Abington sports on the chopping block

School Superintendent Peter Schafer is confident that come September, freshman and junior varsity athletics will remain a part of the school's curriculum. Recent School Department budget woes have led to talk of eliminating those programs. "We're not going to let that happen," Schafer said last week. Abington Green Wave sports are funded three ways: the School Department, user fees, and booster club donations. In 2004, the freshmen and junior varsity programs were cut by school officials before donations from the Abington Green Wave Boosters saved the programs without interruption. Boosters are now trying to raise $20,000 for next school year. One proposal is increasing user fees to $200 from $150 per athlete, which could generate as much as $13,000. "Another idea is maybe cutting individual programs where student-athletes don't show enough interest," said Schafer. "We won't run a sport if there isn't enough interest." - Robert Carroll

FINISHING TOUCHES - The front of Town Hall is almost fixed up and will be done this summer. The building has been undergoing a face lift for several months, which has included new pillars. Still to come are new wooden doors and railings for the steps, said Mayor Joseph C. Sullivan. The doors are being specially made to replace glass doors, he said. The front is currently closed, and visitors enter through the side. - Matt Carroll

MASS MARKETING - The Paul Pratt Memorial Library is making life easier for book groups in town. The library is offering "ready reads" - sets of 10 paperback copies of popular books accompanied by discussion guides and information about the authors. The books can be taken out for four weeks, instead of the usual two. "I can't take full credit for it," said librarian Gayle Walsh. "Duxbury's library got a grant a couple of years ago to buy sets of books for local book groups, so we're modeling ours after [that]. We were looking for ways to increase circulation and knowing there are book groups in town and avid readers, we decided to tap into that niche." Walsh said two of the book packages already are checked out - "Half of a Yellow Sun" by African writer Chimamanda Adichie, and "The Gathering," a Man Booker Prize winner by Anne Enright about an Irish Catholic family. - Johanna Seltz

BEACH BUILDING - The Duxbury Beach Reservation, the nonprofit corporation that owns Duxbury Beach, will hold a public forum tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at the Duxbury Senior Center on Mayflower Street to discuss the structure that would replace the guard shack at the head of the beach. The new building would be the size of a 1 1/2 -car garage, include a small office for the guards, and a room with educational displays about the beach. Because it's located on a flood plain, the building would be elevated 5 feet above ground, causing some residents to express concern that it would obstruct their view of the beach, said reservation president Maggie Kearney. Kearney said the group is holding the forum to explain the project, display a drawing that shows its scale, and answer questions. - Robert Knox

POLICE PROMOTIONS - The changes keep coming at 129 Rockland St. On July 1, longtime lieutenant Walter Sweeney will take over as police chief for the retiring Robert Hayes. That same day, sergeants Robert Heywood and Greg Nihan will be named the department's newest lieutenants. The promotions of Heywood and Nihan were approved by the Board of Selectmen last week and represent the department's first substantial realignment in over 20 years. Heywood, according to Sweeney, has been with the department 28 years, while Nihan joined the force in 1987. Both are Hanover High School graduates who possess strong attachments to their hometown, said Sweeney. "Both are friendly and outgoing," he said. "They're well known and very people-orientated."

- Robert Carroll

NEW SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION - Bulldozers have broken ground for the $26.6 million elementary school being built on the site of the old East Elementary School. "We're anticipating a September 2009 [opening]," said Superintendent Dorothy Galo. "That's what the bid specified, and we think we can do it." State Treasurer Tim Cahill this month delivered a giant cardboard check representing the state's share of more than $10 million toward the project. Galo said work will begin this week on improvements at Foster and Plymouth River elementary schools, as well as installation of modular classrooms at Hingham Middle School. That work needs to be finished by mid-August, Galo said. "It's a tight timeline," she said. The construction projects were approved by the town in March. - Johanna Seltz

COMPETING FOR TRASH - Ten companies last week bid on a contract to provide trash pickups for Holbrook, according to Town Administrator Michael Yunits. He added that the cost of curbside service could increase to as much as $3 a bag from the current $1.60, because of rising gasoline prices. The contract, which will be awarded by selectmen soon, is for a one-year term with a chance for renewal.

- Franci Richardson Ellement

FOND MEMORY - The town's No Place for Hate Committee will honor one its founders - the late Sumner Goldberg - by planting a tree in his memory outside Town Hall next Sunday. Goldberg, a World War II veteran who died in 2005 at the age of 89, also was the longtime veterans' agent for the town. "He was the one who came up with the idea of Stand in the Sand, where people stood on the beach and spelled out 'Hull is No Place For Hate' with their bodies while someone flew overhead and took a picture," said committee chairman Janet Bernault. The 2001 event was repeated the next year with even more people, Bernault said. She said Goldberg also had the idea for a decorated bike parade, although he didn't live to see it happen last summer. The tree planting, and installation of a granite marker, will begin at 10:30 a.m., and participants are invited to gather afterward for brunch at one of Goldberg's favorite hangouts, The Red Parrot restaurant off Nantasket Beach, Bernault said. - Johanna Seltz

CELEBRATING THE ARTS - The town will hold its second annual arts festival on June 28 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the old town center on Green Street, from Main to Summer streets. The official town event will include artists, craftspeople, and musicians. Art exhibits are planned for several locations, and a program of children's activities will take place on the community playground. Green Street will be open for pedestrian traffic only during the festival, which is free to the public. Event organizers are seeking volunteers for jobs such as fund-raising, entertainment, equipment, setup and cleanup, parking, registration paperwork, children's events, and special exhibits. To volunteer or for more information email festival organizers at kingstonarts@gmail.com.

- Robert Knox

HOPE FOR A HOME - South Shore Habitat for Humanity is hosting a meeting on Saturday for families interested in applying for a home. The meeting will start at 10 a.m. at the First Congregational Church at 1981 Ocean St. Applicants must meet income guidelines. The annual household income cannot exceed $41,000 for a family of four, for example, or $44,000 for a family of five. The winning family will work with volunteers to build a home at no cost, and receive an interest-free, 20-year mortgage on the property. For more information, visit sshabitat.org or call 781-843-9080, ext. 14. - Emily Sweeney

ALMOST ON TIME - The parking lot for Pierce Middle School in Milton is almost finished, only slightly behind schedule, said Charles Winchester, chairman of the School Building Committee. The contract called for McConnell Enterprises Inc. of Braintree to be finished by the end of May, but a cold winter and wet spring slowed the company down, said Winchester, who recently briefed selectmen about the work. He expects the contractor, who also did the demolition work on the 1909 wing, to be finished by the end of this month. - Matt Carroll

NEW ASSESSOR - The Board of Selectmen and the Board of Assessors recently jointly appointed Charles R. Markham to the assessors seat vacated by the resignation of Rosemary Durica. Markham, a self-employed accountant, is also a member of the Planning Board, and the Community Preservation Committee. He was formerly a member of the Board of Assessors and the Advisory Board. He will fill out the remaining year of Durica's term. The boards made the appointment after interviewing Markham and one other candidate. - John Laidler

AQUATIC MENACES - The Pembroke Watershed Association will hold its fourth annual Pond Clean-Up next Saturday, when volunteers will remove debris from the edges of Little Sandy Bottom, Oldham, Furnace, Stetson, and Hobomock ponds. At each site, the trash will be transported by water craft to a dumping spot, where Department of Public Works trucks will pick it up. Also, on June 24 at 7 p.m., the association is offering a "Weed Watchers" class at the public library. A representative from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation will explain how to identify the non-native plants that can choke water bodies or wetlands and run rampant on land. The association has volunteer monitors who watch for signs of the plants at the five ponds. For more information on the cleanup, call Jim McLarnon at 781-293-5353 or Fred Baker at 508-846-0265. For more information on the class, call Baker.

- John Laidler

SLUGGISH HOME MARKET - The Plymouth County Register of Deeds has reported that real estate sales in Plymouth County have slowly increased over the past four months, while foreclosure activity has declined. Last month, there were 114 foreclosure notices (documents that initiate foreclosure proceedings) recorded in Plymouth County, compared with 280 in February. Plymouth County's register of deeds, John R. Buckley Jr., said the recent decrease may be related to new legislation that gives homeowners 90 days to address a mortgage default. "We are still seeing a significant number of foreclosure notices," said Buckley, "but the decline to 114 last month is certainly worth noting. We should know in a few months whether the numbers are actually falling or if foreclosures are simply being deferred for 90 days." For the first five months of this year, home sales in Plymouth County are down 10 percent from last year, the number of mortgages is down 24 percent; the average sale price is down 7 percent, and there were 611 foreclosure deeds recorded, compared with 270 a year earlier. - Emily Sweeney

HOSPITAL PASTOR RETIRES - The Rev. Ann Rearick, director of pastoral care at Quincy Medical Center, has retired after 16 years of service. She had served in that position for six years and for 10 years as the Protestant chaplain. "I have thoroughly enjoyed my work here," she said at her retirement. A hospital release estimates that she ministered to 2,000 patients a year. In retirement, she plans to travel with her husband, the Rev. Andy Rearick, and visit their four children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. - Matt Carroll

INAUGURAL CASE - The Rent Control Board has begun deliberating on proposed rent increases for Leisurewoods mobile home park. It's the first time the town has held hearings on rent proposals since Town Meeting created the Rent Control Board two years ago. Hometown America, which owns the 55-and-over mobile home park, has proposed a 2.1 percent rent increase for 2007, and a 3.4 percent rent increase for 2008. Both rent increases would be retroactive, if approved. The Rent Control Board has waited until now to hold hearings so that it could develop guidelines and policies for its hearings. Chairman Mark Flaherty said the hearings closed on June 5, and the board has 40 days to render a decision. - Milton Valencia

APPLICANTS WANTED - The town is seeking applicants for director of the Council on Aging. Joan Wright resigned from the post last November to accept a job with the Norwell Visiting Nurse Association, and Florence Choate has been serving as interim director since. Anyone interested is asked to send a cover letter and resume to Richard H. Agnew, Town Administrator, 600 Chief Justice Cushing Highway, Scituate, MA 02066. Meanwhile, the town also is trying to fill a seat on the Housing Authority that became vacant due to the resignation of Edward McCann. Applications or letters of interest should be submitted to the Board of Selectmen's office by Wednesday. Selectmen and the Housing Authority plan to jointly fill the seat on June 24. - John Laidler

NO KIDDIE POOLS - The town Housing Authority's ban of kiddie pools at its 189-unit Lakeview Manor public housing complex has some residents boiling. But property manager Adrienne Colletti stands by the decision, which she said was prompted by a memo from the state Department of Housing and Community Development. The state, she said, raised concerns about the cost of water and safety issues. "I don't hear about kids fainting from heat exhaustion, I hear about kids drowning in a bucket of water," she said. "There are lots of people in the world who don't have pools. . . . Can I sympathize if you don't have a pool? No. Talk to me if you need help with food, or your son has a drug problem and needs to get into rehab." About 800 people live at Lakeview Manor, Colletti said. - Johanna Seltz

PERMIT DENIED - Tispaquin Family Campground will operate for another summer without a permit from the Board of Selectmen, which, in its role as the town's Board of Health, denied a permit request from owners Barbara and Ralph Holton last Monday. Selectmen have denied the permit for the past several years due to an ongoing disagreement with the Holtons over the number of campers allowed on the site at one time. The selectmen and building inspector, who is the town's zoning enforcement agent, say the permit states a maximum of 57 mobile camping units. The Holtons argue the permit allows for 57 campsites with more than one camping unit on each. The couple has an average of about 112 mobile campers parked on the 40-acre property during camping season. The dispute is pending in court.

- Christine Legere