VIGIL: Organizers Adrienne McDougall, left, and Diane Ostranber take part in a candlelight vigil for Maura Murray in Hanson Saturday, Feb. 9, the 15th anniversary of her disappearance after a New Hampshire car crash. (Photo by Abram Neal/Express News)

HANSON — Maura Murray, then 21, a native of Hanson, vanished after she crashed her 1996 Saturn into a snowbank along a curve on Wild Ammonoosuc Road (Route 112) in Woodsville, New Hampshire, a village of Haverhill, 15 years ago. The UMass Amherst nursing student’s mysterious disappearance on Feb. 9, 2004 has sparked worldwide attention in the press, on the Internet and on social media over the course of the last decade and a half.

Family, friends and supporters of Maura Murray marked the somber anniversary Saturday in New Hampshire and here in Hanson by lighting candles in hopes that she will be found. Her father, Fred Murray, 76, had shared with the public new details of an investigation he has conducted into her disappearance with the hope that the public attention will put pressure on New Hampshire authorities to further look into the matter. Investigators, meanwhile, say the investigation is still active.

Fred Murray, who spoke to the Express Monday, Feb. 11, says that he is certain he has found a burial site in a house “astonishingly close” to the site of the accident. According to him, locals first tipped him off about suspicious activity at the house in the first year after his daughter’s disappearance, including rumors of new concrete being poured in the basement shortly after the accident, he says.

The Boston Globe reported last week what Murray said, based on those tips, “that a man who lived in the home at the time of the crash, as well as the man’s extended family members who lived nearby, were responsible for his daughter’s death.”

Although he told the Expressthat he is not positive that it’s his daughter who is buried in the house, he strongly believes that there are human remains in the house and that they are likely those of his daughter.

“I only need to be right once,” he pointed out.

The house, which he says police never searched, a point which officials don’t advertise unless pressed in statements, has come under new ownership since Maura Murray’s disappearance, and the new owners have been receptive to Fred Murray’s investigation. He says he is willing to pay to dig up their basement, although he’d rather New Hampshire authorities do it.

The New Hampshire Attorney’s General office said in a statement that they “searched the area with dogs at the time,” but never searched inside the house in question.

In November and December 2018, Fred Murray brought in two trained, accredited cadaver detecting dogs to the house, each one on separate occasions. They alerted, he says, by lying down in the same spot in the basement of the house. He says that video of the dogs alerting exists, and is available widely online from local television media outlets.

Later, ground-penetrating radar was used and indicated strong findings of an abnormality in the same spot in the concrete, he said. Much of Fred Murray’s investigation has been paid for by donations and through pro-bono work of those who support him, he says.

“It’s astounding that this [basement] wasn’t looked at before. I told the police about this in the first year … the State Police did an inadequate job when my daughter first went missing,” he added, adamantly.

Fred Murray said he has found the local police to have been less-than-helpful, and as for federal law enforcement, “The FBI has been dodging it [the case] for 15 years … they’re useless,” he said of the Boston office of the FBI.

He says that law enforcement’s response to his investigation, when he’s notified them of his findings, has been, “We looked at that, we looked at that, we looked at that.”

“Because of the institutional intransigence of the New Hampshire State Police the case is still alive 15 years later,” he said.

Fred Murray said that he thinks he’s been getting “the run around,” and that officials have been waiting for him to go away. “This time, the guy didn’t go away, and that guy was me.”

A representative for the New Hampshire Department of Safety, of which the New Hampshire State Police are a division, refused to comment because of the active nature of the investigation, but did refer the Express to the Office of the New Hampshire Attorney General.

“The case is still open and active.  We do receive tips and information periodically, as well as generate new information from investigative efforts,” said Jeffrey Streizin, Associate Attorney General and Director of the Division of Public Protection with the New Hampshire Attorney’s General office in an emailed statement.

He continued, “We are aware of the allegations regarding a home’s basement in that area and have considered and are considering next steps. That area was searched by law enforcement in the past, including with dogs, and nothing of significance was discovered.”

When asked to clarify whether the home itself was ever searched, Streizin said, “The State Police conducted a canvas of that area in 2004 and searched the area where that house is located with dogs. They did not go into the house at that time.”

“I need help. I’m asking for help,” Fred Murray said. “The people of northern New Hampshire have been wonderful. They are salt of the earth people … The goodness of people has really come to the forefront. Maura’s only friends in this have been the Massachusetts press, her friends and the great people of the area.”

Exactly where Maura Murray was headed, and why, has remained a mystery over the years. Moments after the crash, a good Samaritan stopped to assist her, but she waved him off and told him not to call the police, according to original police reports from 2004. The passerby called local police anyway, although he did drive off. A Haverhill police cruiser arrived within minutes, but the Saturn was locked, and Maura Murray was gone.

According to a four-part series reported by Maribeth Conway in this paper’s predecessor, the Hanson Express in 2007, Fred Murray had dinner with his daughter in Amherst two days before her disappearance.

She caused damage to her father’s car that night in a minor accident near UMass in Hadley, Massachusetts, and later friends reported she had been drinking that night, although no charges were filed in that incident.

The following day, she performed Internet searches for driving directions to Vermont and the Berkshires. She also called for a condominium rental reservation in Bartlett, New Hampshire, which she did not end up reserving. Her family often vacationed in Bartlett, a town in the White Mountains near the Attitash ski resort.

Her belongings were neatly packed up in boxes in her UMass dorm room before she left, according to reports, leading to speculation that she may have been considering leaving school permanently. But she had good grades, and her college textbooks were found in her car by investigators after the accident.

Maura Murray withdrew $280 from her bank account, leaving the account almost empty, and emailed professors and her boss at a local art gallery that she would be away from school because she was needed in Hanson due to a death in the family. Relatives later confirmed there was no death in the family.

No one is sure exactly why the college student made up the story.

A friend later suggested that Maura Murray may have been under a lot of pressure and wanted to get away to think about something important.

She grabbed some toiletries, a favorite stuffed animal — a monkey given to her by her father– and a necklace her boyfriend had given her. She then departed. Police say she next stopped at a liquor store, bought about $40 worth of alcohol — which police reports say some of which was found in plain sight in her car after the crash– and never returned to Massachusetts.

Fred Murray says his next step will be to try to enlist the help of senior New Hampshire State Police officials but that he continues to wait and marvel at the lack of help. He added, “We’re still going to win.”

When asked to clarify what a win for him would be, he hesitated and said, “There is no win. There is no satisfaction. I have to find her, bring her home and give her a proper burial. Every father who ever drew a breath on the planet should know what happens next.”

Kingston Town Administrator and former State Representative Thomas Calter. (Image Courtesy PACTV)

HALIFAX — Assessors in Halifax met Wednesday, Feb. 6, and briefly discussed personal property tax, in the amount of $12,511.09 that includes delinquent interest, assessors say is owed by Jordan Health and Wellness Center, RKP Capital, LLC, of which Kingston Town Administrator and former State Representative Thomas Calter, of Kingston, is the principal.  The delinquent tax stems from equipment in a gym, the Jordan Fitness Center, that Calter, with his wife, operated at 430 Plymouth Street between 2010 and 2012.

Assessors met and decided not to abate any of the amount despite the fact that Calter said, in both a phone call with the Express and in a letter addressed to the Board of Assessors that he had never received the bills and did not own the gym for part of the assessed period.

“I don’t know of a single taxpayer who would pay taxes on property they didn’t own,” said Calter in the phone conversation. Even though he did not attend the meeting the issue was on the agenda at his request.

“Even if we wanted to do something, we couldn’t and I wouldn’t want to,” said assessor Tom Millias, noting that the board treats everyone the same way and that the abatement appeals period had passed.

The dispute with the Halifax board has been ongoing since May 2016 when, Calter says, he was hand-delivered a letter from Tax Collector Pamela Adduci with personal property tax bills.

He said that he is happy to pay the fair amount of what he owes and proposed an amount much lower – $1,151.20– than what the assessors say he owes, and if they can’t come to an agreement, he will appeal to the Appellate Tax Board.

The meeting, which took less than 15 minutes, was video recorded by Peter Boncek of Kingston, who challenged Calter in the race for State Representative in 2016. 

The calm serene ice on East Monponsett Pond looks deceptively slick – ready for a pair of sharpened blades to write their stories on the surface. Don’t do it! (Photo by Deb Anderson)

Despite the recent cold snaps, officials are warning that the conditions of the ice on many bodies of water across the Commonwealth are uncertain, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). MEMA is warning of an uptick in ice rescues of individuals and pets and is therefore issuing safety precautions to be taken on frozen lakes, rivers, bogs and ponds.

“Before we experience a tragedy that is unfortunately too common this time of year, it is important that we remind everyone, particularly children, of the dangers of unsafe ice,” said MEMA Director Kurt Schwartz. “People may be a bit impatient and venture out on the ice for skating, hockey, ice fishing and other winter sports before understanding the conditions. We highly recommend the use of recreational skating areas provided by the Commonwealth and … local communities. It is very important to exercise precaution and common sense.”

MEMA says you can check with local officials to ensure that safe ice conditions exist. But, due to the uncertainty and constant changing of ice conditions and the dangers presented, they say many officials choose not to endorse the safety of lakes, ponds, streams, bogs or rivers. The strength and thickness of ice should be known before any activity takes place.

Plympton Fire Captain John Sjostedt said, echoing state fire officials, “The only safe ice is at a skating rink. Ice on moving water in rivers, streams and brooks is never safe. The thickness of ice on ponds and lakes depends upon water currents or springs, depth and natural objects. Changes in temperature cause ice to expand and contract, which affects its strength. Because of these factors, ice cannot be called safe.”

Sjostedt added, “Our members are trained to conduct ice rescue if the need arises. The Plympton Firefighters Association recently purchased a new cold weather suit for the department. When we [educate] the public, we fill a five-gallon pail with ice water and put 100 pennies in the bottom of the bucket. We ask the participants to take one penny out of the bucket at a time. This shows them what can happen and how [the] body constricts if they were to fall through the ice.”

The following tips from MEMA could save your life:

•  Never go onto the ice alone. A friend may be able to recue you or go for help if you fall through the ice.

•  Always keep your pets on a leash. If a pet falls through the ice do not attempt to rescue your pet; call 911 or go for help.

•  New ice is usually stronger than old ice. As ice ages, the bond between the crystals decays, making it weaker, even if melting has not occurred.

•  Beware of ice covered with snow. Snow can insulate ice and keep it strong but can also insulate it to keep it from freezing. Snow can also hide cracks, weak and open ice.

•  Slush is a danger sign, indicating that ice is no longer freezing from the bottom and can be weak or deteriorating.

•  Ice formed over flowing water (rivers and lakes containing a large number of springs) is generally 15 percent weaker.

•  Ice seldom freezes or thaws at a uniform rate. It can be one foot thick in one spot and be only a few inches thick 10 feet away.

•  Reach-Throw-Go. If a companion falls through the ice and you are unable to reach that person from shore, throw them something (a rope, jumper cables, tree branch, etc.). If this does not work, go for help or call 911, before you also become a victim. Get medical assistance for the victim immediately.

•  If you fall in, try not to panic. Turn toward the direction from which you came. Place your hands and arms on the unbroken surface, working forward by kicking your feet. Once out, remain lying on the ice (do not stand) and roll away from the hole. Crawl back to your tracks, keeping your weight distributed until you return to solid ice.

Map courtesy of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts/MEMA.

If an emergency were to occur at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, before or after shutdown, the local, state and federal governments have developed complex plans for mitigating such a disaster. The plans are most detailed for a 10-mile radius around the plant known as the Emergency Planning Zone, or EPZ.

Plympton and Halifax are outside the EPZ, although emergency evacuation routes for those within the EPZ run through the two towns, according to publicly available plans.

The 10-mile EPZ, at first glance, might seem arbitrary, but emergency planners deny this.

“The … EPZ is not random; it is based on the NRC’s assessment of the immediate inhalation-based risk following a release or potential release from the plant … If we had a release, the long-term exclusion zone might be larger than the 10-mile EPZ; that would be determined on a case-by-case basis,” according to Massachusetts Emergency Planning Agency (MEMA) representative Christopher Besse.

Residents of surrounding communities that are not in the EPZ, such as Plympton and Halifax, would not be directed to evacuate but might be asked to remain off the roads, if possible, to facilitate the evacuation. This likely would be a request; not a directive that they shelter in place, he said.

If an evacuation was ordered of some, or all of the EPZ, traffic control points would be set up throughout the area to help facilitate the evacuation and movement of vehicles, he said.

Besse said that if a precautionary transfer of school children from schools in the EPZ to host schools outside of the EPZ was initiated, as plans call for, Plympton and Halifax parents would go to the Bridgewater/Raynham Regional High School “host school” to pick up their children as Kingston, including the Silver Lake Regional Middle School and Silver Lake Regional High School, is in the EPZ.

This transfer of school children would be done early in an emergency, before an evacuation of the entire population is ordered, he said. Generally, a full evacuation would not be ordered until the plant is at a higher emergency classification. Planners have prepared for parents of school children to pick up their children at the host school before a full evacuation begins. This timing, he asserts, would help alleviate traffic congestion.

However, if school children were transferred at the same time as an evacuation of the EPZ is taking place, staffed traffic control points and the existence of multiple evacuation routes would be sufficient to effectively move the traffic out of the EPZ and in and out of the host school, Besse said.

  When asked if the emergency plans were realistic, Besse responded, “State and local emergency plans are reviewed by [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] and regularly exercised.”

gency Planning Zone, or EPZ.

Plympton and Halifax are outside the EPZ, although emergency evacua

Attorney Phil Taylor represents Scott Clawson, of Fieldstone Farm, in his request for additional horse shows. (Photo by Abram Neal)

HALIFAX — The Halifax Board of Selectmen met Tuesday, Jan. 8, and tackled a lengthy agenda and five appointments in just under two hours. The agenda was wide-ranging, but the lengthiest item involved horse shows at Fieldstone Farm.

Clawson asks for more horse shows

Scott Clawson, proprietor of Fieldstone Farm, through his Stoneham-based attorney Phil Taylor, was before the board asking for two additional horse shows in June at his equestrian show park on Plymouth Street, and one additional show in August, for a total of three additional shows to the allowable 30.

The number of shows Clawson is allowed to hold is governed by a consent agreement signed between the Town of Halifax through the Board of Selectmen and Clawson, first agreed to by the town, Clawson and the Plymouth County Superior Court in 1993, and then updated after an exhaustive series of meetings with the board prior to August 2017, when a new agreement was signed into force.

The board, especially Kim Roy and Tom Millias, were vocally frustrated with Clawson and the board refused to, for now, allow any additional shows without talking to Halifax Town Counsel.

Millias noted that while the board was being asked to add more shows, “My more specific question is, do we have to do it?”

The answer, according to Taylor, is that they do not, although they can at their discretion without reopening the consent agreement. That interpretation was not shared by the board.

Roy and Millias hammered the attorney because of an ongoing issue Clawson had with the building department, where he was constructing a two-story gazebo, something that the building department was not made aware of in original plans, according to Roy and Millias.

The building department, said Roy, would send correspondence to Clawson, but he did not communicate back with the town to resolve the issue in a timely manner.

A solution was eventually found, according to Millias, in which the gazebo is to be used for non-commercial use and is one-story, but only after the town spent considerable effort to attempt to get Clawson to comply with the building department.

Although the issue was separate from the question of adding additional shows, the board in its entirety was visibly annoyed.

Selectman Troy Garron noted that Clawson did not appear to have respect for the authority of the town’s boards, but especially the selectmen.

Millias, who happens to be the Plympton Building Inspector, noted that ultimately responsibility lies with the property owner when the attorney blamed a contractor for the gazebo issue.

Roy said she did not want to punish a business in town but did not want to reward bad-behavior.

The board will take up the issue again at their next meeting, Jan. 22, 2019.

Cremation Wall

The board approved $10,000 for Highway Surveyor and Cemetery Superintendent Steve Hayward to begin a test run of a “cremation wall” in the Halifax Central Cemetery. The wall, which works somewhat like a post office box, allows family members of the deceased to receive a key to the box where remains are kept as a memento.

Hayward said the money for the wall would come from the “Lots and Graves” account, and that the wall could be built in sections, modularly, as land is cleared and usage is gauged.

Town Administrator Charlie Seelig said that cremation is becoming more and more popular as traditional burials are much more expensive.

Union Files Grievance

AFSCME Council 93 Local 1700, the union representing a highway worker who had filed a previous grievance against Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward, has filed a new grievance against the town on Jan. 2.  The original grievance regarded a worker being denied a heavy equipment operator (HEO) position– a decision that the Board of Selectmen upheld in a Dec. 21, 2018 executive session.

The recent grievance alleges that the town should not have released information to the public following the December executive session.  Information released to the Express regarding the employee did not paint the worker in a positive light.   The December meeting was reported by the Express and the new complaint will be heard by the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations.

The information regarding the latest grievance was obtained through a verbal public records request by the Express.

In Other News:

• The board scheduled a Special Town Meeting for Monday, Feb. 25, at 7:30 p.m. at the Halifax Elementary School to address funding for that school’s fire suppression system construction project. More information will follow.

• Police Chief Joao Chaves requested that Animal Control Officer Noreen Callahan be appointed Police Matron for the department. The position may be regionalized at some point, he said. Callahan joined the department in 2013 and when asked by selectmen how she felt about taking the position said, “I feel great about it.”

• Police Officer Thomas Hall will retire in February after 21 years with the Halifax Police Department. The board regretfully accepted his resignation and wished Hall luck with his future endeavors.

• The Board of Selectmen will next meet Jan. 22, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room of Halifax Town Hall.

HALIFAX — On Monday, Dec. 31, Halifax Fire Chief Jason Viveiros announced two grants that the department had received from the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services.

The first, for $3,754, is a 2018 Student Awareness for Fire Education– or S.A.F.E.– grant that will be used to conduct fire education programs for school-aged children.

The second, for $2,400, is a senior S.A.F.E. grant to conduct fire education programs for seniors, and also to purchase fire prevention items for the Halifax senior population.

According to Chief Stephen Silva of the Plympton Fire Department, they have applied for the same grant, as well, and are expecting to receive an award from DFS soon, although they have not received a decision letter yet.

A spokesman for DFS said the grant is non-competitive.

Chief Viveiros recognized Captain Matthew Cunningham and Captain Jeffrey Cuozzo for their work in obtaining the grant funds.

Friday’s wind topple tree onto shed at 12 Forestdale Drive, Halifax. (Photo courtesy Halifax Fire Department)

HALIFAX — On Dec. 22, 2018, around 3:30 p.m., Halifax first-responders answered a call to 12 Forestdale Drive for a tree toppled by high winds that had completely crushed a shed and ruptured a 250-gallon oil tank, according to Halifax Fire Chief Jason Viveiros on Wednesday.

Approximately 125-gallons of oil spilled before the department’s arrival, he said.

Firefighters were able to stop the leak by plugging the hole in the tank and applying a leak-stopping putty.

Williams Oil also responded and was able to transfer the remaining oil into a temporary tank, said Viveiros.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection was called to the scene by the Halifax Fire Department and they will oversee the cleanup process, according to Chief Viveiros.

Halifax Mobile Home Estates’ management hired a licensed site professional and Global Environmental Services to conduct the cleanup, he added.

No injuries were reported.

Justin Kilburn, 30, stands in court at his latest appearance on Thursday, Dec. 13. (Photo by Abram Neal)

PLYMOUTH — Justin Kilburn, 30, was before Judge Cornelius J. Moriarty, II, Thursday, Dec. 13, in Plymouth Superior Court for a status hearing and a May trial date was assigned.  The Kingston man is accused in the death of Diane Giordani, 52, of Plympton, and her German Shepherd, following a collision on County Road, Route 106, in Plympton May 10.

Giordani and her dog “Blitz” died at the scene of the collision after her vehicle was struck head-on by Kilburn’s truck, according to a previous release from Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz’s office.

Kilburn was indicted on one count of motor vehicle manslaughter by operating under the influence of alcohol and motor vehicle homicide by operating under the influence of alcohol June 5, according to the DA.

Several family members and friends of Giordani were present at the brief hearing, including her husband and sister.

The court selected two pre-trial hearing dates to address issues before trial, a March 1, 2019, status hearing and an April 30, 2019, final pre-trial conference. The court also set a trial date of May 6, 2019.

The judge, Moriarty, asked if this was the type of case that could be settled with a lobby conference, where both parties could agree on a disposition without going to trial.

ADA Russell Eonas responded that it was possible, but that the commonwealth would not be taking the vehicular manslaughter by OUI charge off-the-table.

The collision was investigated by Plympton Police, State Police detectives assigned to the DA’s office, the State Police CARS Unit and State Police Crime Scene Services. Police allege that Kilburn was driving his pickup truck at a high rate of speed, when he crossed the center line and struck the car driven by Giordani head-on. The investigation found that Kilburn had a blood alcohol content level of .17 percent at the time of the crash, according to the DA’s office.

Jack Atwood, a Plymouth-based defense attorney was appointed by the court to defend Kilburn.

Michael Giordani, Diane’s husband, when asked how he was after the hearing, said simply, “It’s a tough time of year.”

Kilburn remains confined at home with a GPS ankle monitor.

HALIFAX — Selectmen met Tuesday, Dec. 12, and swiftly voted on various classes of license renewals (alcoholic beverage licenses, common victualler licenses, automotive licenses and others) before quickly executing their relatively short agenda around appointments, including a closed-door executive session involving a Highway Department union grievance appeal. In a rare move, the board came out of executive session into open session and immediately announced their findings to the public regarding the appeal.

Highway Surveyor decision upheld

The Selectmen upheld a decision by the elected Highway Surveyor and Cemetery Superintendent R. Steven Hayward to deny highway worker Steve Waterman, of Kingston, a heavy equipment operator (HEO) position, with its requisite pay, in that executive session. After the hearing, the board released information regarding Waterman’s grievance, including allegations of his poor job performance and behavior on the job.

According to a letter to the board dated Dec. 5 from Dave Swanson, union steward of AFSCME Council 93 Local 1700, Hayward had denied multiple requests by Waterman for the HEO position over the previous 18 months, allegedly in violation of two articles of the union’s contract – article XXIX regarding heavy equipment operators and article XVIII regarding seniority.

In November, the months-long issue came to a head, and Waterman, along with Swanson and union representative Kim Silvia, demanded Hayward produce his reasons for denying the HEO position in writing.

Hayward wrote a letter outlining his reasons which included a lack of initiative for daily duties, not working well with others, lack of common department knowledge, causing delays in projects by not completing them fully, abusing equipment and working despite expired licenses.

“It has been a year and half [sic] since I was elected to my position and in that time, I have given Steve Waterman two verbal warnings, written him up twice and given him a two-day suspension. I have not seen any change or improvement in Steve’s work performance, attitude or ability…” stated Hayward in that letter.

Following the written explanation, the union filed a grievance with Hayward, which he rejected. Waterman next appealed to the Selectmen, who upheld the highway surveyor’s decision to deny Waterman the position.

Should Waterman wish to appeal the board’s decision, he would next select either the American Arbitration Association or the Labor Relations Connection for a binding decision, according to Town Administrator Charlie Seelig.

Police staffing changes

Chief Joao Chaves was before the board requesting that permanent intermittent police officer Andrew W. Lyczynski, 23, be promoted as a full-time patrol officer in response to police officer Robert Brigg’s impending retirement effective Dec. 31.

The board enthusiastically accepted the chief’s recommendation, on the condition that he pass a physical and the full-time police academy, and there were handshakes all-around as Lyczynski excitedly signed paperwork.

The board, at Chaves request as well, voted to call up the civil service list to fill vacancies in the department, as he expects at least two retirements in 2019 and will also need a replacement for Lyczynski.

Popes Tavern Ethernet aging

Networking problems at Popes Tavern have left the Council on Aging with unreliable access to the internet and town intranet, said Seelig, and he says it’s not fair that town employees are not able to sit down at their desks and get their work done nor is it fair to the town’s IT director, Cesar Calouro, Jr., or to himself – Seelig also often deals with IT problems for the town as he is quite tech-savvy – to constantly be fixing problems there when a new ethernet wiring system and server are needed at the historic building.

The board approved Seelig’s request to go straight to the finance committee to ask for $8,000 in emergency funding to fix the problem so that employees and patrons of the CoA do not have to wait until a town meeting for a solution.

Next meeting

The Board of Selectmen will next meet Jan. 8, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room of Town Hall.