anxiety, stress and fear? Could we consider putting down that heavy load of anger, resentment, envy, self-pity, grief and sorrow? We could ask God for forgiveness and learn to forgive ourselves for all those things for which we think we need to be forgiven.

            Feel the relief of setting down this heavy burden from the past. Feel the freedom and the joy that comes from releasing all the pain of the past. We can take responsibility for creating those situations in our lives and begin to develop good habits, attitudes of more caring, more compassion, more helpfulness, more loving, more reaching our potential, more healthy choices, more uplifting activities, and more patience with ourselves and others.

            Yes, you can live a life filled with beauty, love and inner peace and joy by giving them to yourself and others. Thank God for our lives and the wonders of nature, family and friends.

            Editor’s Note: Hope Bradley Finley passed away on January 13 at age 95. The Mattapoisett resident was thrilled to have The Wanderer publish her poems and essays, something we will continue to do this winter.

The Poet’s Corner

By Hope Bradley Finley

Rochester Looks at Fire, Police Wish Lists

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            The committee charged with studying the feasibility of replacing or rehabbing the town’s public-safety buildings met with study consultant Ted Galante on Tuesday afternoon to exchange ideas on viable options.

            Galante began the meeting by handing out copies of the wish-list books that have compiled what both Fire Chief Scott Weigel and Police Chief Robert Small want and need in a new or renovated facility. He then reviewed the options with Public Safety Building Feasibility Study Committee members and asked for their feedback.

            The two chiefs, he said, would each like 27,000 square feet of space for their departments. So a combined facility would need to be between 30,000 and 35,000 square feet or, he said, around 3 acres.

“How do we start to home in on a site that works for both?” Galante asked.

            Galante wanted to know what land in town would be available and viable as the site of a new combined facility or renovated station. The viability of a site will include how far it sits from where emergency vehicles must travel to get to an emergency.

            Weigel noted his is a call department so his responders will travel from the station closest to the emergency, Station 1 on Ryder Lane or Station 2 on Pine Street. He said he would like to keep his headquarters at Station One.

            As to the fate of the current police station on Dexter Lane, Galante asked, “How will the town react to decommissioning a 20-year-old building?”

            “Is renovation of the existing building feasible?” asked Public Safety Building Feasibility Study Committee member and Select Board member Brad Morse.

            “We haven’t done that study yet,” Galante replied.

            Committee members believe a renovation can expand into land behind the current police station. What if that includes adding a Fire Department facility? There are park lands and a vacant lot next to the current police station, committee and Planning Board Chairman Arnold Johnson said. But, he added, much of the land in question is owned by the Park Department, complicating availability.

            Committee members focused their interest on sites on Pine Street. Citing the abutting Rochester Memorial School playground, Town Administrator Glenn Cannon asked if it could be moved for an expansion of Fire Station 3. He also noted the 18-acre site of the Rochester Country Fair, 65 Pine Street, is town-owned.

            Finance Committee Chairman David Arancio, appearing on Zoom, asked about what will affect his committee’s perspective the most: What is the average construction cost per square feet for a public-safety building?

            Adding in the “soft” costs involved in such a large project, he anticipates the cost will be closer to $900 per square foot. He added that he is concerned what effects this project will have on the town’s long-term debt. Galante said he won’t sugarcoat the costs involved. “The numbers are scary,” he said.

            Arancio then asked if the committee has done a walk-through of similar public-safety buildings that house fire and police departments. Johnson said the committee will do so once it decides to go in the combined direction. Galante said he will schedule his own tour of the town’s existing public-safety facilities next week and will review more of the committee’s feedback at the next meeting.

            The next meeting of the Public Safety Building Feasibility Study Committee is scheduled for Tuesday, February 7, at 2:30 pm in the Town Hall meeting room, 1 Constitution Way, Rochester.

Rochester Public Safety Building Feasibility Study Committee

By Michael J. DeCicco

Rebuilding Old Slough Road

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The Town of Mattapoisett and Mattapoisett Land Trust, Inc. (MLT) are working together to reopen Old Slough Road as an emergency route for vehicles traveling to and from the Point Connett and Angelica Point communities in Mattapoisett. These communities presently are accessed by Angelica Avenue. Due to coastal location and low elevation, this road is threatened by sea level rise and coastal storm damage. In the event Angelica Avenue becomes impassable, approximately 130 homes in Point Connett and Angelica Point would be cut off from emergency services, and residents would be unable to enter or leave their homes.

            The rebuilt Old Slough Road generally will follow the existing route from Angelica Avenue north to Bowman Road. The improved road will be a 12- foot wide gravel travel lane, with a one-foot wide gravel shoulder on each side. The improved road will have locked gates preventing vehicle traffic from entering at both the north and south ends, and these would be opened only in emergency situations. In normal times, the improved road would be passable for walkers, hikers, horseback riders and bicycles. No motorized vehicles would be permitted. Persons with mobility impairments also would be able to utilize the road if they are able to traverse a packed gravel surface.

            The Mattapoisett Select Board will hold a public hearing to describe the project and seek public comment on Tuesday evening, January 24, at 6:45 pm at Town Hall. Interested members of the public are welcome to attend either in person or via Zoom. Further information and engineering plans for the project can be found on the Town Administrator’s web page at www.mattapoisett.net.

ArtStart 2023 Registration Opens Soon

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Registration for ArtStart 2023 at the Marion Art Center opens to MAC members on Friday, January 27 at marionartcenter.org/artstart. Registration for nonmembers will open on Friday, February 17. MAC members have access to early registration and receive a significant discount on ArtStart tuition. Membership at the Family level ($75 annually) or above is required for discounted tuition. Joining the MAC or renewing membership is easy online at marionartcenter.org/join.

            ArtStart is the MAC’s summer art program for children ages 4 1/2 to 9 years, offered in late June through July. ArtStart teachers are specialists in music, dance, theater and art, most of whom teach throughout the year and are professionals in their fields. Activities include arts and crafts, theater, music, games and storytelling. The ArtStart program runs weekly, 9:00 am‒12:30 pm daily, with no camp on July 4. Cost for a five-day session is $240 for MAC members and $275 for nonmembers, while the cost for session two (just four days) is $195 for MAC members and $220 for nonmembers. The 2023 ArtStart schedule is as follows: Session 1: Monday, June 26 – Friday, June 30; Session 2: Monday, July 3-Friday, July 7 (4 days, no camp on Tue.); Session 3: July 10-14; Session 4: July 17-21; Session 5: July 24-28. Due to very limited capacity, ArtStart fees are nonrefundable unless camp is cancelled. Sessions fill quickly, and early registration is strongly recommended. See more details and register online at marionartcenter.org/artstart.

The Musical Northern Cardinal

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            The scarlet-colored male Cardinal with a flaming crest on its head is now a familiar backyard species because it is classified as nonmigratory and spends all winter here. It makes a beautiful Christmas card to send your friends, posing with bright, red plumage against a backdrop of white snow drifts. It got its proper name Cardinal after the high-precedence, clerical position in the Roman Catholic Church.

            The female of the species is much less decorative in drab plumage painted by Mother Nature to be camouflaged when sitting on her nest. Both male and female Cardinals are classified as passerine to be of the Finch species to sing musical tunes to each other, as illustrated. He sings loudly to find her because he wants everyone to know he is looking for a mate so that other males will stay out of his territory.

            When he finds a mate, he flutters his wings from side to side next to his proposed partner. If she happens to repeat his tune, they often begin to serenade each other with the discovery that they are now both well matched. They serenade each other with a high pitched “chip, chip, chip,” followed by what sounds like a “wheat, wheat, wheat,” when they tune their notes together into a mixed melody.

            They can employ up to nine tones of muscles in their syrinx, which when tightened and then relaxed generate the melody they have in mind and are trying to produce. At the turn of the 20th century, Cardinals expanded their habitat range into farther northern states, as also did what was to become the Northern Mockingbird and overlapped the symphony of their combined orchestration.

            Perhaps this combined migration is a side effect of global warming, but when spring comes to Buzzards Bay, this extraordinary orchestration together will come drifting with a prevailing, onshore breeze to entertain local bird watchers. The Mockingbird is able to imitate up to 150 other bird songs in its repertoire and seems to know what birds it can quickly tune into their delivery.

            If we are blessed with a concert experience, it may be worthy of my creating my own poetic verse:

            Their combined songs may come carried on wings,

            This music might be spiritual when each of them sings.

Cove Circle Garage Case Continued

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            Don and Barbara Easterday’s January 12 proposal for a two-car garage on their pie-shaped lot at 52 Cove Circle was found lacking by the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals, which voted to continue the case to February 9.

            The Easterdays sought a variance from Section 230-5.1 of the Marion Zoning Bylaws for the construction of a 28×24-foot detached garage.

            Upon opening the public hearing, ZBA Chairperson Cynthia Callow read into the record a letter from Attorney Jillian Morton of Wareham-based Bello & Morton LLC, representing the applicants. Morton’s key points outlined the case, including encroachment on the side setback and the need for the garage to be placed on a particular side of the property.

            The required side setback is 30 feet; the proposed garage would sit 20 feet from the side lot line. At 110.93 feet, the lot’s frontage is less than half the 250-foot standard.

            Without the garage, the couple of “advancing age” would not be able to conveniently access their vehicles during the winter, explained Morton, who was in attendance alongside Don Easterday. The proposed garage location was also based on proximity to a utility pole and the ability to charge an electric vehicle.

            The other side of the lot includes landscaping, a generator and a septic tank. More than half of the parcel has been identified as wetland, making it unavailable for the construction.

            Referencing comments from the Board of Health dated December 22, ZBA member Dana Nilson confirmed with Don Easterday that there are no plans to upgrade the septic installment on the property.

            According to Callow, the Conservation Commission will also require a filing due to the wetlands on the property.

            Morton told the ZBA that an abutting neighbor has not yet replied to information shared about the proposal. Easterday said two other abutters had no objections to his plan.

            Asked by ZBA member Tucker Burr why the garage is greater than 20 feet wide, Easterday explained that a shed on his property line could be removed with the new storage space that the wider garage would create.

            After the public hearing was closed, Nilson questioned as to if the garage could be located elsewhere on the property that would not necessitate a zoning variance. He suggested that there are places on the opposite side of the house where the garage could sit and maintain the required 20-foot setback from the leaching field.

            “Moving propane lines might cost money, but those aren’t really zoning considerations for a variance,” said Nilson.

            ZBA member Will Tifft agreed. “My biggest concern is that the hardship is not clear to me,” he said.

            Upon hearing Nilson say that the applicant could have demonstrated alternate locations on the plan, Morton suggested the public hearing be reopened so she could provide more information. The ZBA then voted to reopen the hearing.

            ZBA member Dr. Ed Hoffer acknowledged the quandary facing the Easterdays, but he stated the board’s responsibility is to render decisions based on the requirements of applications, however harsh.

            At Morton’s request, the board agreed to continue the case to February 9 at 6:40 pm.

            The next meeting of the Marion ZBA is scheduled for Thursday, February 9, at 6:30 pm at the Marion Police Station, also accessible via Zoom.

Marion Zoning Board of Appeals

By Mick Colageo

Emergency Preparedness

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This is the perfect time to think about and prepare for emergencies and disasters as Massachusetts faces a variety of hazards – weather related or others throughout the year.

            If you feel that you would require assistance in an emergency, we would like to have a discussion with you so we can prepare a plan that will be ready to go when needed.

            -If you rely on medical equipment at your residence that requires electricity

            -If you would require transportation to a shelter when such a need arises or live in a known flood zone

            -If you have a communication-related disability, we need to know the best way to communicate in an emergency state

            -If you take medications, we need a list

            -If there is any other targeted assistance that you may need

            Please call the Council on Aging at 508-748-3570 so we can compile this information which will be reported to Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). We want to be prepared.

            We encourage residents and family members, who may reside out of town to sign up for E- alerts from the Town of Marion. (visit   marionma.gov/subscribe)

Music at the MAC

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 The Marion Art Center presents Paul Bielatowicz’s Nosferatu Live on the MAC Stage, Saturday, February 25 at 7:30pm. Tickets are on sale now to MAC members ($20) and go on sale to nonmembers ($25) on Jan. 21 at marionartcenter.org/events.

            Paul Bielatowicz has recorded and toured with some of the biggest names in progressive rock, including Carl Palmer, Neal Morse, Dream Theater, Yes, Todd Rundgren, Arthur Brown, Alan Parsons Project and more. When the great plague of 2020 stopped all touring, Paul turned his attention to composing and spent two prolific years writing various projects, including this prog rock soundtrack for the 1922 classic silent horror Nosferatu. Join Paul in the MAC’s Anne Braitmayer Webb Theater for an evening of music and immersive multimedia, culminating in a complete performance of his original soundtrack accompanying the iconic 1922 silent movie Nosferatu. For the first time, this show features 3 video screens, bringing the full-band experience to any size venue and includes an all-star guest musician lineup, joining him via his various video screens.

            Musicians include: Narration by Arthur Brown (Crazy World of Arthur Brown); Dave Bainbridge (Strawbs, Iona) on Keyboards; Leah Bluestein (Video Game Orchestra, Groundlift) on drums; Mike Dutko (Groundlift) on bass guitar; Peter Zay (New Bedford Symphony Orchestra) on cello; Simon Fitzpatrick (ELP Legacy, Jennifer Batten) on Chapman stick and guitars, theremin and synthesizers by Paul Bielatowicz. Even if you’ve seen the movie, or Paul’s previous performance of it, you’ve NEVER seen it like this.