Westport
in Brief!
EverythingWestport.com
Friday,
January 03, 2014
photos/EverythingWestport.com
Quick
Article Index . . .
Westport
voters face April annual town election.
Moby Dick marathon returns to
the Whaling Museum January 3rd through the 5th.
Westport’s April election
season starts January 2nd.
Westport Penguins scuttle into
the frigid waters of the Westport River.
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15th annual
plunge saw air temperature of 23 degrees, 39 degree waters. EverythingWestport.com Wednesday,
January 1, 2014 Photos/EverythingWestport.com Click here to see 71 high-resolution photos. Need
Adobe Flash to view album? Click here!
Click here to view photos of 10 jump category
winners with the grand prize winner.. Shock and Awesome! What
would make 164 normally sensible souls take off perfectly warm clothing and
jump into the 39 degree waters of Westport Harbor wearing only skimpy
swimwear and anxious expressions?
And the brunch was free for anybody taking
the popular seaside restaurant’s annual Polar Bear Plunge. This New Year's Day saw seven plunging events
in the coastal villages of southern New England, from Little Compton to
Fairhaven. Whether they were a polar bear or a penguin
or just plain nuts, many stiffened up and took the dip for the sheer fun of
it, or to benefit a favorite charity. But none do
it better or with more style than Westport’s Back Eddy Restaurant. The 164 jumpers were less than last year’s
177, and certainly didn’t threaten 2012‘s record of 318 (the 58 degree air
temperatures brought out polar bears and watchers from all over the area.) "They have
to totally submerge their body," said Sal Liotta,
manager of Westport’s popular Back Eddy Restaurant. "Every hair has to
be wet to get a free brunch!" The brunch? Platters of warm breakfast and
barbeque, flatbreads, omelets, chicken fingers, salmon, and well you get the
picture. Each jumper had to sign a registration form and a liability release
to jump.
"They
have to totally submerge their body," Back Eddy manager Sal Liotta, said. "Every hair has to be wet to get a
free brunch!" “We have a gorgeous sunshiny day, a balmy 23 degree air temperature,
and the water temperature is almost tropical - 39 degrees,” Liotta said! “So anybody who jumps today is going to earn that brunch! We really
appreciate everybody coming down,” Liotta said. "Today it was a very well organized and seamless effort to process
the jumpers, probably because we lengthened the jumping period two years ago
from two to three hours," Liotta added. "We
now have an excellent system," he said. "The frigid weather brought
out fewer jumpers, and everyone hustled to get out of the cold air and wind,
and back into dry clothes.” There were no repeat or prolonged jumpers this year. “We really didn't experience any backups," Liotta
said. "It was very entertaining out on the float and the dock and more
fun for the spectators too, although they were fewer watching this year
because of the cold,” Liotta said." Despite frigid temperatures and 15 knot winds, over 80 brave souls
took the leap of faith in the first hour of the 15th annual Back Eddy Polar
Bear Plunge. The determined bunch of cold water swimmers defied the frigid
conditions to earn a Back Eddy brunch, bringing in the new year in a fashion
alien to most normal folk. “We had 164 jumpers signing waivers,” said Liotta.
“And unusual in the years we have been running the Plunge, we had 164 other
patrons just buying brunch.” “We prepared for 200 jumpers,” Liotta said.
“But I was still surprised by the turnout.” “Diving into the water isn’t bad,” said one jumper. “It’s getting out
into the wind that’s a killer.” What happens in the first one to two minutes is what enthusiasts call
the cold shock response. The body reacts by getting very revved up. “It refreshing,” said another jumper. Yah, right. “Next year will be our 16th anniversary plunge,” Liotta
said. “I hope to see everyone there!”
Left: Potential jumpers stacked up at
the front door to register and sign waivers.
Right: hungry, bundled up
polar bears waited outside for their turn.
Left: this polar bear was basking in the
sunshine, just out for a New Year’s Day swim.
Right: “Are you serious!
You want me to jump in?” She eventually relented and took the plunge.
Above left, clockwise: This couple
had the most impressive style!
Above: Livvy
Collins, 11, and friend, Dakotah Jennings, 12, take
the plunge under the watchful eye of EMT/Paramedic Jim Rayne of Westport who
works in the Charlton Memorial emergency room. Jim volunteered to provide
emergency services if required.
Left: Best imitation of polar bear-like
plunge. Right: Best shock and awe jump by a jumper.
Left: Best hair for a female jumper. Right:
Best cannonball jump.
Left: Best father/daughter jump – Mark Collins
of Westport and daughter, Jackie, 13. Right: Most athletic jump by a
female.
Left: Most laid back jump. Right:
Best “I can’t believe how stupid I was to do what I just did” look!
Left: Best dive by a male with reluctant
female companion. Right: Best mental preparation before jumping into 39 degree
water!
Above: and the overall winner of the 15th
annual Polar bear Plunge – Best throwing
your friend to the wolves jump. Joyce Zielinski of Westport (left) gives
daughter, Maggie, 12, an encouraging push while friend Maria Faioes,12, pulls away and laughs when Maggie hits the water.
Above: Alex Steele and fiancé Jeremy Saksik take the plunge off the Back Eddy dock, before
taking the “big” plunge. Does the oath “for better or worse, until death do
us part” include jumping into frigid water, hand in hand?
Above, left to right: Mollie Quelle experiences more than just a little “shock and awe”
as she jumps off the Back Eddy dock into the icy brine A bundled up
Shorelines photographer and EMT/Paramedic Jim Rayne of Westport look on. Westport Penguins scuttle into the frigid waters of the
Westport River. EverythingWestport.com Wednesday,
January 1, 2014 Photos/EverythingWestport.com Click
here to view
video of 15th annual Polar Bear Plunge at the Back Eddy Restaurant. Westport Penguin Plunge since 1975 -
Children's Beach, Westport at 12 noon. Since 1975 the Westport Penguin Plunge has sponsored a New Year’s Day swimming
event in Westport Harbor. The
noon-time “run and splash” was at the Children’s Beach, near the Westport
Yacht Club, on the river side of Cherry and Webb Lane. Starter Westport summer resident Tom Cioffi of Florida launched the wave of 20+ hardy swimmers
with a mighty blast of his hunter’s horn. The young and not so young were all
invited to take the chilly dip in Westport Harbor. Originally organized by Jonathon Paull, Fred Johnson, and Jack Dolan in 1975, the New
Year’s Day activity event has been an annual event ever since, raising money
for good causes.
Westport voters face annual April town election. Town Clerk Marlene Samson
announces that nomination papers are now available. EverythingWestport.com Friday,
January 04, 2013 Photos/EverythingWestport.com Westport voters will
have to consider their choices for the
upcoming Annual April Town Election, including the possibility of a
controversial Proposition 2 ½ ballot question. Town Clerk Marlene
Samson announced that Nomination Papers will be available on
January 3, 2013 for the three year positions of: One Selectman, one
Moderator, one Assessor, one Board of Health, two School Committee, one Fish
Commissioner, two Trustees of Free Public Library, one Landing Commissioner,
and one Commissioner of Trust Funds. For Five Years: One Housing Authority
and one Planning Board. There is also a three year unexpired term
for Planning Board made vacant by the recent resignation of Planning Board Chairman John Montano. “Yup, I’m running
again,” incumbent Select Board Chairman Richard Spirlet said when asked at
Wednesday’s Select Board meeting. “As a board we have worked well together. I
hope to continue that forward momentum in a second term.” As Chairman, Spirlet
has been seen as a fair and balanced leader of a board that has had its share
of testy disagreements. School Committee
Chairwoman Michelle Duarte was first out of the blocks, picking up her
nomination papers Friday morning, January 4th. If re-elected, Duarte
faces compelling challenges with budget constraints and the over-shadowing
issue of PCBs at the Middle School that will test the mettle of the School
Committee. The Planning Board has
a lot on its plate, what with the recent resignation of Town Planner Sarah Raposa, and the daunting job of establishing a revised
Solar Bylaw for commercial projects, while attempting to establish bylaws
controlling the growth of Central Village. Voters could also face
a ballot question that would change a town bylaw, changing the elected
position of Highway Surveyor back to a Select Board appointed post. And as if that isn’t
enough, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry will probably be picked by President
Barack Obama to serve as Secretary of State, prompting an election that would
have to be held within 160 days of Kerry’s resignation, who if picked is
expected to resign in January. Deadline for obtaining nomination papers is
4 p.m., Thursday, February 14, 2013; the
deadline for filing nomination papers with the Board of Registrars is 5 p.m.,
Tuesday, February 19, 2013. Moby Dick
marathon returns to the Whaling Museum January 3rd through the 5th. Important!
The New Bedford Whaling Museum is closed Friday, January 3rd due to the snow
forecast. The Moby-Dick Marathon will go on January 4-5 as scheduled with
additional updates as noted below. EverythingWestport.com Friday, January
03, 2014
Postponed: Gene Scheer lecture is postponed to
Saturday, Jan. 4 at 10 a.m. in the Cook Memorial Theater. “Stump the
Scholars” program is canceled. Postponed: “Martin and Moby” exhibit opening of works by Mattapoisett artist
Peter Michael Martin is postponed until Sunday, Jan. 5 at 1 p.m., immediately
following the marathon.
Click here to view video clip 2 of 2 - 2012 16th annual Moby Dick
Marathon. Click here to view
photos from 2010 Moby Dick Marathon. - 16 photos. 18th annual Moby-Dick
Marathon Schedule
| Reading Timetable | Livestream | Donate The Moby-Dick Marathon at the New Bedford Whaling Museum is the world’s
best known ‘readathon’ of Herman Melville's
literary masterpiece. It is a nonstop reading commemorating the anniversary
of the departure of the ship Acushnet from the whaling port of New
Bedford with 21-year-old Herman Melville aboard. Our 18th Moby-Dick Marathon is the longest continually
running ‘readathon’ of Herman
Melville’s literary masterpiece. Sponsored by Empire Loan and Rockland Trust Following
is an updated schedule for the Moby-Dick Marathon: Saturday, January 4 10 a.m. – Free
public program, "Mast-headers and opera glasses: A conversation with
librettist Gene Scheer about creating Moby-Dick the
opera with Jake Heggie", Cook Memorial Theater 11:30 a.m. –
Moby-Dick “Extracts,” read by the Melville Society, Bourne Building 11:50 a.m. –
Welcome, James Russell, President and CEO 12 p.m. – Moby-Dick
Marathon reading begins, Bourne Building 1:30 p.m. –
Chapters 7-9 in the Seamen’s Bethel 2:30 p.m. –
Marathon continues in the Jacobs Family Gallery 2-3 p.m. – Chat
with Melville scholars, Wattles Family Gallery 4-5:30 p.m. –
Chat with Melville artist Peter Michael Martin, Centre Street Gallery 6-7 p.m. –
Conversation with Melville artist Vanessa Hodgkinson,
Wattles Gallery 7 p.m. – Chapters
35-40 “Midnight, Forecastle” performed by Culture*Park 8 p.m. – Marathon
continues, Jacobs Family Gallery Sunday, January 5 9:30-11:00 a.m. –
Chat with Melville scholars, Wattles Family Gallery 10-11:30 a.m. –
Chat with Melville artist Peter Michael Martin, Centre Street Gallery 1 p.m. – Marathon
finale 1 p.m. – Exhibit
opening “Martin and Moby”, Centre Street Gallery Live streaming of
the entire reading will be available on the museum’s website www.whalingmuseum.org.
To view on Smartphones and tablets, download the free app. Use #MDM18 in all
social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, and Pinterest.
Refreshments will be available for sale throughout the marathon. Sponsored in part
by Rockland Trust and Empire Loan Charitable Foundation, admission is free to
marathon programs. Freewill donations supporting museum programs are
gratefully accepted. The New Bedford
Whaling Museum is the world's most comprehensive museum devoted to the global
story of whales, whaling and the cultural history of the region. The
cornerstone of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, the Museum is
located at 18 Johnny Cake Hill in the heart of the city's historic downtown. Winter hours,
November through March: Tuesday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday 11
a.m. to 4 p.m.; open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on holiday Mondays. For more info: www.whalingmuseum.org.
Every year, early in January, a local celebrity figure traditionally
kicks-off the reading beginning with the most famous opening line in American
literature, "Call me Ishmael." From the moment those words are
uttered to approximately 25 hours later when Ishmael is rescued from the
Pacific by the Rachel, more than 150 readers each will have read a
short passage from this novel. Some will have read in Portuguese, Japanese, Italian, Danish, Spanish,
Hebrew, Russian and/or French, followed by that same passage in English. One
passage will have been read from Braille. The Seamen’s Bethel will have hosted the singing of “The Ribs and
Terrors in the Whale” and the reading of Father Mapple’s
sermon. At the end, a few hardy souls will have stayed for the whole adventure. Readers will include professors, fishermen, schoolteachers, students,
congressmen, mayors, city councilors, journalists, physicians, clergy, and
other lovers of Melville and Moby-Dick. Click here to download the Moby-Dick 2014 Poster PDF Marathon Reading Timetable: Approximate Time, Page and Chapter in the
book for each Watch (based on notes from 2008). Click here for the Reading Timetable. In addition to the
nonstop reading – additional activities that weekend include: ·
Related Museum exhibition: Martin & Moby by local Moby-Dick-inspired
artist Peter Michael Martin. ·
Ongoing related exhibitions in the Museum and
Research Library The public is cordially invited to come and go at any time during the
marathon, or stay awake for the entire 25 hours and win a prize. Westport’s
April election season starts January 2nd. One
elected position will be conspicuously absent from the ballot. EverythingWestport.com Saturday, January
04, 2014 The town clerk’s
office has released a list of positions up for bid on the April 8th annual
ballot. But one will be
conspicuously absent. The Highway
Surveyor, normally up for election this year, is now an appointed position
thanks to a vote at last year’s annual town meeting. Read
article. “We decided to move
forward quickly to change the Highway Surveyor to an appointed position last
year (January, 2013) as we wanted to avoid having to pass the measure at the
2014 annual spring election at the same time the Highway Surveyor would be up
for re-election,” said former Board of Selectmen Chairman Richard
Spirlet. Highway Surveyor
Harold “Jack” Sisson, still free on his own recognizance, awaits a
long-delayed trial on charges of receiving stolen property, larceny and
conspiracy. Sisson has entered a not guilty plea, and has been free on
personal recognizance. Nomination papers
are available for 18 spots on various town boards and committees at the Town
Hall clerk’s office, 816 Main Road, Westport. Click here for all the details. Town Clerk
Marlene Samson announced Thursday, January 2nd that nomination papers for the
town’s 2104 annual election are now available for those interested in running
for one of many of positions in the April 8th election. With the new year
comes the official start of the spring election season, with a range of key
positions in town government up for grabs in the April 8th annual town
election.
Inset: Town Clerk Marlene Samson swears in Antone
Vieira Jr. on April 12, 2011 for his first three-year term as Westport
Selectman. Town Clerk
Marlene Samson, Treasurer George Foster, and Collector of Taxes Carol Borden
are also expected to seek new terms in office. Other positions
on the spring ballot include a three-year seat on the Westport School
Committee currently filled by Michael Sullivan, a three-year term on the Diman Regional School Committee presently held by
longtime member Paul Jennings, and a three-year seat on the Board of
Assessors currently held by long-term member John McDermott. There is no
incumbent for the three-year post on the Board of Health as former board member
Donna Lambert resigned to avoid a conflict-of-interest concern by Selectmen
when she became Westport’s Animal Control Officer; appointee Karl Santos is
currently filling the board’s open seat. Other officials
also up for re-election this year are Fish Commissioner George Yeomans, constables Joe Migliori
and William Pariseau, Trustees of the Westport Free
Public Library Pauline Dooley and Joseph Wisniewski, Commissioner of Trust
Funds Maxwell Turner, and Landing Commission member Jack Sisson Jr.
The deadline for
filing nomination papers with the Board of Registrars is Tuesday, February
18, 2014 at 5 p.m. Candidates will
no longer have to pick up their certified nomination papers from the
Registrar's office and hand deliver them to the Town Clerk; that step was
negated by a Superior Court judgment made in April of 2011. However, it will
be the responsibility of the candidate(s) to check the validity of the
signatures; failure to do so could leave them off the ballot. Stayed tuned for
all the election news as it happens, only on EverythingWestport.com. © 2014 Community Events of Westport. All rights reserved. EverythingWestport.com |
