Health board contest

With Monday's deadline for turning in nomination papers looming, it appears the only contested races in April's town-wide election will be for seats on the Board of Health and Sewer Commission. Health board member William Creighton has decided not to seek re-election, prompting residents Alex Bezanson, Frank Lazzaro, Ken Coyle, and Jim Connolly to seek his chair on the board. Vying for a seat on the Sewer Commission are Mark Jamieson, Victor Young, and Kate Hall. Selectmen Thomas Corbett and Gerald Corcoran are up for re-election and, as of last week, were running unopposed. The election is April 26. - Robert Carroll

NO RECENT TATTOOS, PLEASE - Interested in helping to save a life? The American Red Cross is holding a blood drive, co-sponsored with the Sheraton on Forbes Road in Braintree. The event will be held Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the hotel. People must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, be in good health, and have not been tattooed in the past year. - Matt Carroll

TOWN ALLOWED TO SELL WATER - The governor has signed a bill that allows the town to sell water to surrounding communities and other water companies. While sales won't translate into lower water rates for Cohasset residents, the infusion of money will stave off the need for increases, said Cohasset water commissioner John McNabb. "We have another three to five years of intensive work needed on the system - including the need to install a $6 million water treatment system - that selling water will help us pay for," he said. The new law says Cohasset can sell up to 2 million gallons of water a day. The town uses about 800,000 gallons of water a day, and already sells water to Linden Ponds, a private development in Hingham. Cohasset needed state approval, however, before it could sign long-term contracts with other towns or utilities. Town Meeting endorsed the plan in 2007 and sent it as a home-rule petition to the Legislature, which passed it last month. Governor Deval Patrick signed it on Feb. 21. - Johanna Seltz

BUDGET ON AGENDA FOR TOWN MEETING SATURDAY - Duxbury voters will take up a recommended town operating budget of $54,136,816 for next year at the annual Town Meeting, which begins Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Performing Arts Center at 93 Alden St. Town Meeting will consider a 48-item agenda, including a petition by residents for a delay of the pay-as-you-throw trash disposal plan until Town Meeting approves it. Selectmen have said Town Meeting does not have the authority to delay the program. Voters will also consider another eight measures in a Special Town Meeting agenda. - Robert Knox

TOWN PAYS FOR FIRING - To avoid a lawsuit, the town last month agreed to pay fired town health agent Jeanmarie Kent Joyce seven months' severance, worth close to $34,000. Legal bills and unemployment payments, said a town official, could push that figure closer to $50,000. "This puts this chapter to bed," said Selectman Daniel Pallota, who described the acrimonious parting of Joyce, a 19-year town employee, and the Board of Health, which fired her in November, as "like a divorce." Selectmen's chairman David Flynn, an attorney who helped orchestrate the settlement, last week chided the health board for the way the situation was handled. He said Joyce was abruptly fired during a regularly scheduled Board of Health meeting on Nov. 27. "She was told to get her coat and leave," said Flynn, adding, "If there is a problem concerning a town employee it has to be handled with due process. And because it wasn't, it cost the town money." Joyce could not be reached for comment. The town has yet to name a replacement for Joyce. - Robert Carroll

DEPUTIES ARE ALL IN THE FAMILY - Selectmen named Brad Durant as deputy chief of the police department, where his first cousin Charles E. Souther also is a deputy chief. In fact, Durant, Souther, and Chief Taylor Mills all started work as Hingham policemen on the same day, Aug. 29, 1977, Mills said. "Brad's a great guy, a great friend," Mills said. Durant and Souther "are both my friends and I'm lucky to have them." He said Durant brings extensive management experience to the job, having been a lieutenant for seven years and a sergeant for 10. He also spent the last year and a half totally revamping the department's rules and regulations - a volume about the size of "War and Peace," Mills said. "Basically it's the Bible of our inner workings and operations. To have a deputy chief who has internalized them is a gift," Mills said. As part of the "trickle-up" resulting from Durant's promotion, Sergeant Kris Phillips was made a lieutenant and Patrolman Steven Dearth was made sergeant. - Johanna Seltz

TRANSFER STATION GETS TOWN VOTE - Selectmen have agreed to put to a vote a question about whether to allow a company to build and operate a transfer station out of town-owned property, according to Town Administrator Michael Yunits. Town Meeting voters had authorized selectmen to enter into a lease agreement with Holbrook Environmental Logistical Partnership, but concerned residents petitioned selectmen to rethink that and put the issue on the ballot. It will be up for a vote on April 1. Principals of the partnership have said that they would clean up the site on Phillips Road, where they would run a transfer station and offer residents free curbside trash pick-up. - Franci Richardson Ellement

COMMUNITY COOKBOOK - The cook at the Coast Guard station is sharing a recipe for boule-bowl soup and the owner of Jake's Seafood plans to donate a seafood specialty to the PTO Community Cookbook. The book will have more than recipes, though. The plan calls for articles, poetry, photographs, and other artwork. "We have some unbelievable artistic talent - including chefs and painters, historians and authors," said PTO spokesman Lisa Canavan. "Why not showcase as much of Hull as possible? . . . This is Hull's book." Canavan said the PTO will raise funds to produce the book, and proceeds from its sale will benefit academic and enrichment programs in the schools. She said the PTO hopes to have the book available for sale at the town's Endless Summer celebration in September. She can be contacted at lisa.canavan@comcast.net for more information about the project and how to submit material. - Johanna Seltz

TOWN TO PUT UP 'NO IDLING' SIGNS - Kingston selectmen have notified residents and local schools that the town will be purchasing "no idling" signs to promote its policy banning unnecessary vehicle idling. The signs will be placed at schools, parks, the MBTA station, and other high visibility areas. Officials noted that vehicle exhaust is the leading source of hazardous air pollution in the state. - Robert Knox

HIGHER MOORING FEES - The town recently raised its mooring fees, according to Harbormaster Mike DiMeo. Boaters will now be charged $6 per foot of boat. (Previously, the fee was $4 per foot.) "The mooring fees haven't been raised in 18 years," said DiMeo. "It's still reasonable, and still one of the best deals in town." The daily boat ramp fee increased from $5 to $7 for Massachusetts residents, and went up from $15 to $21 for out-of-state residents. Annual boat ramp permits for Massachusetts residents will now cost $75 (up from $50), and out-of-state residents will be charged $225 (up from $150). - Emily Sweeney

FOR DNA TESTING, VISIT MILTON HIGH - A state-of-the-art biotechnology lab will be unveiled today in Milton, with the public invited to see the new facility, according to the Milton Foundation for Education. The lab will be open from 5 to 6 p.m. for the public and from 4 to 5 p.m. for donors. Students and faculty will conduct experiments during the open house to show both the lab's scientific and practical applications of biotechnology. In 2006, the foundation raised $45,000 specifically for the lab at its annual fund-raiser, in addition to $200,000 for other science and technology in the schools. - Matt Carroll

GROUP PUSHES FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING - The Affordable Housing Partnership is looking to lead the effort to bring affordable housing to a town-owned site on Prospect Street. Special Town Meeting last May appropriated $150,000 to purchase the land for affordable housing and the protection of a nearby town well field. The town bought the land, but has not begun the effort to develop it. Recently, the Partnership, which promotes affordable housing in town, asked selectmen to assign it the task of overseeing that effort, according to Partnership chairman Bruce Burgess. Selectmen are considering it. Engineers that surveyed the site for the town said it could accommodate 18 units. The town will need to issue a request for proposals to select a developer. Burgess said that because the land lacks frontage, the project would have to be permitted under Chapter 40B, the state affordable housing law that allows developments to bypass local zoning. He said the town would make use of the Local Initiative Program, an option within Chapter 40B in which developers pursue permits with the support of local selectmen and the local affordable housing partnership. - John Laidler

TWO SCHOOL SEATS, TWO CANDIDATES - There is a second candidate for School Committee. Paul Bosworth recently took out nomination papers and said he is running. Two seats are being filled in the April 26 annual town election. Suzanne Scroggins, appointed to one of the seats last year, earlier took out papers and said she is a candidate. Eileen Hutchinson, the other member whose term expires this year, is not seeking reelection. A first-time candidate for office, Bosworth is a member of the Middle School Council, and the father of four, two in Pembroke public schools. "Education is very important to me. It's something I'm passionate about," said Bosworth, who works as a senior business analyst for a biotechnology company. He said he is running because "I want to support the superintendent in his efforts to focus on curriculum development." He said he would also work to make sure "everyone is included in the process when decisions are made." The deadline to take out nomination papers is today, and they must be returned by next Monday. - John Laidler

NUCLEAR PLANT HEARING - The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to hold a hearing on April 10 regarding Entergy Corp.'s application to renew its license to operate the Pilgrim nuclear power station, and the concerns raised by a Duxbury-based organization known as Pilgrim Watch. The commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel will hear comments from the public on April 9, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Radisson Hotel at 180 Water St. in Plymouth. Anyone who wishes to speak must mail a request in writing before April 4 to the Office of the Secretary, Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, or by e-mail: hearingdocket@nrc.gov. A copy of that written request must also be sent to the chair of this licensing board at the following address: Administrative Judge Ann Marshall Young, c/o: Johanna Thibault, Esq., Law Clerk, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, Mail Stop T-3 A2A, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, or by e-mail to Johanna.Thibault@nrc.gov. The hearing will be held at the hotel at 9 a.m. the following day. - Emily Sweeney

GIVING MAYOR TWO MORE YEARS - How many years should the mayor in Quincy serve? City Council president James H. Davis III has unveiled a proposal that would lengthen the term from two to four years. The main benefit would be attracting qualified people as department heads, he said. Many people who would be good candidates are leery of applying because they fear they might be out of a job in a relatively short period. It would also give mayors more time to implement programs. Mayors in Braintree and Weymouth serve four-year terms, he noted. While there are no firm dates, he thought hearings before the council might be held in April. Past attempts to lengthen the term failed. - Matt Carroll

FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN, FOR A PRICE - Randolph schools are enrolling kindergarten students for the 2008-2009 school year. Children who live in Randolph and will be 5 by Aug. 31 can register for kindergarten. Full-day kindergarten is available at all four elementary schools. Tuition is up to $3,100, with reduced or free tuition available based on family income. Half-day kindergarten is free. School officials say children who attend full-day kindergarten benefit from the longer day with unhurried time to learn, to practice new skills, and to explore new ideas. Full-day kindergartens are able to participate in music, art, physical education, and lunch at school, and after-school care is available. For more information and registration forms, please visit www.randolph.k12.ma.us or call the Parent Information Center at 781 961-6247. - David Connolly

TOWN CONSIDERS PLANTE'S BID FOR SICK PAY - Selectmen are mulling a request from former Town Administrator Bradley A. Plante for reimbursement for unused sick days before he retired. The request for the 34 sick days could cost the town some $13,000, and selectmen are reluctant to pay without looking over their legal obligations, considering the town's budget woes. Plante retired effective Jan. 1 without taking the sick days. Selectman Michael Zupkofska said selectmen are researching whether they are required to pay Plante under his contract. In the meantime, selectmen have been searching for a new administrator to replace Plante. - Milton Valencia

VOTING ON PRESERVATION SPENDING - The March 29 annual Town Meeting will consider $2.1 million in proposed expenditures from the Community Preservation fund. The appropriations, recommended by the Community Preservation Committee, include $700,000 to fund a trust to invest in affordable housing in town. (A proposal to establish the trust will be taken up by a Special Town Meeting that also convenes March 29.) The committee recommends $236,500 be spent from the fund to complete construction of a pedestrian/bike trail from the Driftway to Scituate Harbor, and $550,000 for the first phase of a similar trail to be built in a loop between North Scituate and the harbor. The panel proposes $344,000 to improve the site of a developing town marine park; and $72,000 for the Housing Authority to study a plan to build more units at its Central School complex and/or to convert some existing units to assisted living. It proposes $57,132 to upgrade parking and handicap access at the Stockbridge Grist Mill; $53,900 to fine-tune a water resources map; $40,000 to preserve town records; $18,000 to continue a survey of historic structures; and $70,000 for the fund's administrative expenses. - John Laidler

SOPHOMORE HAS FIFTH BIRTHDAY - Kristin Moore finally turned 5, a relief for the college sophomore born Feb. 29, 1988. "It feels good to finally actually have a real birthday," Moore said. "I remember when I was little being confused and looking at the calendar and not having my birthday there. . . . I know it's something about the way the earth rotates." Moore planned to celebrate with friends at Southern New Hampshire University and then come home to Weymouth for another party. One advantage of being born on leap year day is that Moore usually celebrates "birthdays" for a full week. "She's kind of milked it since she really didn't have a day," said her mother, Marilou Moore. - Johanna Seltz