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Halifax Elementary budget proposed at 2.18% increase

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The Halifax School Committee began their Monday, January 6 meeting with a review of the budget. The meeting was the last for Superintendent Joy Blackwood before her retirement. Blackwood said that herself, new superintendent (former assistant superintendent) Jill Proulx, and Director of Business Services Christine Healy have been working on five budgets simultaneously.

The Halifax Finance Committee requested a level service budget during a meeting with administrators. As a result, requests for additional staff were not included in the budget being presented Monday. Those requests include an additional teacher for a much larger than average class size, a math coach, and a band teacher. Currently band is offered after school only and at a cost. Blackwood would like to see the program reinstated during school hours in order to allow all students to participate and level the playing field. It would be a shared position between Halifax and Dennett Elementary in Plympton. Kingston brought band back this past year.

Halifax Elementary School principal Kayne Beaudry developed three options to fulfill the need for additional help with the large grade. The most obvious, but most expensive, option would be to hire a new classroom teacher. Another option would be to move a classroom teacher from a grade with a lower enrollment, in this case the current kindergarten class. Another option for the current school year would be to reassign some support staff.

Blackwood said that the budget reflects a 65 percent reimbursement from Circuit Breaker, the state special education reimbursement program, although that number could be as high as 72 percent. According to Blackwood the special education numbers reflect that the school is meeting the current and anticipated needs of all students.

Four students are graduating from the out of district vocational program. Three spots will be saved for students that will potentially apply before the deadline in April. Unless someone moves into the town, $27,000 will be returned from this account to the town.

Utilities decreased substantially for the fiscal year 2020-2021 budget thanks to the new roof, new siding, and new doors. “Halifax invested heavily in this building and it is really reflected; we’re actually seeing real numbers… it’s pretty exciting to be able to say that and that’s not a sentence I can say in any other district.”

Enrollment in Halifax has been decreasing over the last ten years. In 2010 enrollment at Halifax Elementary stood at 652 and by 2019 it was down to 586. The same trend is seen for Halifax students at the secondary level. Homeschool enrollment has been holding steady around 5 students for the last few years. Additionally, 10 Halifax students attend school out of the district through school choice. The town receives no Chapter 70 funding for students attending school elsewhere (either through school choice or homeschooling). The good news is that the lower enrollment numbers mean a decrease in the assessment for Halifax whereas Kingston will see an increase.

The busing number that is currently in the budget is just a placeholder and Blackwood said that they hope to have a final number by February. There are no retirements in Halifax and thus there will be no cost savings related to that.

“We’re coming in at a very reasonable percentage increase, I think,” Blackwood said of the increase of 2.18 percent in the proposed budget thus far.

Halifax Elementary School Chairman Summer Schmaling gave an update on the Halifax Youth and Recreation Department (HYRD).  Director Dick Steele said they are moving into their winter phase with both town basketball and travel basketball kicking off.

Steele also extended a thank you to the school for the use of their facilities as well as the additional help they provide to make Holidays in Halifax a success. Steele will be in touch with school building administrators about redoing the floor in the gym during April vacation. The next big event on the radar for the department will be the egg hunt in March.

Beaudry reported on recent and upcoming events at the school. Beaudry spoke highly of the winter concert led by music teacher Brenda Lessard and performed by the chorus. “It is great to get everybody in the gymnasium all together,” Beaudry said.

A new event this year was the MARC (Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center) Assembly. MARC is part of Bridgewater State and the assembly, which is presented by a Bridgewater State student, focuses on anti-bullying and anti-cyber-bullying. “The presenter was amazing, really kind of knew all the current lingo and terminology and talked to the students on their level,” Beaudry told the committee.

The MCAS calendar is out and is available on the school website. The testing window for English and Language Arts (ELA) will be from April 13 to May 1.  Math testing will be held from May 5 to May 15 and science for Grade 5 will be on May 19.

At the close of the meeting, Schmaling took the time to thank Blackwood for her years of dedication saying, “I’m grateful for you always being there, being a mentor… asking and answering any questions that we might have. I really appreciate and value our relationship and everything that you’ve done to support our committee and our town and our children both in this town and throughout the entire district… the amount of manpower and hours and dedication that you bring to our community doesn’t go unnoticed.” Blackwood said, “Thank you, it’s been an honor and a privilege. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here in the district and it really has meant the world to me to be your superintendent.”

Lynch is new SL Asst. Superintendent

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A joint meeting of the Silver Lake Regional School Committee and Union 31 was held on January 9 in order to interview and potentially hire a new assistant superintendent.

Newly promoted from assistant superintendent to superintendent, Jill Proulx told those gathered that she had previously worked with candidate Ryan Lynch for five years during her tenure as assistant superintendent in Scituate.  Lynch was the English Department chairman for the Scituate Public Schools from 2008-2015 before serving as principal of the Lester J. Gates Middle School in Scituate from 2015-2019.

Lynch, who grew up on the South Shore, received his Bachelor of Arts degree from The University of Notre Dame and completed his master’s degree at Brown University.

Lynch comes to the table with nearly two decades’ worth of experience as a classroom teacher in addition to his administrative roles.

Proulx described Lynch as having a “devotion to meeting the needs of all learners” as well as a “growth mindset.” “I think we would be very lucky to have Ryan on our team,” Proulx said.

“I am the product of a public high school. I believe in the power of schools and the value of public service. My mother is a retired high school principal and that really inspired me to see the kind of work that school districts can do to change lives,” Lynch told the committee and Union 31.

Regional School Committee Chair Jason Fraser said, “The build to this point in your career is rather unique as you were so long in the classroom and in the trenches, which is something that many of us have said many, many times that we really look for in someone coming forth in an administrative position.”

Many of those present took the opportunity to ask Lynch a variety of questions on topics such as “initiative fatigue” and charter schools. Those present were impressed with Lynch’s responses.

Jeanne Coleman, a member of both the Kingston School Committee and Union 31, was a part of the search committees that unanimously forwarded Lynch on as the sole candidate. Coleman said, “He’s very authentic and very positive. Every one of the questions that we asked him, which were pretty heavy, he answered very thoroughly and also with a lot of optimism for our district and also with a lot of knowledge about our district already.”

Regional School Committee member Paula Hatch said that she considered Proulx and Lynch’s time working together in Scituate to be a positive. Hatch said, “Sometimes it’s hard when somebody comes in to get a rhythm going… I would think there would be an immediate gel moving into the team and that’s a big hurdle that you’ve already jumped over and that’s a wonderful thing for the district that you’re already that much further ahead in the process.”

Lynch was unanimously voted through by both the Union and the Regional School Committee as the next assistant superintendent.

Regional Budget Discussed

Once the joint meeting adjourned, the regional school committee began their budget discussion. Superintendent Joy Blackwood said that herself, Proulx, and Director of Business Services Christine Healy have been meeting frequently to build the budget for fiscal year 2020-2021.

Blackwood said that version one of the budget came in much too high and that middle school principal Jim Dupille and high school principal Michaela Gill joined Blackwood, Proulx, and Healy in trying to reduce that number. They were successful in cutting $331,239 from version one without cutting staff. Blackwood said, “I’m sort of willing to cut most anything except staff; that’s always my last resort.”

The original version of the budget was coming in at 3.84 percent while version two came in at 3.34 percent. Much of what was cut was equipment including bleachers, technology items, and books. “We cut pretty much to the bone,” Blackwood explained. Blackwood said that finding cuts is quite difficult as 98 percent of the budget is fixed costs.

Decreasing enrollment

Blackwood said that enrollment has been decreasing over the last ten years but did note that the number of students being homeschooled has also decreased. Twelve students at the grade 7-12 level are currently attending school in surrounding districts due to school choice.

“I had not realized the numbers that we are losing to school choice,” Blackwood said. Of Silver Lake considering school choice, Blackwood commented, “Considering our financial situation and the fact that we have space, it may be worth considering going forward. I’m not saying it’s the right thing to do but I think I would be remiss in not mentioning it as a potential source.” Currently there are 293 students enrolled in the career and technical education program (CTE), which accounts for 26 percent of the entire high school.

There are five retirements including some aide positions that will not be replaced, providing clean savings for the budget. Blackwood said that the addition of an allied health teacher as well as a nurse leader were not included in the current version of the budget. In order to seek Chapter 74 certification for the allied health program at the high school, a second teacher will need to be added. Half of the program, which is currently the most popular of all the CTE offerings, can be paid for through a grant but the other half, roughly $30,000, will need to be added into the budget. The position will be paid for by the additional Chapter 74 income but that won’t take Effect until the year after next. The nurse leader position would be a shared cost position were it to come to fruition. Several members of the committee said that despite the need for further cuts they would still be supportive of adding these two positions.

There are a few areas that may potentially provide further cost savings when the final numbers are received. A five percent increase is currently built in for health insurance, but that number may likely be as low as three percent, providing roughly a $56,000 savings. The district is going out to bid for the bus contract and the number currently entered into the budget is quite fiscally conservative. Blackwood said that they are hopeful to have those numbers finalized by the February committee meeting.

Perhaps the biggest hit to the budget is the contribution to the Plymouth County Retirement. The contribution this year is up $111,238. Blackwood and Healy said that they are at a loss as to why the large increase.

Principals Dupille and Gill both addressed the methods that have been taken for curbing the vaping epidemic in the schools as well as the approach to disciplining those found using vaping devices. A vape detection system was purchased and installed over the summer but has been malfunctioning since. Administrators reached out to the company and have since deactivated the system.  A new devices will be reactivated in the next few weeks.

Gill said that a task committee was formed to study discipline data related to vaping. What was found was that the traditional approach consisting of multi-day suspensions, etc. was largely ineffective in deterring use.  The school has started to develop a deviation program, based on the one used in the Belmont school district, that would provide education, support, and counseling for students to help with their addiction. Some students have done the Upper Academy in North River which is a 5-day program, in lieu of a suspension, that focuses on counseling and therapy and learning about what’s causing their addiction. The end goal is to start a four-week long program in-house at Silver Lake that would provide similar services. Gill said that another goal is providing a safe space where students can self-report and receive help.

The administration also recently partnered with the allied health program and the SADD (students against destructive decisions) program to unite students and staff together to combat the epidemic. The allied health students hope to reach out to students across all age levels in the district in order to help with education and prevention.

The SADD students are working on school PSAs to spread awareness about vaping and the dangers associated with it. Silver Lake Regional School Committee student representative Jake Twomey is enrolled in the allied health program and is also a part of the coalition of staff and students intent on working on a solution to the ever growing problem of vaping.

Twomey said that the students intend to do a presentation aimed at high school students, another one aimed at middle school students, and still another for the youngest cohort at the elementary level. Twomey explained that the hope is that the words would carry more weight coming from students. He also said that the goal is to focus not just on fixing the problem, but also on preventing it. A student support group is another idea that has been floated.

Dupille said that students undergo SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) screenings. Additionally, the school offers anti-vaping programs throughout the year including this past week’s Vaping Me Crazy led by presenter Michael DeLeon. Dupille stressed that such presentations are open to anyone and are not limited to middle school parents.

Vice chair of the Regional School Committee Eric Crone said that he has been alarmed at the number of parents and grandparents who believe that vaping is not addicting and mild compared to what people of an older generation were doing in school. The consensus among the committee was that oftentimes parents as well as students need to be better educated regarding the risks associated with vaping.

Superintendent Joy Blackwood Prepares for Retirement

Staff threw a retirement party for Blackwood to thank her for her many years of service at Silver Lake. During Thursday’s meeting, Gill said, “On behalf of Jim and I and all of our staff and our students Joy, we just wanted to express our heartfelt thank you for your dedication and service to this district. We’re going to miss you, wish you all the best in your retirement, and we just want to publicly acknowledge all that you have done for our students and thank you for that.”

Fraser said, “The biggest impact you’ve had on my life is the impact you’ve had on my children’s lives.”

Twin stores proposed in Plympton to sell mini towers

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The first three hearings scheduled for Monday, January 13 with the Plympton Planning Board all requested continuances to later dates. The remaining hearing was for CLE, LLC to seek site plan approval to construct two buildings at 0 Palmer Rd. to be used as retail/showroom spaces for cellular nodes.

Cellular nodes are small low-powered antennas, sometimes referred to as small cells, that provide coverage and capacity much like a cellular tower.  These nodes, which are often placed on utility poles, streetlights, etc., are necessary to power 5G technology which handles large amounts of data at extremely fast speeds. According to CLE, LLC owner Kevin Farrell, who was present at Monday’s hearing, his customers include Crown Castle, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint.

Farrell said that the nodes are manufactured at a fabrication shop on Wood St. in Middleboro. Since the facility is not conducive to displaying the nodes for potential clients, Farrell intends to use the proposed buildings on Palmer Rd. as a showroom and retail facility where customers can go to view and purchase the nodes.

CLE, LLC was represented Monday by their attorney Edward Conroy and by a representative of Webby Engineering. Farrell stressed that the proposed buildings would be strictly for business use and emphasized his belief that they fit well into the character of the area as it is a business district.

Planning Board member Paul D’Angelo recused himself from the Board as he knows Farrell. Chair Ann Sobolewski and Planning Board members Jennifer MacDonald, John Schmid, and Jay Cohen were all present. Conroy said that Farrell has been putting these nodes up throughout Boston and handed the Board photos of them.

Sobolewski said that the town’s technical review engineer was unable to review the plans due to a death in the family. He will, however, review the plans prior to the next hearing and provide feedback to the applicant.

The proposed buildings are 80 ft. x 90 ft. and are 7,200 sq. ft. each. The lot is 12 acres. Sobolewski asked what the rationale was for having two identical buildings to be used for the same purposes. The engineer explained that the town restricts retail spaces to be less than 10,000 sq. ft. in size. Additionally, there was a problem with the installation of sprinklers in a building over 7,500 sq. ft. According to Farrell there will only be one sign on one of the two buildings.

Farrell said there would be 6-8 employees, but they would not all be full-time or on-site. The initial plan would be to have two employees in each of the buildings.

Schmid had a number of technical questions for the engineer that appeared to reveal problems with the proposed plan that would need to be fixed before proceeding. Several questions from the Board regarded the aesthetics of the buildings themselves. Schmid asked if the green color depicted in the plans was really the intended color of the actual buildings and was told that it was but that it could be changed if the town preferred something else.

MacDonald also reminded them that there were some specific requirements such as 60 percent of the building consisting of windows. Sobolewski asked if they had any waivers for the parts of the plans that do not align with town requirements and was told that they did not.

The hearing was opened to public participation and abutter Siobhan Green took the opportunity to share her concerns. Green, who said that she has lived in her residence for 18 years, said that during that time there have been three owners of the property at 0 Palmer Rd. Green said that the previous owner dumped truckloads of dirt that have resulted in “ferocious” flooding to her property.

“I worry about people holding to their word because everybody that has bought the property has somehow lied or defied the town in one way or another in what they plan to do with it and how they plan to handle it,” Green explained. Green went on to describe a past incident where a number of trucks idled on the property as early as 3 a.m.

In examining the site plans, Green noted that it looked like several trees would have to be taken down that would appear to result in a full view from her property of the buildings to be constructed. “I am partial, of course, to the woods, that’s why I moved to Plympton…I like the rural beauty of it,” Green explained.

Sobolewski said that there are a lot of things that can be done to provide attractive screening. “One of the things that this Board has routinely, as John said, been focused on is appropriate landscaping especially when there is a residential abutter because your home is your biggest asset that is your value of your land and we’ve really taken that to heart. A lot of our applicants are very forthcoming and willing to meet with abutters and talk to them,” Sobolewski told Green.

Green also questioned the area of the property that she believed to be wetlands. CLE, LLC will have to come before the Conservation Commission because they are within 100 ft. of wetlands. They will also still need to go before the Board of Health as well.

A site walk has been scheduled for February 8 at 11:30 a.m. All abutters are invited to participate. A continuance of the hearing has also been scheduled for February 10 at 7:15 p.m.

The Laker boys’ indoor track tops Plymouth North 43-57

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Dave Palana
Express correspondent

Junior Sam Shirikjian had a big day for the Lakers with a 6.89-second 55-meter dash to set a new personal best in place among all Patriot League sprinters at the meet. Shirikjian ran another personal best to place fourth overall in the 300 meters in 38.27 seconds.

Senior Nicholas Ierardi also ran a personal best to place third in the 55-meter hurdles in 8.37 seconds while Christopher Tilton ran into fifth place in the 600 meters and the Lakers’ 4×200 relay team outran Plymouth’s.

In the field events, Brandon Hooper placed fifth in the shot put. Ierardi also picked up points in the high and long jumps while Shirikjian also earned points in the long jump and Joseph Wennemer picked up points in the high jump.

Changes at Plympton Post Office

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Residents may have noticed a new emptiness at the Plympton Post Office.  While the clerks remain the same, and the service over the counter is the same, where are the mail carriers?  Where is the mail?

Online shoppers during the holiday season bombarded the little building with an avalanche of packages that made sorting the mail and preparing it for delivery a dangerous proposition.

One worker noted that it became an emergency situation and became unsafe for everyone behind the counter.

Now Plympton mail carriers are working out of the spacious Carver post office.  The same rural carriers are working their same postal routes, they said, but the carriers work from the Carver location.

“There is no plan to bring the carriers back to Plympton – not to this location – because it is just too small, “ a worker told The Express.  For now, service will remain the same, just happening from two locations.

Halifax, Plympton look into GATRA, BAT bus options

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The Plympton Board of Selectmen met Monday, January 6 for the first time since the holidays. Selectman Mark Russo was absent, but Chair Christine Joy and Selectman John Traynor were in attendance. Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy said she met with Halifax Town Administrator Charlie Seelig and Brockton Area Transit (BAT) to discuss what services BAT could potentially offer both Plympton and Halifax. “What we found out,” Dennehy explained, “is that they have a couple of different ideas as far as involvement.” The first, most introductory level, would involve BAT helping build the towns’ volunteer base. In this scenario, BAT would help coordinate with Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) on training initiatives. Dennehy explained that this would be beneficial as volunteers could be covered on insurance once they had completed some sort of formal training.

A mid-level involvement includes BAT working with MassDot to help the town acquire more vehicles to be utilized by volunteer drivers. This would require more formal involvement including identifying a bus stop. Traynor asked what kind of charges were associated with each service. Dennehy said that while they didn’t get into cost during this initial meeting, BAT was aware of the assessments for both Plympton and Halifax and seemed willing to work within those constraints.

Dennehy said that much of BAT’s funding comes from MassDOT as well as the federal government and a lot of numbers were needed to support their requests. Dennehy said, “Charlie and I have to kind of go back to the drawing board and figure out what our demand really is. They’re going to work us through that and give us some tools.”

Dennehy also discussed the best possible method to gather data such as when and where rides would most be in demand. Options include surveying residents, attending Council on Aging meetings, and reaching out via social media.

BAT appeared to be interested in having Plympton and Halifax bring a third town aboard. There is currently a well-established program in Hanson and BAT encouraged Dennehy and Seelig to reach out to them for more details. BAT also encouraged Plympton and Halifax to continue to pursue The Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA) as they might be a better fit.

Traynor and Dennehy also met with the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce earlier Monday. Traynor described the meeting as “positive” and “very successful” and said, “the takeaways from that is they could assist us by providing letters to either GATRA or BAT.” They also told Traynor and Dennehy that they could provide assistance to some smaller businessess in town by highlighting them throughout the region. They would also be able to hold a grand opening for any new businesses that may come into town. Traynor emphasized that they were interested in hearing about both SYSCO and Hubbell Inc.

Plympton awarded $93,000 in Choice Small Town Grant

Dennehy shared with the selectmen that the town was successful in securing a Housing Choice Small Town Grant in the amount of $93,000. The grant is available to Massachusetts’ towns with populations under 7,000 residents. Dennehy said the money would be put toward a consultant who will work with the Town Campus Committee.

And then there were five on ConCom

The Board voted to reduce the number of people on the Conservation Commission from seven to five members. Two of the members have left town and the Commission was having difficulty with quorum issues. Remaining members include Richard Burnet, Amy B. Cronin, Linda Leddy, Michael Matern, and Marta J. Nover. The Board also voted to appoint Rob Firlotte as the highway superintendent (he was previously serving as an interim) through June 30, 2020.

Class 2 licenses approved

The Board also voted to approve several Class 2 licenses for various business in town. Those businesses include Angel’s Auto and Towing, Carey Auto Inc., Competition Auto, Plympton Sand and Gravel, and Plympton Cycles. Conditions specify the number and type of vehicles to be sold as well as limiting the number of vehicles to be displayed. Other conditions include that the premises be kept neat.  All conditions are subject to change with thirty days’ notice from the Board of Selectmen.

As is customary, the Board ended their meeting with their rants or raves for the last few weeks. Traynor said,

“I thought the meeting today with the council kind of showed that Plympton, even though it’s very small, has lots of resources and we know how to go out and touch on them.”

For her rave, Joy said she was impressed with the turnout at town meeting and was thankful that both the funding for the Council on Aging van and the article to enable the Board of Selectmen to make safety zones passed.

Traynor said that the success of town meeting was a testament to all of those working on the various boards.

Joy agreed saying, “It’s not like it used to be. We’ve got a very good group of people who are doing their homework and making presentations that make sense to the residents and there is a level of comfort and trust with it. We’ve come a long way.”

Local fire dept. grants

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KINGSTON -State Representative Kathy LaNatra (D-Kingston) commended Governor Charlie Baker and Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito recently for their support of $920,000 in grant awards to 174 Massachusetts fire departments for gear and equipment for that will reduce firefighters’ exposure to cancer-causing chemicals on the job.

All of the communities within Representative LaNatra’s district, with the exception of Duxbury, received funds in these grant awards. There are two different grants. For the first, the Firefighter Turnout Gear Grant program will provide firefighters in 144 departments with new hoods and gloves for structural firefighting activities. These items will reduce exposure to cancer-causing chemicals in the head and hand areas, which are high-risk areas for dangerous chemicals to enter the body. In total, approximately 3,000 hoods and 3,000 pairs of gloves will be purchased with the $500,000 from this program. Communities receiving grants in the district included Halifax, $2,390.07; Kingston, $2,506.25; Plymouth, $2,496; and Plympton, $2,440.

Through the Washer-Extractor Equipment Grant, $420,000 was awarded to 75 departments that will receive a new washer-extractor to clean their structural firefighting gear after exposure to smoke and other toxic chemicals. Because some of the recipient agencies are purchasing regional-use machines, 84 departments will actually benefit from them.  A national standard set by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) on the care and cleaning of structural firefighting gear delineates specific types of machines that should be used to effectively remove cancer-causing chemicals after each fire. All washer-extractors purchased with this grant will meet this standard, and enable personnel to wear clean gear each time they leave the fire station for an emergency. The town of Middleboro received a grant of $5,000.

Representative LaNatra said, “First responders face so many dangers on a daily basis. I am thrilled to see the Baker-Polito administration taking an active role in first responder safety and ensuring that they are able to perform their jobs without the risk posed by out-of-date equipment.”

Representative LaNatra’s district includes all residents of Halifax, Kingston and Plympton, as well as residents of Precincts 1, 11 and 13 in Plymouth; Precinct 1 in Middleboro; and Precinct 1 in Duxbury.

She maintains regular office hours throughout the district. For additional information, please contact Chris Jean, Christopher.Jean@MAhouse.gov. Meetings can also be arranged by appointment.

Roofer Will sentenced

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BROCKTON – A South Shore contractor who ran a scheme to defraud dozens of homeowners out of many thousands of dollars has pleaded guilty to larceny and other charges, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz has announced.

Late Monday, Matthew R. Will,  of Pembroke, pleaded guilty to one count each of Larceny of Property Over $1,200 by Single Scheme, State Building Code Violation and Money Laundering.  Will additionally pleaded guilty to seven counts of Home Improvement Contracting Violations and three counts each of Forgery and Uttering.  Brockton Superior Judge Mark A. Hallal sentenced Will to serve 2-3 years in State prison with three years of probation from and after.   Once released on probation, Will must adhere to the court ordered conditions that he stay away and have no contact with the victims of the case, surrender his contractor’s license, submit to a substance abuse evaluation, cooperate with victims of the case seeking restitution through the state fund and remove the roofing company’s website from the internet.

In July 2018, a Middleboro Police investigation began when at least 15 individuals reported that Will had defrauded them out of funds ranging from  $800 to $12,000.  The extensive grand jury investigation revealed a substantial criminal enterprise involving multiple victims that extends across the entire state.   In total, the investigation found that approximately 39 victims, ranging in age from 50 years-old up to 94, were defrauded in the towns of Middleboro, Kingston, Duxbury, Brockton, Plympton, Wareham, North Easton, Hanson, Falmouth, and Pembroke.   The approximate total amount that Will defrauded customers of is in excess of $250,000.

On March 2 and 3, 2018, a severe Nor’easter storm struck the New England region, with heavy rains that caused extensive power outages as a result of downed trees.   Many homes within Oak Point, a large retirement community in Middleboro for people aged 55 and over, were left badly damaged from the storm.  Will, doing business as 5-Star Discount Roofing, offered his services to homeowners to repair their roofs.   Will took payments and never returned to start any work.   Homeowners often found themselves unable to get a hold of Matthew Will who ignored concerned texts and calls from customers.

In late July, 2018, Hanson Police Department received a complaint from a couple who reported that Will had defrauded them when they hired him to replace damaged shingles on their newly purchased home.   In August 2018, Kingston Police were contacted by a couple who also reported that Will had defrauded them after providing him with a down payment for his roofing services.   In November 2018, Wareham Police also received a report from a customer who reported that Will had defrauded him after accepting payment to repair his roof in East Bridgewater.

Will held a Construction Supervisor’s License from the state and was operating his business as 5-Star Discount Roofing out of a Halifax address.   

Will engaged in a pattern of criminal conduct or scheme while operating as a contractor through 5-Star Discount Roofing.

The investigation further found that Will made false statements about the length of time to complete projects to induce customers to employ him, that he received funds from customers’ jobs but then did not pay his employees, vendors or for equipment.

Will forged and uttered the signatures of customers on contracts submitted to obtain building permits and used false names to obtain jobs with customers.

Will continued to remain in business well after these initial reports were made to police, falsely telling customers in Pembroke, Hanson, and Falmouth that the name of his company was “Matthew Ryan Roofing.:  The customers, unaware of the allegations against Will, hired him to repair their roofs and were unable to reach him after he failed to start any work.

“Mr. Will promised necessary home improvements to these victims, many of whom were elderly, and event went to so far as to use conditions of a Nor’Easter storm to his advantage,” DA Cruz said.   “Though his schemes and scams he victimized these people and stole from them – first their trust, and then their money.  I am hopeful that Mr. Will will spend some time in state prison thinking about his manipulative actions toward this vulnerable group of victims.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Alexander Zane and was investigated by Sgt. Eugene Andrews of the Hanson Police and the Middleboro Police Department, Pembroke Police Department and Wareham Police Department.

State Rep. LaNatra looks ahead to ‘20

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State Representative Kathleen LaNatra, who serves the 12th Plymouth District, held constituent hours on Monday, December 23 at the Holmes Public Library in Halifax. LaNatra holds constituent hours monthly for each of the towns she represents. The Express had the opportunity to sit down with both Representative LaNatra and her legislative aid Chris Jean to get a sense of what was accomplished in the last year as well as what’s on the docket for 2020.

Jean said that LaNatra was pleased with her committee assignments in her first year in office.  LaNatra serves on a number of committees but was especially pleased to be appointed to the Joint Committee on Economic Development as well as the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs. LaNatra has spent a great deal of time volunteering at the Council on Aging as well as Meals on Wheels and considers elder affairs to be priority for her. “We have a really big shortage right now of CNA’s and nurses… they’re not paid very well and it is a really tough job,” LaNatra explained.  She continued, “We’re very concerned about our senior population now – are there going to be people to take care of them? We have nursing homes closing. These are major concerns. There are many bills on these subjects so hopefully we’ll be taking some of them up.”

LaNatra has sponsored a number of bills currently in committee. The David Hanson Act focuses on boater safety and would implement a required boating education program prior to operating a boat. Hanson, who inspired the bill, was a 20-year-old call firefighter in Kingston who tragically died during a boating accident in Plymouth Bay in 2010.  Another bill sponsored by LaNatra aims to increase the penalties for hit and runs involving recreational vehicles.

The bill is to be known as the James Ward Act. Ward was only 14 when he was killed following an off-road vehicle accident while riding his dirt bike in 2012.

The operator of the other bike involved in the collision said he was leaving to get help but never returned.

LaNatra said, “A lot of our bills have really sad stories to them so we become emotionally connected to the families too. They’re very important to us and we think about them daily; we’re always trying to advocate for them.” Regarding these bills, LaNatra said that she is hopeful that they will be voted out of committee.

Another important bill that was filed with State Rep. Josh Cutler would establish a MassMade Program. The intention of the program would be to identify, connect, and support businesses making products in Massachusetts as a means of boosting the local economy.

LaNatra cited being named Legislator of the Year by the Massachusetts Mental Health Counselors Association (MaMHCA) as one of the highlights of her first year in office. LaNatra delivered the keynote speech at their conference in November.

LaNatra said they are looking forward to 2020 and expect it to be a great year in the district. LaNatra hopes to continue the focus on healthcare that just resulted in the passing of a combined bill that will extend healthcare to children in foster care until the age of 26.

There are also plans to start a cable show in the new year. “We’re very excited; it’s going to be a mobile show, it’s not going to be just a sit down. We’re going to be throughout the district, meeting with people,” LaNatra explained. The show will travel to the COAs and hear the concerns of the older population as well as meeting with the selectmen from the district’s towns. The show will also provide an opportunity to spotlight events that people may not otherwise realize are available in their community.

There are plans to do an episode on the Jones River in Kingston as well as to cover the 400th celebration in Plymouth.

The show, which is scheduled to begin filming in February, will be available to view through PACTV as well as Area 58.

Regarding his position as Legislative Aid, Jean said, “I love it so far. It’s nice to be able to be in a position to help people in my community.” Jean, who grew up in Plymouth, graduated from George Washington University in May with degrees in both political science and history. Jean described the constituent hours as an opportunity to hear concerns from residents as well as answer any questions that they may have.

Jean said that they hope to do whatever possible to advocate for constituents, whether it be at the state or town level. LaNatra offered a reminder that they are available and willing to meet anytime.

SL boys, girls hockey pick up wins

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For both hockey programs at Silver Lake, last Saturday, Dec. 28 was an encouraging day.

The boys’ hockey team and the girls’ hockey co-op with Whitman-Hanson each had lopsided victories over their respective opponents. For the boys, that win came in a 6-2 fashion against Abington. For the girls, it was a 5-0 victory over Plymouth.

In the victory over Abington, Ryan Solari and Gavin Simpson had their first career varsity goals for the Lakers while Peter Bond earned his first career varsity win in net. Ryan Solari also had a team-high four points in the victory and Bobby Guilford had a team-high two goals. Additionally, Nick Solari put up two points, including a short-handed goal. Plus, Kevin Cardarelli had a goal and an assist in the victory.

The win over Abington was the Lakers second win of the week. With it, they improved to 2-2-1.

The girls win over Plymouth was their first victory of the season, putting their record at 1-4 on the year. In the win–which came in Patriot League action–the team had four different goal scorers. Bridget Cardarelli led the way with a team-high two goals. Additionally, Alyssa Murphy, Emily McDonald and Neve Corkery each put one in the back of the net for the co-op. Kat Gilbert also picked up the win in net for the co-op.

Prior to this game, the girls had their share of offensive struggles. They had not scored more than one goal in a game in their first four contests prior to this win.

The boys next game is this Saturday, Jan. 4 on the road against the Duxbury Dragons at The Bog in Kingston (3:50 p.m. start time). The girls play next on Saturday, Jan. 4 as well. They are set to face Newton North on the road (6:15 p.m. start time).