Westport
in Brief!
EverythingWestport.com
Tuesday,
March 05, 2013
photos/EverythingWestport.com
Quick
Article Index . . .
Consider Taking A Safe Boating
Course!
Melissa Pacheco announces her candidacy for School
Committee.
Westport Disabilities Commission appeals to residents
to help town’s safety departments.
Like a good neighbor, the
Flint Neighborhood Association is there!
Completion
of South Coast Rail no earlier than 2021.
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Consider
Taking A Safe Boating Course! EverythingWestport.com Tuesday,
March 05, 2013 Photos/EverythingWestport.com Consider Taking A
Safe Boating Course! “With the start
of traditional boating season only a few months away, the U.S. Coast Guard
Auxiliary is reminding boaters to take a boating education course,” said
Marshall A. Ronco, Vice Division Commander. “First District Northern Region boating
statistics in 2012 clearly show the importance of wearing life jackets and
taking a safe boating course.”
Above: Marshall A. Ronco, Vice Division Commander – Instructor/Trainer,
Flotilla 06-18, instructs students during the spring ABS Class 2012. Photograph by Wayne Hansen, FL 6-18. Coast Guard
Auxiliary units around the country conduct boater education courses
year-round. Westport Flotilla 6-18
will be offering a Safe Boating Course entitled About Boating Safety. Enrollment is now open and all interested
boaters of all ages are encouraged to attend: About
Boating Safety – March 19, 2013 Westport Fire Dept., 54 Hix Bridge Rd.,
Westport, MA Tuesday evenings – 7:00 – 9:00 p.m Course Fee - $35.00 This is a 7 week
training course and a certificate will be awarded upon successful
completion. For more information or to
enroll, please call or click 508.642.1341; email: info@uscgauxwestport.org or
visit them at www.uscgauxwestport.org. “It’s extremely
important to get the Safe Boating message out,” said Tom Chamberlin, Flotilla
Commander. “But it’s even more
important for us to realize that Boating statistics aren’t just numbers. They were friends, parents, spouses, sons,
and daughters. Hold your loved ones accountable and make sure they take the
right steps to come home safely.” The U.S. Coast
Guard Auxiliary is a uniformed volunteer component of the United States Coast
Guard created by an Act of Congress in 1939. The Auxiliary, America's
Volunteer Guardians, supports the Coast Guard in nearly all of the service's
missions. Melissa Pacheco announces her candidacy for School
Committee. EverythingWestport.com Tuesday, March
05, 2013 My name is
Melissa Pacheco; and I am running for Westport School Committee for the April
9th election. I have lived in
Westport for 34 years and graduated from Westport High in 1992. My husband of
15 years, Joseph, a 1989 Westport High graduate, and I have a daughter,
Julia, who attends Westport elementary and also a daughter, Katelyn, who
passed away in 2002 at the age of 12 days old. I am an active
volunteer for multiple organizations including the Westport Schools, Third
Baptist Church, American Heart Association, Boston Children’s Hospital and a
Board member of Mended Little Hearts. I earned my Bachelors of Science in
Accounting and Masters in Business Administration from UMass Dartmouth and
have worked in higher education for over 16 years. My roles in academia have
been in research administration, grant accounting, and professional and
continuing education, in our corporate programs division.
Above: Ms. Pacheco,
second from right, talks with Gail Rodrigues, former Selectman Jim Coyne, and
Flint Neighborhood Association leader Carlos Cesar at a recent organizational
meeting for a proposed North End Neighborhood Association. Photo/EverythingWestport.com I have been an
advocate for children and families in multiple settings from heart disease to
bereaved families. My professional experiences have included motivational
speaking, career coaching, organization of conferences, writing grant
proposals and monitoring millions of dollars in research funding. My numerous
professional and volunteer roles have provided me with vast experiences that
will prove to be an asset to the Westport Community Schools. I have experience
and knowledge in financial statements and budgets; I am an open minded
individual who cares about our schools, our children, and our community. I
believe in a high quality education that focus’ on Reading, Math and Science.
I believe that budgets need to be fiscally sound, that we need to work within
certain budget constraints that we must strive to meet specific attainable
goals and objectives, that funding requests need to be reasonable,
documented, and necessary to attain specific set mutually agreed upon goals
and objectives. I have been regularly attending School
Committee meetings and during this process I have identified a number of
areas in which I feel my experience and education could add value. A few of
those are: ·
School Budget: Providing quality education with limited funding ·
School Buildings and location: Ensuring our buildings are healthy and
secure ·
School Committee Effectiveness: Working together to achieve set goals
and objectives to maintain committee effectiveness and success ·
Public relations: Ensuring our students’ successes shine brightly to encourage
and promote our great schools. As a mom, I
understand and require a high quality education for our children. Working in
higher education and in the area of workforce development I see firsthand the
need for our students to be well prepared to enter the workforce. Today’s job
market will require a higher education in either a college, university, or
technical school setting, all of which will require our students to be well
prepared prior to admission. In addition, we must meet the requirement of quality
education in the most fiscally sound manner possible. We must consider all
cost saving options, and revenue options, we must seek all available
resources to become the most efficient, and streamline costs whenever
possible, keeping an open mind, utilizing best practices, and always keeping
all of our children’s best interest at the forefront. My financial and
grant background will assist in the areas of budgets and financial
management. I am well versed in preparing, reading, and reviewing budgets and
contracts. I understand the process of fund accounting, line items, and
budget justifications. I believe my budget skill set will be an added asset
to our team on the School Committee. In addition I am familiar with the grant
and funding opportunities available to schools, as well as researching
potential funding opportunities. I have an understanding of contracts,
including interpreting and adhering to contractual language and requests for
proposals. All of which will assist as we begin to layout the options for our
school buildings, ensuring that all of our students health, security, special
education, and education needs are met. My experience in preparing grant
proposals, marketing, organization of conferences and other events, will
provide helpful in the areas of organizing of our committee goals and
objectives, and in the public relations of our schools great accomplishments
and successes. I also think it is imperative that we hear our parent’s needs
and concerns on a more regular basis and believe we should consider social
media options. I believe this
brief summary of my experience and qualifications will allow you to see that
I would be asset to the school committee and I ask for your vote on April
9th. If you would like to discuss any of this further, or have any questions,
please feel free to call or email me, 508.971.0773, mpachecowsc@yahoo.com, Facebook
page: Melissa Pacheco School Committee. Thank you, Melissa Pacheco Westport Disabilities Commission appeals to disabled residents
to help town’s safety departments. EverythingWestport.com Thursday,
March 07, 2013 The
Commission on Disability has been working with the police department in order
to get more information Into the E-911 emergency call system about Westport
residents who have disabling conditions.
E-911,
or enhanced 911, allows 911 call centers to closely approximate the location
from which emergency cell phone calls were made as well as those made from
land-based telephone lines.. Having
address information on disabled residents allows firefighters and police
officers to be more proactive in emergencies such as house fires and home
invasions. To
assist the effort the Commission has sent out a town-wide mailing to about
7000 households to solicit disabilities information for entry into the E-911
system. Commission
member Elaine Ostroff encourages all effected households
with disabled persons to “please complete the form and return it as soon as
possible to the Westport Police Department.” An
addressed envelope is enclosed with the letter. “If
you did not receive this mailing or have questions regarding the letter,
please contact Jennifer Scott of the Westport Police Department at
508.636.1122,” Ostroff said. “If
you need additional forms, you can pick them up at the town hall in the
Selectmen's office, or at the police station,” Ostroff
said. Like
a good neighbor, the Flint Neighborhood Association is there! Former Selectman Jim Coyne suggests pre-town
meeting to better inform voters on the town warrant. EverythingWestport.com Thursday, March 07, 2013 The formation of a North End Neighborhood
Association is off to a good start. Former Westport selectman and insurance agency
owner, Jim Coyne, has launched an investigative effort to establish a North
End Neighborhood Association. And he has received the unconditional support of a
highly successful, neighboring Fall River community association. “The main reason I wanted to
bring some people together,” Coyne said, “is to determine how much public
interest there is in forming such an organization,” Coyne said. “It’s a no-agenda group,” he said. “I errantly called it the North End Neighborhood
Association but that’s not what it really is. It’s a Westport
Association. It’s not to be in
competition with any other groups,” Coyne said. “It’s going to be more of an
informational group.” “The group is mainly to try and let the people
know what is going on and try to get some publicity out as to what would be
affecting the town. If it affects me on Gifford Road, with my grandchildren
on Gifford Road, it’s going to affect you on Drift Road It’s going to affect everybody else down on Main
Road,” Coyne said. “It’s just trying to be a non-political group to
seek out ideas and maybe some answers to some of the questions (facing our
town) and not to be afraid to present themselves at the Selectmen’s meetings,
School Committee meetings or Town Meeting especially.” The
Gifford Road resident hopes to keep all town residents better informed, but
in particular those in voting Precinct A - American Legion Hall, Precinct C -
Alice A. Macomber School, and Precinct D - Briggs
Road Fire Station. “In
our last annual town meeting Precinct C, with over 2000 registered voters,
only 37 showed up,” Coyne said. Traditionally
in the town’s April elections, the three north end precincts turn out in
comparable percentages to the two southern precincts. “We
need to work on getting more registered voters to attend Town Meetings,”
Coyne said. With the
average annual town meeting attendance at about 600 out of approximately 11,
530 registered voters, it wouldn’t take many more participants
to ameliorate the outcome on many of the important articles in the town’s
warrants. The
last Special Town Meeting had fewer than 200 in attendance. Coyne spoke of conducting a “pre-town
meeting.” Coyne
suggested a pre-town meeting, like
what was done in Wareham years ago when he was on their finance committee. Westport
has never done this to his knowledge. “At the
pre-town meeting, we gathered at the (Wareham) High School and had an
informal reading of the (town) warrant to get some type of idea as to what
people thought about the warrant questions.” “Often
when we go to Town Meeting we walk in the door, we pick up the warrant and
read it, hopefully.” “For
example, the Planning Board usually can have a four, five, six, seven, eight
pages long (article), and who’s going to read that that night and try to vote
on something and make a decision.” Coyne
in the past with some others had read the town warrant beforehand on the
local cable station. “I had my wife watch it, under pressure,” Coyne quipped. “We
sit at home and complain about things,” he said, “but maybe we need to do
something about our complaints.” “Although
the name is ‘North End,’ “the meeting is open to all Westport residents. We
hope to establish a communication process in order to be aware of any changes
in the area,” Coyne said. Mr.
Coyne said he goes in with no agenda and has no wish to pit one part of town
against another,
Above, from the left: Flint Neighborhood Association leader Carlos Cesar, former Westport
selectman and Gifford Road resident Jim Coyne, Dias Avenue resident and
School Committee candidate Mellissa Pacheco, and Gail Rodrigues, Westport’s
unofficial liaison to SRPEDD’s Southcoast Bikeway
Committee.
Photo/EverythingWestport.com “The
intention is not to divide the town. I’ve lived here for 35 years and I never
viewed the town from either the north or south,” Coyne said. The North End Neighborhood Association
could play a major role in the big issues impacting their quality of life. His
interest was piqued in a North End Neighborhood Association after serving one
year as Westport selectman, and hearing people say again and again that they
were unaware of things happening that might impact them. “The
information was out there, the people in this area just weren’t pickling up
on it. Projects like the Science and Technology Overlay District (STOD) and
economic development plans for Route 177 and Route 6.” The
proposed South Coast Rail project coming to New Bedford and Fall River by
2021 will have a major influence over the quality of life in Westport’s
northern regions. The
South Coast Rail will restore passenger rail transportation from South
Station in Boston to the South Coast of Massachusetts, catalyzing nearly half
a billion dollars in economic development every year. The cities of Taunton, Fall River and New
Bedford are the only cities within 50 miles of Boston that are not served by
commuter rail. South Coast Rail could
provide a new, convenient travel option that will be cheaper than driving. But
there could be an adverse impact on the community, and residents need to be
discussing these possibilities. The
town is also in the process of updating its Master Plan and town water and
sewer is rapidly rising to the surface as a major issue, an issue that has
enormous implications for north end residents. “We
need to be talking about these things,” Coyne said. Coyne
explained that previous attempts at neighborhood associations have started
out with a passion, but slowly died on the vine due to a lack of
participation. Residents seemed to be more focused on their own trials and
tribulations, but didn’t seek out the information on the larger issues that
affect the entire community. One
resident thought that the time and day of week that Town Meeting was held
probably accounted for low turnout. He felt that Town Meeting should be on a
Saturday, an idea that the town’s Select Board has advocated, resulting in a
non-binding referendum ballot question which town voters overwhelming
approved last year. Next meeting on April 7th at 1:00 p.m. A
gathering of 26 attended the Sunday, March 3rd meeting at the American Legion
Hall. They agreed to meet again on April 7th at 1:00 p.m. to further the
discussion. Everyone
is welcome. Mr. Coyne said he is not sure what defines “north end.” “Is it north of (Route) 177? Who knows.” But
he guesses that some people who live in other parts of town may be interested
in what is going on “up north” for business reasons, family ties - “you name
it.” “All
I’m saying is, let’s get together, talk about things, share some information
and find out what interests and concerns people.” Like a good neighbor, the Flint
Neighborhood Association is there! Fall
River’s Flint Neighborhood Associations demonstrates the difference local
involvement can make in a neighborhood community. The Flint area borders
Westport’s northwestern border. Click
here to visit their facebook page. FNA
President Carlos Cesar, in attendance, said he fully supports Coyne’s attempt
to establish a neighborhood association. “We
have received millions of dollars in grants that have helped us revitalize
our community,” Cesar told the group. The
FNS has adopted the Father Travassos Park, Watson
School, and Mary L. Fonesco School. With monies
from grants and fundraisers they have held neighborhood cleanups and
beautification projects, including Father Travasso
Park and Britland Park. They
work closely with their police crime watch. The
FNA will sponsor a major carnival this year in their neighborhood from April
12th to the 20th at Fall River’s Lafayette Park. The
Association does individual street cleanups, and involves residents in fun
time activities like block parties, parades, bus trips to regional events,
and drive-in movie nights. Economic Impact of Rail-Trails.
Roderigues encouraged
everyone to attend the South Coast Bikeway Committee and its partners for the
third annual South Coast Bikeway Summit.
This year’s topic will be the Economic Impact of Rail-Trails. “We’ll
have presenters Craig Della Penna (rails-to-trails
and real estate expert, on the economic impact of rail-trails), John Walker
of T4MA, and Representative Bill Straus, House Chairman on the Joint
Committee of Transportation making presentations,” Roderigues
said. The
committee invites cyclists, walkers, public officials, planners, transit
officials, and employers to discuss the importance of making the South Coast
region a more bike-friendly region. To
register call SRPEDD at 508.824.1367 or go online at SRPEDD’s website and
click on Events Calendar. Community associations only work when the
community gets involved. Mr.
Coyne said he doesn’t buy the argument that the north end doesn’t get the
attention it deserves, noting that two members of the present Board of
Selectmen live in the north end, and there have sometimes been more. But
Selectmen only have five votes at Town Meeting. Coyne knows that they need to
turn out the thousands of voters that represent the three northern precincts
to truly make a difference. Completion
of South Coast Rail no earlier than 2021. Governor Deval Patrick pushes his initiative to pay for highway
infrastructure improvements with a proposed state income tax increase from
5.25 to 6.25%. EverythingWestport.com Monday, March 4, 2013 Photos/EverythingWestport.com Completion
of South Coast Rail no earlier than 2021, says Mass Transportation chief
Richard Davey. Governor Deval Patrick is
pushing his initiative to pay for highway infrastructure improvements with a
proposed state income tax increase from 5.25 to 6.25%. “The South Coast Rail project will restore
passenger rail transportation from South Station in Boston to the South Coast
of “This forum is an opportunity for South Coast
residents to get information, ask questions, and provide feedback to
Secretary Davey and other officials from the Department of Transportation,”
Rodrigues said . But opponents say the proposed $1.8 billion
project is unsustainable and so expensive it won’t be able to get enough
political support. They say the heavily subsidized rail system will
be a drag on the state’s budget, and is nothing more than a “jobs bill” that
has a lot of support on Beacon Hill; however, uncertainty still arises among
lawmakers at the Statehouse. In support of the
rail project, Fall River Mayor Will Flanagan opened the session with praise
for the Transportation Secretary. “The City of Fall
River and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are in excellent hands when it
comes to transportation with Secretary Davey,” Mayor Flanagan said. “And the first
time probably since 1958 when the trains stopped running, this project is
actually becoming a reality for our area. And with the great work our
legislature is doing up on Beacon Hill, I feel good about this project. I’m
optimistic about South Coast Rail. In 10 years we
can hear those train whistles,” Flanagan said. “I feel good about this
project. I’m optimistic about South Coast Rail. In 10 years we can hear those
train whistles.” – Fall River Mayor Will Flanagan “Transportation
is moving forward in our community, and by seeing the Governor’s plan from
start to finish we’re going to be unlocking economic activity and opportunity
for our region,” Flanagan concluded. Secretary Davey
gave an overview of the way forward on the Governor’s 21st century transportation
plan. “The current transportation
system we have in this commonwealth we can’t afford. What we have today we
can’t afford. What I’ve heard from folks like you is what we want is something
much better. And that we certainly can’t afford under today’s financing tax
structure. It is just a reality.” - Mass Transportation chief
Richard Davey Westport’s
proactive Senator Rodrigues brought the “Transportation
Forum: 21st Century Infrastructure Plan for the South Coast” to the Advanced
Technology and Management Center (ATMC) on Monday, March 4th as part of his "Bringing
Beacon Hill to the South Coast" series.
“I’d like to talk
a little more broadly about the big picture that we have launched in
transportation and the way forward plan,” Davey said. “The current
transportation system we have in this commonwealth we can’t afford. What we
have today we can’t afford. What I’ve heard from folks like you is what we
want is something much better,” Davey said. “And that we
certainly can’t afford under today’s financing tax structure. It is just a
reality,” he said. “There are three challenges
we face at the DOT (Department of Transportation). One, our Highway
Department, almost our entire Highway Department, is paid for off the state
credit card.” - Mass Transportation chief Richard Davey “There are three
buckets of things we want to fix and do. The very first is to actually pay
for what we have today. The second is to invest in the system we have
now. And the third is to make targeted
investments like South Coast Rail for future expansion that can unlock economic
development in jobs in places like Fall River and New Bedford and Springfield
and other parts of this Commonwealth that have been left behind, in our
opinion, because of the Big Dig and other projects we focused on for too
long,” Davey told his audience. “There are three
challenges we face at the DOT (Department of Transportation). One, our
Highway Department, almost our entire Highway Department, is paid for off the
state credit card. We have to fix that with revenues.” “Two, the MBTA is
the most indebted transited agency in the United States. They have been awashed in debt since the better part of the year 2000. “And third, our
regional transit authorities, which include SRTA, have been underfunded for
the better part of a decade.” “We want to assure
people that our gateway cities have good public transit across the state,”
Davey said. “We have to be
thinking about improving public transportation across the state.” “In Pittsfield
(for example) you can’t get a bus on Sunday, period. So if you’re a God
fearing person by the way I guess you’re waking to church or to religious
services on Sunday.” Davey outlines a three-pronged approach to
stabilizing the estate’s transportation infrastructure. Righting the financial ship. “One, so we have
to take care of the operations at the T, at our regional transit authorities,
and the highway division operation. We have to be
thinking about improving public transportation across the state,” Davey said. “Two, Invest in
our current system. Thanks to the legislative leadership in this district, we’ve
been spending lots of money on highway projects in Fall River in particular
the Route 79 project. But you need more,” the Transportation chief said. “There are 50
bridges that are closed right now in Massachusetts, another 400 that are
weight-limited. We have to invest in our roads, our bridges, and then in our
transit system. We need new buses; we need new trains, a lot of new stuff. We
have railway cars built tin 1969 that are old than I am.” Finally we need
to make targeted investments in the future of the Commonwealth. The Southcoast Rail being the biggest and largest investment.
It’s been 20 plus years we’ve been talking,” Davey said. “We need new buses; we need
new trains, a lot of new stuff. We have railway cars built in 1969 that are
old than I am.” - Mass Transportation chief Richard Davey “I met a
gentleman today, Tony Oliveira. Tony is 91. He sold tickets on the last
commuter rail train to New Bedford/Boston back in 1958. Now he told me he
wanted to sell tickets again on trains between new Bedford and Boston, Fall
River and Boston. I promised him that we’d make that happen on behalf of
Governor Patrick.” “Some say that the
Governor’s plan, this plan we put out, is too ambitious. But 80% of our plan
pays for what we want today.” “But let me tell
you something; we either going to pay for it now or pay for it later. There
is no choice,” Davey said. But what are you
guys doing at the DOT to reduce costs. What kind of waste and fraud are you
cutting out of the system?” “Let me tell you,”
Davey said. “A lot.” “Thanks to the
work that Governor Patrick and the legislature did back in 2009, we have
combined all of our transportation agencies and reformed the heck out of the
place.” The Governor’s
transportation salesman laid out a progressive plan address transportation infrastructure,
but implementation will take more than preaching to the choir. “The MBTA, the
Registry of Motor Vehicles, the Highway Division, the toll turnpike, all of
these agencies that used to fight among themselves, beat up on one another,
are all now merged into this one department that we call the Department of
Transportation. We are working together to make your experience better.” “We have saved
over $500 million dollars in the last three years realigning employee benefits, moving our employees
into group insurance network, insuring they are paying their fair share for
their health care,” Davey said. “It’s time to
make these investments. Today we believe investing in our future in growth
and economic development and jobs is the way to go in this Commonwealth, and
in all corners of the Commonwealth,” Davey concluded.
Left: Fall River mayor Will
Flanagan gave the opening remarks Right:
Westport’s State Senator Michael Rodrigues shares a light moment with
Massachusetts Department of Transportation Secretary Richard Davey.
Above: Westport
residents Mellissa Pacheco (left) and Jack Baughan
(right) listen to Secretary Davey’s remarks. Can the South Coast Rail be derailed?
“It’s a very good
question,” Davey said. “The answer is we’re
trying to build our plan and our program to be as bulletproof, I suppose, as
possible. And so for my team it’s to get this project permitted and completed
from that perspective as best we can, and to see if we can begin to drive
some construction before the end of Governor Partick’s
term,” Davey responded. “Once this
project is fully funded there’s no going back,” he said. But nothing is
etched in stone. The legislature
still has to approve financing the plan through increased taxation. Raynham Selectman
Joseph Pacheco recently aired his frustration with Patrick’s transportation
plan, which called for new taxes to raise money for the South Cost Rail
project. While Pacheco said Patrick’s tax plan is “ridiculous” because of the
burden it places on taxpayers, he said South Coast Rail is a “historical and
political inevitability.” Pacheco said he
doesn’t think the South Coast Rail will come as a result of Patrick’s 21st
Century Transportation Plan, but instead through a complete overhaul of the
state’s transportation system. Accolades to
Westport’s Senator Michael Rodrigues for bringing Beacon Hill and Boston’s administrative
leaders to the south coast, giving local area governments, citizens and activists
a chance to meet and question the key policy makers. Please do not
hesitate to contact Senator Rodrigues with any questions or concerns. He can
be reached at 617.722.1114. © 2013 Community Events of Westport. All rights
reserved. EverythingWestport.com |
