Globe South Community briefing
ABINGTON
In a lifetime of salutes given Joe Colantoni, Abington’s veterans agent, none may ever outrank the greeting he received from seven soldiers who unexpectedly arrived last summer at his Town Hall office. Dressed in full uniform, the soldiers saluted him for spearheading a campaign to send local soldiers holiday care packages. “That was amazing,’’ Colantoni said. “They had received the packages that first year and wanted to say thank you.’’ In a little less than three weeks, Colantoni for the third year will be joined by family members of loved ones stationed overseas to create the packages, which will all include videotape of the packaging event scheduled for Nov. 20 at Town Hall. “It means a lot to the soldiers that these packages come from home,’’ he said, noting Town Hall departments all pitch in to buy magazines, nonperishable foods, and even iPods for the soldiers. “We always have to support the soldiers, whether we believe in the war or not,’’ he said.- Robert Carroll
BRAINTREE
DEVELOPERS FINED - The developers of the Turtle Crossing Condominium complex will pay $2.3 million to settle allegations that they turned an illegal profit on the affordable housing project. An investigation focused on whether the developers conformed to state law Chapter 40B, which in this instance capped profits at 20 percent, according to the state attorney general’s office. The big winners are the town, which receives $1.8 million in the settlement. Of that, $1 million will go into the town’s affordable housing fund and $800,000 can be spent on other public uses. The other money goes to the state. - Matt CarrollCOHASSET
RUSH FOR CHIEF’S JOB - Town Manager William Griffin is slogging through more than 80 applications for police chief, hoping to narrow the field to a manageable number. He said several people from within the department applied, and about half the candidates come from outside Massachusetts. Some are police chiefs in similar-sized towns, Griffin said. “I’m surprised we got that many,’’ he said. “We have a large number of people who, on paper, deserve review. It’s absolutely a nice problem to have.’’ The position, which has a salary range of $100,000 to $120,000, opened this fall when Chief James Hussey resigned to return to the Boston Police Department. At Griffin’s request, Brian Noonan, who was Cohasset’s police chief from 1993 to 2002, has come out of retirement to serve as interim chief. - Johanna SeltzDUXBURY
SEASONAL FLU VACCINES - The town’s Board of Health will conduct a seasonal flu clinic at the senior center Thursday at 5 p.m. The vaccine will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Because laboratories have been put to work with rush orders to make the vaccine for the H1N1 flu virus, the seasonal flu vaccine is in shorter supply than in other years. Additional flu clinics will be scheduled when more vaccine becomes available. - Robert KnoxHANOVER
FLU CLINIC CANCELED - Citing a lack of vaccine, a town-sponsored seasonal flu vaccination clinic scheduled for tomorrow at Town Hall has been canceled. Health officials said they do not know when another will be scheduled. “We do anticipate more seasonal flu vaccine, but we just don’t know when,’’ said Donna Tramontana, an administrative assistant with the Hanover Board of Health. The health board held a vaccination clinic on Oct. 19 and was overwhelmed by the turnout, with residents easily outnumbering the 300 doses allocated to the town. Tramontana said residents should periodically check for clinic updates on the town’s website, www.hanover-ma.gov.- Robert Carroll
HINGHAM
ASSESSING FINANCES - Hingham officials and residents will meet today at 1 p.m. at Town Hall to hold an economic summit outlining the difficulties the town is facing with its current budget, and going into fiscal year 2011. Selectmen chairwoman Laura Burns has said the town is already facing deficits for the 2010 fiscal year that began in July. She said expected revenues are lower than estimated and officials will seek ways to fill the gap. She said the 2011 fiscal year does not look good either. “Unless something changes drastically, 2011 is going to be a very difficult year,’’ Burns said. - L.E. CrowleyHOLBROOK
BUYING CLUB HELPS SCHOOLS - Holbrook schools now have an additional source of revenue: the Bulldogs Buying Club, a website created by two Holbrook alumni, Susan Montgomery Wright and Cheryl Gelzer Alexis. Anyone can register and buy products in bulk on the site, with 100 percent of the profits going to Holbrook Public Schools. The site sells many items, from vitamins to toilet paper. The program started tentatively in September but received endorsement from the Holbrook School Committee this month, School Superintendent Joseph Baeta said. In September, the site only made $18.90 in profit, Baeta said, but Weymouth, which has a similar program, received more than $10,000 in its first few months. Baeta agreed that all profits will fund programs and initiatives that directly support the students.- Kate Augusto
HULL
INMATES WORKING FOR TOWN - The town is using inmates from the Plymouth County jail to paint and repair the Central Fire Station. The arrangement cuts the cost since the inmates work for free and the town pays only for materials and the workers’ lunches, according to Sara Lavoie, a spokesman for the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department. She said the crews - who are serving time for nonviolent offenses - are supervised by county corrections officers as part of Project Labor. “We get hundreds of requests from mostly municipal agencies to have their buildings rehabbed. The work [the inmates] do is incredible,’’ she said. So far, they’ve installed a new furnace and hot water heater at the fire station, as well as doing outside repairs and painting. The work will continue inside the building throughout the year, Lavoie said.- Johanna Seltz
KINGSTON
AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON TABLE - The Planning Board and Board of Selectmen met last week to discuss a five-year renewal of the town’s affordable housing plan, required by the state to make the town eligible for community development grants. The plan focuses on identifying particular areas as preferred sites for new affordable housing. The town currently has about 4 percent affordable housing out of a total housing stock of more than 4,000 units. Although state goals call for 10 percent affordable housing, town officials say planning efforts should be focused more broadly on the town’s housing needs. Officials also discussed the possibility of planning for affordable housing in conjunction with neighboring communities. - Robert KnoxMARSHFIELD
DREDGING WORK TO BEGIN - Later this month, a 240-foot barge with a crane will squeeze its way through the Narrows to start dredging Green Harbor. “It will be interesting to watch it come in; it’s not called the Narrows for nothing,’’ said assistant harbormaster Bob Coakley. When the work is done, more than 60,000 cubic yards of silt and mud will be taken away, he said, giving the harbor a depth of no less than 6 feet at mean low tide. “Many of our vessels at low tide are literally sitting up on mud. This will alleviate that problem,’’ he said. The US Army Corps of Engineers and J. Cashman, the contractor, will meet with the public to answer questions about the project Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at Town Hall.- Johanna Seltz
MILTON
OPEN HOUSE AT FONTBONNE - Fontbonne Academy, a Catholic secondary school for young women, is hosting an open house for prospective seventh- and eighth-graders today starting at 1 p.m.. The open house gives parents a chance to learn more about the school’s mission, to hear faculty talk in their areas of discipline, and to find out more about clubs and athletics. Financial aid information will be available. For more information, call 617-615-3009 or visit the website at www.fontbonneacademy.org.- Matt Carroll
NORWELL
INTERIM PRINCIPAL NAMED - Officials at South Shore Charter Public School in Norwell have named an interim principal who will take over Dec. 1. Executive director Prudence Goodale said Angie Pepin, a teacher there for six years, will take over as acting principal when James Connolly resigns Nov. 30. “We will really miss Dr. Connolly,’’ Goodale said. Goodale said Connolly’s tenure was filled with intense budget issues, extensive visits from state officials for the school’s recertification, misbehavior by students, the theft of a school truck and maintenance equipment, and a teacher’s arrest at the end of the school year. “He really had to deal with a lot of things during his short time here,’’ Goodale said. - L.E. CrowleyPEMBROKE
SPECIAL TOWN MEETING STARTS TUESDAY - A proposed $806,342 appropriation to fund major improvements to the Mattakeeset Municipal Athletic Fields complex is among the items set to come before a Special Town Meeting Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the high school. The appropriation would be contingent on the town receiving a state grant to cover $500,000 of the project cost. In other business, the meeting will consider a $621,000 fiscal 2010 capital spending plan and a series of expenditures from the town’s Community Preservation Fund. It will take up a proposed zoning amendment that would restrict body art establishments to the town’s adult business district in northeast Pembroke. Another article would authorize the town to seek proposals from groups interested in leasing land for development of an affordable home on Pelham Street. The meeting will also consider a proposed bylaw prohibiting video surveillance of private property without an owner’s permission.- John Laidler
PLYMOUTH
PUBLIC FORUMS PLANNED - The Plymouth Area League of Women Voters is hosting a series of public forums on sustainability. The first one will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Mayflower Room at Town Hall. The featured guest speakers will include Dennis Carlone, an urban planner who worked on the Plymouth downtown and harbor district design plan; Michael P. Hogan, president of - Emily Sweeney
QUINCY
FOOD DRIVE COMPLETED - The city’s seventh annual Holiday Food Drive collected more than 2,300 pounds of food, according to city officials. Volunteers from the United State Postal Service, the city Health and Parks departments, and residents all helped. “The efforts made by these volunteers will have a positive impact on the lives of many people,’’ said Mayor Tom Koch. - Matt CarrollRANDOLPH
SCHOOLS AGREE TO NINE HIRES - The School Committee voted recently to spend $144,000 to hire nine paraprofessionals to help alleviate overcrowding at Randolph’s four elementary schools and lower the student-to-teacher ratio. Some of the money will come from the salary that had been budgeted for an early education director. Earlier in the school year teachers were asked about class-size issues. In a report posted by the district, teachers cited noise levels as distracting and said that more adults (special education teachers, aides, and coaches) in the classroom created more noise and confusion. They urged the administration to find long-term solutions, such as hiring more elementary teachers, renovating and reopening the Devine School, and a possible district restructuring. - Wendy ChowROCKLAND
VOTERS TO DECIDE DEBT EXCLUSIONS - The first of two steps needed to fund a new middle school and renovate the high school comes at a special Town Meeting on Tuesday when voters act on an article calling for a debt exclusion to the tax-limiting Proposition 2 1/2. The second step for the $86.2 million school-building project comes Nov. 14 when a special election will be held to seek the debt exclusion approval. Eight other articles include a $12,500 transfer from the parks department to fund a clerk in the town accountant’s office. The 7 p.m. Town Meeting, which needs a quorum of 300 voters, is being held in the high school auditorium. The election is from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. with Precincts 1-4 voting in the high school gymnasium and Precincts 5-6 voting at the Esten School gymnasium. - Steve HatchSCITUATE
BUDGET FALLS SHORT - Scituate voters will attend Special Town Meeting tomorrow at Scituate High School at 7 p.m. to balance this year’s budget, which is short nearly $350,000. Officials have made more than $120,000 in cuts to town operations and about $220,000 in the schools for fiscal year 2010, which began July 1. Town and school officials said no employees or teachers will be cut at the meeting. However, officials have warned the 2011 fiscal year is already looking difficult and unless a host of revenue factors change, reductions in staffing and town services could be part of cost-cutting efforts, especially in the schools. - L.E. CrowleyWEYMOUTH
ELECTION TUESDAY - Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday for the election of School Committee and Town Council members, according to Town Clerk Franklin Fryer. He said challengers Linda MacDonald and Harvey Welch are running for one of five councilor-at-large seats along with incumbents Robert Conlon, Brian McDonald, Michael Molisse, Patrick O’Connor, and Kevin Whitaker. There are no contests for the six district councilor positions. Six candidates are running for three slots on the School Committee: incumbent Diana Flemer, Lucia Qualey, Lisa Belmarsh, Robert Green, Gerald Murphy, and Stephen Ford. - Johanna Seltz
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