pembroke express 12-11-2009

Volume 2 No. 50 — ComPlImeNTARY

Published by ClIPPeR PRess –– a local, family-owned business oN THe WeB: www.pembrokexpress.com e-mAIl: [email protected] AdVeRTIsINg: 781-934-2811 x23

FRIdAY, deCemBeR 11, 2009“Alas! How dreary would be the world if there was no Santa Claus!” — Francis P. Church

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WAITING FOR THE BIG GUY: Brothers Hunter, 4, and Jake Logan, 2, enjoy a little coloring and breakfast while awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus at Center Nursery Kindergarten’s annual Breakfast with Santa event on Saturday, Dec. 5 at First Church. Santa was busy this weekend, stopping by for breakfast with local tykes before making a grand appearance on a fire truck at the Chamber of Commerce’s annual tree lighting ceremony on Sunday. See photos from the breakfast inside on page 26, and photos from the tree lighting on page 12. Photo by Denise Hawes

By Becca Manning, express staff [email protected]

A local woman who wants to see dogs banned from town cemeteries said she is will-ing to take the issue to Town Meeting voters if necessary.

Carol Mont appeared be-fore selectmen on Monday to discuss her concerns, which were outlined in a letter sent to the board on Nov. 20. Mont said she had attempted to arrange a meeting with the Department of Public Works commission-ers and cemetery trustees but had been unsuccessful. That’s when she decided to take her concerns to selectmen.

“I wasn’t getting anywhere

with the DPW,” Mont said.Mont visits Pembroke

Center Cemetery daily, pay-ing respects to her husband, Gerald Mont, who died about two years ago. She said she has seen dogs running loose in the cemetery, despite signs declaring animals must be on leashes, and has seen dogs both on and off the leash re-lieving themselves on and around gravestones.

“I think it’s disrespectful to let your animal relieve itself on a grave,” Mont said. “It’s a sacred thing. It’s where some-one’s loved one is buried.”


There was only one race and six names on Tuesday’s state primary ballot, but that didn’t deter several Pembroke residents from showing up to cast their votes. Some came simply because they always vote, while others had a spe-cific candidate in mind.

Others wanted to set a good example for their children.

“I have three daughters, and we talk a lot about wom-en getting to vote, the 19th


She’s been a mouse, a candy cane and an angel, but this year Candace Mitchell will be in the spotlight as

Clara in a local production of “The Nutcrack-er Ballet.”

Mitchell’s young Clara will take the stage this weekend in Marshfield along with the Nutcracker Prince, Sugar Plum Fairy, Mouse King and the rest of the colorful cast in the Dance Workshop of Hanover Children’s Dance Ensemble production of the popular holiday ballet.

Mitchell, 13, has been dancing with the Dance Workshop of Hanover since she was 2 1/2, and has played a variety of roles in the annual ballet. Children from the dance com-pany are selected each year to be part of the ensemble and then assigned roles.

Cemetery dog ban proposedResident: Letting pets run is ‘disrespectful’ to other visitors

continued on page 10

Primary voters few but faithfulResults echo statewide numbers

How did Pembroke vote?

Local results from the Dec. 8 special state primary:

U.S. Senate, DemocratMichael E. Capuano 331Martha Coakley 802Alan Khazei 172Stephen Pagliuca 220

U.S. Senate, RepublicanScott Brown 570Jack E. Robinson 72

Blank/Write-ins 7

Total voters 2,174


Big step for little ballerinaPembroke teen to star as Clara in local ‘Nutcracker’

Candace Mitchell, 13, plays Clara in the Children’s Dance Ensemble production of “The Nutcracker Ballet” this weekend in Marshfield.

WHEN: Sat., Dec. 12, 4 p.m.; Sun., Dec. 13, noonWHERE: Furnace Brook Middle School, 530 Furnace St., MarshfieldTICKETS: $14 adults, $10 children, at the door or in advance at Dance Essentials in Hanover


The Nutcracker Ballet

Friday, December 11, 20092 Pembroke Express – Your Hometown Newspaper!

REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS

11 High Avenue. $160,000, Dale M. Hayes to Keith D. Lamarre, Nov. 20.4 Long Hill Road. $364,000, Matthew Sweeney and Lynne Sweeney to Jacob Reichert and Jessica O’Neil, Nov. 20.34 Mattakeesett Street #14. $230,000, Erin C. Tutela/Erin C. Toomey to Kimberly J. Dickinson, Nov. 24.10 Sandy Lane. $241,000, Addie M. Jordan to Daniel S. Leary, Nov. 20.241 West Elm Street. $422,000, Breen Realty Trust and John J. Breen to James C. Brierley and Jill M. Brierley, Nov. 23.523 Washington Street C-12. $235,000, Patricia Johnson to Michael Douglas Vickery, Nov. 23.

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Wishing you a happy holiday season!

Chamber holiday party

The Pembroke Chamber of Commerce hosted a regional holiday party on Friday, Dec. 4 at the Pembroke Country Club. Local business leaders from around the South Shore got a chance to mingle and enjoy a fine meal and music from Boston’s own Fat City Band.

Chamber members Barbara Case [above] and Jim Hayden [below] are presented with plaques to recognize their efforts in support of the local business community. Joining them are Pembroke Chamber executive board members Kathy Keegan and Dan Vail.

Outgoing Pembroke Chamber

president Dan Vail offers

congratulations to incoming

president Dave Shea.

Chamber member Josh Cutler with his wife, Leslie, who has a psychotherapy practice in Pembroke.

The lucky guy is Gerry Pieri of Marshfield, with wife Susan, left, and Kathy Keegan of RE/MAX Paramount Realty, right.

Correct number for info about Boys Club karate

The karate program telephone number printed with last week’s article about the Pembroke Police Boys Club, which was pulled from an online listing, was incorrect. The correct number for the Uechi Ryu Karate program at the Boys Club is 781-293-6616.

The Express is committed to accuracy in all its news re-ports. Although safeguards are in place to ensure accurate re-porting, mistakes can occur. If you find a mistake, please call 781-934-2811 or e-mail [email protected].

3Friday, December 11, 2009 Pembroke Express – Your Hometown Newspaper!

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A local teenager was rec-ognized by selectmen Monday night for her “outstanding dis-play of bravery” during a fire at the home where she was babysitting on Sept. 21.

Meaghan Cooney, 13, ap-peared before the board with her parents to receive the com-mendation.

“Your quick response and courageous action to the emer-gency that arose while you were babysitting is a positive message to our citizens of Pembroke that we have such responsible and caring young members of our community,” Selectmen Bill Boulter read from the commendation. “We are proud to have a young resi-dent who represents these at-tributes and has undoubtedly made a lasting impression on our townspeople.”

Cooney, an eighth grader at Pembroke Community Mid-dle School, was babysitting at 36 Pine Mill Drive on Sept. 21 when she heard a smoke alarm and quickly got the children

out of the house to a neigh-bor’s house, where she called 9-1-1.

Pembroke Fire Deputy Chief George Emanuel said in September that Cooney did exactly the right thing when faced with an emergency.

“She was very composed, very exact. She gave us the proper information and gave it all to us correctly,” he said.

The fire, which was ruled accidental, spread quickly from the garage through the breezeway and into the attic, gutting the garage but caus-ing smoke and water damage to the main part of the house. The fire also damaged two ve-hicles that had been parked in the driveway.

Cooney did not have much to say after receiving the award on Monday night, but her par-ents said she was pleased with the award, though she felt she “didn’t do anything special.”

Also Monday:• Selectmen rescinded last

week’s vote to appoint Greg Hanley to the Housing Author-ity Board. The appointment

must be made jointly with the remaining Housing Authority members and will be done at a future meeting.

• Selectmen approved a donation of about 10 acres of land off Pelham Street to the town to be held as conserva-tion land. The land is being do-nated by Richard G. Ridder of Plymouth. The land is located near property already owned by the town and which has been proposed as a potential site for a single-family Habitat for Humanity home.

Babysitter commended for keeping calm in fireTeen receives selectmen’s award

Meaghan Cooney, 13, received a commendation from the Board of Selectmen for her quick actions in a Sept. 21 fire.


Man ordered to repay $300 to Stop & Shop

A Rockland man admitted to stealing a de-posit bag containing $300 from the Pembroke Stop & Shop service desk last Friday in Plym-outh District Court.

Jonathan E. Verrier, 19, of Rockland was ordered to pay restitution of $300 to Stop & Shop and was sentenced to one year of proba-tion on the charge, larceny over $250. His case was continued without a finding until Dec. 3, 2010.

Verrier was seen on a store surveillance tape on June 5 reaching over the service desk and taking a deposit bag, then returning a few minutes later and taking several envelopes from under the desk, according to police reports. He was identified by a local detective and later ar-rested on a straight warrant.

Woman gets probation for damaging vehicle

A Pembroke woman accused of using a rock to damage the vehicle of her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend and then trying to run over her ex admitted to the charges last Friday in Plym-outh District Court.

Alicia E. Pilalas, 25, of Pembroke Woods Drive, admitted to assault with a dangerous weapon and malicious damage over $250 on Dec. 4 and was sentenced to six months pro-bation. She also was ordered to pay $500 in restitution. Her case was continued without a finding until June 4.

According to Kingston police reports, Pila-las confronted her ex-boyfriend at his Kingston home on Aug. 18, walking into his house with-out being invited and then damaging his new girlfriend’s vehicle after being told to leave. Pilalas pounded the window with her fists and then used a rock to scrape every panel on the car, including the trunk, where she scratched a slur in the paint, according to police reports.

When her ex came outside and told Pilalas that he had called police, she drove her vehicle toward him, forcing him to jump out of the way, according to reports.

She was later arrested by Pembroke police on a straight warrant.

Assault charges dropped

A Pembroke man accused of hitting his mother after an argument over shoveling snow in February had all charges dismissed without prejudice last Tuesday in Plymouth District Court.

Barry Sylvester, 39, formerly of Alvern Road, faced a list of charges from the incident, including felony aggravated assault and bat-tery, assault and battery, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault to murder and resisting arrest. All charges were dismissed on Dec. 1.

Guilty plea in attempted strangling incident

A former Elm Street resident accused of try-ing to strangle his girlfriend with a sock during an argument in 2006 pled guilty to several as-sault charges and was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in jail, suspended for two years.

Darren F. Darosa, 26, formerly of Elm Street and now of Whitman, pled guilty on Dec. 1 to assault and battery, aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He was placed on probation until Dec. 1, 2011.

The charges stem from an Oct. 25, 2006 incident in which Darosa tried to strangle the victim with his hands and with a sock during an early morning argument at his Elm Street home.

Darosa originally faced four counts of at-tempted murder but the case was dismissed in July 2007 when the victim refused to testify. A new complaint was filed against him on June 3, 2009, and the victim agreed to cooperate, ac-cording to court documents.

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friDAY, NoVeMBer 278:00 a.m. Police arrested

Michael A. Subenko, 31, of Wey-mouth on a straight warrant.

12:04 p.m. Caller reported suspicious activity on Havard Street.

2:50 p.m. Police stopped ve-hicle on Schoosett Street and ar-rested Ryan J. O’Connell, 23, of Tara Drive on a default warrant for failure to appear.

SAturDAY, NoVeMBer 281:25 a.m. Caller reported do-

mestic dispute on Center Street.8:35 a.m. Caller reported

break-in at business on Water Street.

1:22 p.m. Caller reported motor vehicle crash with damage over $1,000 on Schoosett Street.

10:59 p.m. Caller reported animal complaint on Taylor St.

SuNDAY, NoVeMBer 293:40 a.m. Caller reported

motor vehicle crash with damage over $1,000 on West Elm Street.

8:30 a.m. Caller reported disturbance on Pembroke Woods Drive.

8:50 a.m. Caller reported suspicious activity on Union Street and Antilla Court. Police investigating.

10:15 a.m. Caller reported noise complaint on Mattakeesett Street.

11:00 a.m. Caller reported dog complaint on Dwelley St.

11:56 a.m. Caller reported vandalism on Chapel Street.

9:00 p.m. Caller reported threatening on Fish Street.

MoNDAY, NoVeMBer 309:20 a.m. Caller reported

missing property on River Point Drive.

11:16 a.m. Caller reported fraud on Church Street. Police investigating.

11:32 a.m. Caller reported suspicious activity on Kilcom-mons Drive.

12:00 p.m. Caller reported disturbance on Highland Drive.

tueSDAY, DeCeMBer 19:48 a.m. Caller reported sus-

picious activity on Mill Street.10:30 a.m. Caller reported

motor vehicle crash with damage over $1,000 on Pudding Brook Drive.

11:04 a.m. Caller reported injury on Center Street.

11:31 a.m. Caller reported animal complaint on Grace Ann Road.

3:29 p.m. Caller reported trash complaint on Corporate Park Drive.

6:49 p.m. Caller reported civil complaint on Parker Road. Police advised civil action.

7:07 p.m. Caller reported parking complaint on Mountain Ash Lane.

9:29 p.m. Caller reported disturbance on Ridge Avenue.

WeDNeSDAY, DeCeMBer 21:04 a.m. Caller reported

suspicious motor vehicle on Plymouth Street.

3:30 p.m. Caller reported lar-ceny on Oldham Street.

4:31 p.m. Caller reported do-mestic incident on Indian Trail.

5:01 p.m. Caller reported suspicious motor vehicle on Wind Swept Bogs. Police arrested Jon Robert Carter, 20, of Catherine Road for underage possession of liquor.

tHurSDAY, DeCeMBer 38:30 a.m. Caller reported fire

incident on Fairview Avenue and Thrasher Street.

10:50 a.m. Caller reported drug law violations on Union Street.

1:41 p.m. Caller reported motor vehicle complaint on Cen-ter Street. Police arrested John James Willis, 38, of Malden for driving with suspended registra-tion and driving with a suspended license, subsequent offense.

5:14 p.m. Caller reported suspicious motor vehicle on Edgewater Drive.

7:18 p.m. Caller reported runaway juvenile on Oak Street.

The Friends of the Coun-cil on Aging will meet on Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 10:30 a.m. The Friends will host a Christmas party on Wednes-day, Dec. 16 after the Dollar Day luncheon at 12:30 p.m. Charlene Allen will entertain on the organ. There will be desserts followed by a raffle. Sign up in the reception area at the senior center or by call-ing 781-294-8220.

A second Dollar Day lun-cheon will be held on Wednes-day, Dec. 30. Charlene Allen will entertain. A New Year’s Eve celebration will follow at 12:30 p.m., after lunch.

Also this month, the Mass. SMP Program will hold a seminar entitled “Prevent-ing Healthcare Errors, Fraud and Abuses” on Thursday, Dec. 17 at 12:30 p.m. This seminar will teach Medicare

and Medicaid consumers the importance of becoming en-gaged healthcare consumers and will empower consumers in this effort.

The Council on Aging will be offering a diabetes self management training se-ries in January. Stay tuned for more information, or stop by the senior center.

The COA board will meet on Jan. 12 at 7 p.m.

December activities at the COAThe Pembroke Commu-

nity Group has begun its an-nual fund drive for the 2008 holiday season. This program assists Pembroke families, elders or any person in need by providing food, gifts and clothing for the holidays. All names remain confidential. Any person knowing of any-one in need or who is in need of assistance should contact group director Linda Porazzo at 781-243-1103.

The Community Group also is conducting a toy and clothing drive. Anyone wish-ing to drop off new toys and

clothing may take them to the Fire Department headquar-ters in the Center or at North Pembroke Post Office, or may make arrangements to drop off items at the Recreation Department by calling Sue at 781-293-3249. The group is always in need of items and gift certificates for teens and adults. Please make sure the label is still on the clothing. Price tags can be removed. Items should not be wrapped.

Monetary donations can be sent to Pembroke Community Group, P.O. Box 1387, Pem-broke, MA 02359.

Holiday toy, clothing drive



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It seems the Grinch is alive and well on School Street.

That’s what resident Alber-ta Stillings realized last week after she discovered someone had stolen Christmas decora-tions from her front yard. The almost life-size stuffed Santa, Mrs. Claus and a snowman had been tied to a bench in front of her home at 374 School Street, brightening the neighborhood as they had done for years.

A neighbor helped Still-ings, who is in her 80s, put out the three figures on Wednes-day evening. By Thursday morning, the decorations were gone.

“It’s really disgusting,” Stillings said. “I’ve lived here for 50 years and I’ve never had any problems.”

Stillings reported the theft to the police but as of Tuesday had not heard any news.

Friend and neighbor Phyl-lis LeBlanc said years ago Stillings had asked her about the Santa, Mrs. Claus and snowman decorations she saw in LeBlanc’s yard. The ap-proximately four-foot-high figures were made of nylon and stuffed and came from a

Lillian Vernon catalog.“They’re cute,” LeBlanc

said of the figures. “She fell in love with them and she had to buy them for her daughter.”

LeBlanc said she and other neighbors had tried looking for replacements online but that the company did not appear to sell them anymore.

“It’s very disheartening to think that someone would stoop that low,” she said.

LeBlanc said she hopes someone may have seen who took the figures, or that who-ever took them would bring them back.

She also is concerned

about the security of her own decorations. About five years ago, LeBlanc had a large, hol-low plastic snowman that was taken from her yard, and she worries that her newer figures could be next.

“We came back from shop-ping and he was gone, just a spot in the snow where he had been,” she said.

Stillings said she just wants her decorations back, no questions asked — or at the very least a call to say they’re being taken care of.

“It’s not like they’re real people,” she said. “But they’re a part of our Christmas.”

Grinch strikes on School St.Local woman saddened by theft of Santa pair, snowman

MISSING: A large stuffed snowman, like the one pic-tured at left, and a Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus set were stolen from outside a School Street home last week. The decora-tions had been part of the resi-dent’s Christmas tradition for many years.


Last spring, ➢ Rita and Bill Boulter found a cat and four kittens under their shed. Not long after, two additional kit-tens appeared. After checking with the neighbors, it became apparent it was a feral cat that had given birth. Asking advice from the Humane Society, they trapped the kittens and mother and took them inside. Mother and babies were spayed and vaccinated in time. The mother cat eventually climbed up the blinds, pushed out a screen and escaped. Rita and Bill doted on the kittens. Rita fell in love with Mia. She was definitely a keep-er. Thomas became attached to Bill. In the end, because Coco did not like to be touched by anyone, he and Mia would stay with the Boulters. The other kittens when they became com-fortable around people were sent to a pet shop to find a new home. One day, when Rita and Bill went by the pet shop, there was Thomas, who came right over to Bill. The bond was so strong that Rita paid $175 to buy Thomas back. Just ask Rita and Bill and they will tell you that Mia, Coco, and Thomas are quite a delight.

Pembroke resident ➢ Susan Taylor Blaauw is fascinated with the art of basketweaving and started making Shaker and American Indian style baskets in the early ’80s. It all started in 1983 with a basket weav-ing class at Braid-Aid in Pem-broke. In 1992, Susan took an intensive weekend workshop on how to make Nantucket bas-kets at a ski lodge in Stowe, Vt. Susan is still making baskets and has classes at her home in Pembroke. She derives pleasure from making her own pieces and from sharing her talent with others. She is especially proud of having three genera-tions of basket weavers in the family including her daughter, AmyBeth, her granddaugh-ter, Brenda, and her grandson, Jonathon. Susan does some work on commission and loves to make her Nantucket baskets for gifts. Susan likes to think of her baskets as sturdy and utili-

tarian from the smallest basket used for party toothpicks to one of the larger baskets, which can hold five pounds of potatoes, to the special cradle that has been a source of comfort to various grandchildren.

Looking for something ➢local to hang on the tree? The Pembroke Science Fair Com-mittee, led by chairman Caro-lyn Cleary, is holding their holiday ornament fundraiser. The landmark featured on this

year’s ornament is the Cobb Library in Bryantville, hand-painted by Marshfield artist Sally Dean. The ornaments are on sale at the Pembroke Public Library for $12; all proceeds are used to fund the annual el-ementary school science fair. In the past, ornaments have featured the Adah Hall House, Lydia Drake Library, Grange, Friend’s Meeting House and Herring Run. Past ornaments also are available at the library. An interesting note: In 2008, Dean was invited to decorate an ornament representing the 10th Congressional District to hang on the Christmas tree in the White House.

The Pembroke High ➢School Music Department is pleased to announce that the following students have been selected by competitive audi-tion as members of the 2010 Southeast Junior District Mu-sic Festival Band — Charles Meyer, clarinet — and Chorus: sopranos Sarah Alfano, Mad-eline Healey, Nicole Kinsherf and Kathleen McAlear; altos Colleen Burns, Kayla Kenney and Emily Nicklas; and tenor Stephen Lathrop. These stu-dents will perform in a two-day festival to be held March 5 and 6 at Attleboro High School.

Last Saturday evening, John and I attended the Clipper Press Christmas party. It was one of

the nicest Christmas parties we have at-tended in years. On Sunday morning, we were up bright and early and set out for Boston to accomplish a few things on our list. First thing on the agenda was to attend Mass in Prudential’s St. Francis Chapel. We then decided to take ourselves to the Top of the Hub for brunch. It has always been our philoso-phy that if you don’t take good care of yourself, nobody else will. It was a lovely day. Visibility could not have been better. As we had a leisurely meal at a table by the window, on the 52nd floor, we could see for miles around us. After brunch, we walked to Copley Place to do some shopping. We carried our packages to the car that was parked in a spot we had found on West Newton Street when we arrived. We then drove off to take the business related photos that were the main purpose of the trip into Boston in the first place. It was quite a delightful and eventful weekend. And now let’s see what’s going on around town.

Around Townwith Beverly o’connor

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ON-SCREEN STYLE: Fashion Focus founder Maria Wood, second from left, and students Janine Yee, Seantel Trombly, Samantha Gustin, Salvatore Santone and Jeremy Steel visited with FOX 25’s Kim Carrigan on Nov. 18 and showed off holiday fashions. It was their second appearance on the station’s “The Look” segment. This was a great opportunity for the students to display the poise and self-confidence they have gained at Fashion Focus.

TOP TURKEY: Karen Morley, an agent in the Jack Conway Co. Pembroke office, recently received the company’s “Turkey” award during the annual Thanksgiving Awards Breakfast held at Plimoth Plantation. The “Turkey” awards are presented each year to Jack Conway Co. agents who are selected by their coworkers for having team and company spirit, and who do service above and beyond in the community and in their individual offices. Non-perishable food items were also collected during the ceremonies and delivered to the Charity Guild in Brockton.



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Cutler stepping down as Clipper Press publisher

Express publisher Josh Cutler an-nounced this week

he will be stepping down from his role at the newspaper.

Veteran staffer Justin Graeber will assume the role of general manager. Becca Manning remains editor of the paper.

Cutler, 39, launched the Hanson Express in 2001 and the Pembroke Express in 2008. Previously he served as editor of the Duxbury Clipper, a fam-ily-owned business founded by his grandparents, John and Roberta Cutler, in 1950.

“Community journalism is one of my passions. Now I hope to pursue a different

passion,” Cutler said of the move. “While this is a major change for me, we have a great team in place and our readers shouldn’t miss a beat.”

Graeber is a graduate of Skidmore College and previ-ously worked for the Patriot Ledger before joining the Ex-

press staff in 2004. Manning, an Ohio University graduate, joined the Express in 2008 and was promoted to editor earlier this year.

Readers can contact Man-ning via e-mail at [email protected] or Graeber at [email protected].

Graeber promoted to general manager of Express

Josh Cutler Justin Graeber Becca Manning

Scouts plan Christmas tree pick-up

The Friends of Boy Scout Troop 105 will once again be doing their annual Christmas tree pick-up on Saturday, Jan. 2, starting at 9 a.m. Scouts and adults will be making their yearly calls to past supporters — e-mail early to get on the list.

Pembroke residents can leave their Christmas trees in front of their houses with a check payable to Troop 105 twist-tied in a baggie to the tree in the amount of $5 per tree (no wreaths, please). For pick-up, call 781-294-0801 or 781-293-6185 or e-mail [email protected].

Leave name, address and phone number. Calls will be taken until Friday night, Jan. 1.


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More than a month after the Board of Health settled a dispute over whether principal clerk Gail McSweeney had re-signed from her position, con-cluding that she had not, the subject of her job has come up again.

On Nov. 23, the board voted to transfer McSweeney’s billing duties back to health department secretary Carol Mirotta, per the recommenda-tion of the town accountant and collector/treasurer, accord-ing to Town Administrator Ed Thorne.

But McSweeney, who was not present at the meeting, said she was never officially noti-fied of the change and that she has not been given a reason for the move.

“This action was taken in my absence and without my knowledge or the opportunity to ask questions,” McSweeney wrote in an official statement. “No one from management officially informed me of this transfer. I was surprised to learn of this when I went to the assessors’ office to discuss this year’s municipal user fees that would be going to lien.”

On Monday, McSweeney attended the Board of Health meeting to ask about the rea-son for the change but was told to talk to Town Accountant Mike Buckley, according to her statement.

Buckley told her to put her request in writing.

Buckley, who spoke with McSweeney and with the press in the hallway after the meet-ing, said billing duties previ-ously were done by Mirotta and that he had recommended they be returned to her.

“The treasurer/collector and I went over to the board a couple of weeks ago and asked for this change, and we got it,” he said.

Buckley said his reason for the recommendation was “ac-curacy.”

“Carol used to do bills and

every month I’d get a book that listed every single transaction and it was perfect, going back 10 years,” he said. “Two years ago, that changed.”

McSweeney said she has worked diligently in her job at the Board of Health and did not understand what Buckley’s concerns were. She said she felt she had made improvements to the billing process and recently had worked to organize state funding for an H1N1 flu clinic, scheduled this weekend.

“I have diligently tried to organize the files that pertain to my position, keep good re-cords, deal honestly in my job, treat people with courtesy, and work cooperatively as a team player in the BOH office, as well as with other departments within and outside of Town Hall,” McSweeney wrote in her statement.

Thorne, who took over management of the health of-fice this summer, said he had not officially notified Mc-Sweeney of the change in her position but that he was sure she knew about it.

“She hasn’t done the billing yet, so I haven’t gotten around to notifying her,” he said Mon-day night in his office. “But she knew about it.”

Both Thorne and Buckley said they believed the Board of Health had voted unanimously to transfer billing duties to Mirotta.

However, one of the three board members, Scott Ma-cInnes, said he had not voted in favor of the motion.

“One of the other members made the motion and I said, ‘Well if it has to be, it has to be,’ but I didn’t vote on it,” Ma-cInnes said. “I told them I was not in favor of it, but I knew it was going to go through no matter what I did.”

MacInnes said he knew the tape of the Nov. 23 meet-ing had run out by the time the vote came up. A paper copy of the minutes was not available when requested by the press on Monday and Wednesday of

this week.MacInnes had voiced his

support for McSweeney in Oc-tober, after she received a letter from the town administrator accepting her oral resignation. McSweeney said she had not resigned but had left early on Sept. 14 after a disagreement with Mirotta over how her hours had been logged in the payroll.

The board voted a few weeks later not to accept the alleged resignation.

McSweeney has been out of the office at various times on family medical leave while she assists her father, who re-cently underwent open heart surgery.

Both MacInnes and Mc-Sweeney have requested the town do a complete third-party audit of the health department, but the town administrator and selectmen have said another audit is not necessary.

In December 2008, a for-mer Board of Health employee pled guilty to stealing about $28,000 in recycling center re-ceipts and destroying town re-cord books during a health de-partment audit in April 2007. In February, the town paid for a new, complete audit of the department.

“We spent a lot of time and energy — the police chief and the town accountant and my-self and anyone else we could get involved — and we found nothing,” Thorne said. “The IT guy checked all the computers and found nothing.”

Thorne said the decision to transfer McSweeney’s bill-ing duties to Mirotta was made on the recommendation of the treasurer/collector and town accountant.

“They said this was what needs to be done, so we said, you know what, we’ll just give it back to Carol,” Thorne said. “She did it before, and we didn’t have problems with it before, so now we’re going to give it to her.”

Mirotta declined to com-ment on the issue.

Clerk disputes job changeAccountant, administrator support BOH billing move


Selectmen and Planning Board members appointed Valley Street resident Tom Irving to the Planning Board on Monday.

Irving will fill the seat vacated by the resignation of Joe Mulkern in November.

Irving was one of three candi-dates who vied for a seat left open when Planning Board member Dan Trabucco was elected to the Board of Selectmen in May. Patrick Moran was giv-en the seat.

Irving has been attending Planning Board

meetings regularly since then.Both Moran and Irving will

have to run for their seats this spring.

Irving is a semi-retired con-struction professional and has lived in Pembroke for 22 years. He operates Construction Consult-ing Services of Pembroke, an es-timating and project management firm.

“I have found the discussions very interesting, and I feel that my

49 years of experience on both the engineer-ing and contracting side will be an asset to the board,” Irving wrote in his application letter.

Planning Board seat filled

Tom Irving



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Pembroke taxpayers will likely see their property tax rate go up to $12.89 come Jan. 1, over last year’s $11.65 fig-ure.

The rate means an increase of about $60 per year for the average single-family hom-eowner, Chief Assessor Cathy Salmon said.

The Board of Assessors appeared before selectmen on Monday to present the rate and to determine whether Pem-broke will stay with its uni-form tax rate or split the rate to give residents a break.

Selectmen upheld the as-sessors’ recommendation, wh-ich was to keep the uniform tax rate rather than adopt a different rate for commercial and indus-trial properties. If Pembroke shifted just 10 percent more of the burden onto businesses, it would mean a savings of about $63 for the average residen-tial taxpayer but an additional burden of about $1,283 for the average commercial taxpayer, Salmon said.

“Generally when towns think about shifting, there’s an understanding that you have to have a certain amount of com-mercial property to bear that shift,” Salmon said. “The com-mon line of thinking is that you really need your commercial to be at least 20 to 25 percent of your property base.”

Pembroke’s total proper-ties include about 87 percent residential, about 8.5 percent commercial, about 3 percent industrial and about 1.5 per-cent personal property.

The assessors also recom-mended Pembroke not adopt a small commercial exception, which would give qualify-ing businesses — those with less than 10 employees and property valued at less than $1 million — a discount on their tax bills. For Pembroke, a 10 percent discount would leave a total of $1,639,580 to be spread among the remain-ing commercial properties in

town. About 42 properties in Pembroke would have quali-fied for this exemption.

The problem with adopt-ing this exemption, Salmon said, is that while the property owner receives a tax break, that discount is not always passed down to the small busi-ness owner, who may be leas-ing the spot.

The new tax rate was de-termined by looking at proper-ty values in Pembroke, which for fiscal year 2010 are based on sales during calendar year 2008, and comparing that with how much money the town needs to raise.

The estimated amount Pembroke needs through property taxes in FY2010 is $30,214,426, Salmon said. The total value of properties within town is about $2.4 mil-lion. That means a proposed tax rate of $12.89 per $1,000 of property value.

The rate will not become permanent until it is certified by the state Department of Revenue in a couple of weeks.

According to Salmon, the average single-family resi-dential property is valued at $331,182. With the proposed rate, that would amount to a total annual bill of about $4,294. The average commer-cial property owner, with land valued at $995,026, would pay about $12,825 per year.

The average sale price for a single family home in Pem-broke dropped from just over $360,000 in 2007 to about $330,000 in 2008, Salmon said. Meanwhile, commercial property values have remained fairly flat.

“In many of the South Shore towns … when the val-ues were really increasing in ’03, ’04 and ’05, the rate that the residential [properties] in-creased really outpaced the rate that the commercial was increasing,” Salmon said. “So as the market turns, the resi-dential [value] has further to fall.”

Average tax bill to go up by $60Assessors: Home values dropped in 2008, commercial stayed flat

Percentage of residential properties in Pembroke .......

Average single-family residential property value ....

Proposed tax rate .............

Tax bill for average single-family residential property ...

2008 sales 2007 sales

87 percent 88 percent

$331,182 $364,000

$12.89 per $11.65 per $1,000 in value $1,000 in value

$4,294 $4,240

— Information from the Pembroke Assessors’ Office

By the numbers

The following numbers are based on 2008 and 2007 property sales in Pembroke.


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Though most owners will clean up solid waste, Mont said, there is really no way to clean up urine.

“I just can’t believe that anyone thinks that’s OK,” she said. “Just the thought — the whole act is disturbing to me.”

Dogs already are banned elsewhere in town, including most playing fields and at the Thomas Reading Park at the Herring Run. The Herring Run ban was voted in by the Con-servation Commission in July after owners continually failed to clean up after their pets.

Mont said it seemed only natural to extend the ban to the cemetery.

“If there’s any place where dogs should be banned, that’s the one place,” she said.

Mont said other towns such as Marshfield, Duxbury and Kingston already have banned dogs from their cemeteries and that Pembroke should do the same.

Last year, when Mont first brought her concerns to the DPW commissioners and cemetery trustees, those boards voted to place notices at the cemetery entrances ex-plaining that dogs must be on a leash, according to cemetery foreman Scott Glauben.

As the cemetery, tree, commons and parks foreman, Glauben oversees maintenance of all public grounds, including the town’s three main cemeter-ies and four smaller ones. He has held the job since 1991.

“I kind of have mixed feel-ings on it,” Glauben said of the proposed dog ban. “Nine-ty percent of it [the problem] isn’t the people walking their dogs in there. It’s animals run-ning in from around the neigh-borhood.”

Glauben said he felt most people who walked their dogs in the cemetery were “very conscientious.”

He also considers the fact that some people who visit the cemetery think of their pets as part of the family.

“Sometimes having a fam-ily pet is like having another kid, and a lot of people that passed away and are buried down there, they have had the dog for years and [their loved ones] bring the dog to visit them,” Glauben said.

Ultimately, enforcement would be up to the animal con-trol officer, not the cemetery workers, Glauben said.

Kevin Crowley, chairman of the DPW Commission, said while he did not think the cem-etery was the place to let dogs run, he also felt it would be difficult to enforce a ban.

Having been a commis-sioner for about 12 years, Crowley said he could only re-call two people sending letters about the problem.

He said the commissioners would be discussing the issue at an upcoming meeting.

“It’s a rotten thing when something like this happens. I can understand her frustra-tion,” Crowley said. “I want to see if it’s as big a problem as what everyone’s saying. If it is, we should be getting more letters.”

On Monday, selectmen agreed with Mont, voting unanimously to send a letter supporting her cause to the DPW commissioners.

“I think it’s a disgrace that you can’t go to a ball field in Pembroke and do it; you can’t go elsewhere in Pembroke and do it, but you can take your dogs here,” Selectman Bill Boulter said.

Selectman Dan Trabucco said the cemetery was such a personal place for many peo-ple and that dogs should be banned from it.

Selectman Arthur Boyle also agreed.

“There are plenty of places to walk your dog that doesn’t include Center Cemetery,” he said.

Boyle said selectmen would support Mont’s cause even if the DPW commis-sioners voted not to institute a ban.

“There will be an article [at Town Meeting] if they don’t agree with us,” he said.

local woman wants dogs banned from cemeteries

continued from page one

Got an opinion you want to share? Sound off on this or any other issue.

Send your comments to:

What do you think?

Email: [email protected]: PO Box 1656, Duxbury, MA 02331

The Pembroke Public Library is accepting food for fines from Sunday, Dec. 13 until Saturday, Jan. 2. Canned goods, nonperish-able foods and personal items may be donated to clear up late fees. Proceeds benefit the Pembroke Food Pantry, which is serving more people this year. Cash donations are also accepted. All fines paid during this time also go to the pantry. Lost or damaged item costs are not included

in this program. Please bring donations to the circulation desk. For more information, call 781-293-6771.

Also at the library: En-ter to win a bike (or apply the value to one you select), $1 for one chance or $5 for six. The bike was donated by Martha’s Bicycle Shop of Plymouth. The drawing will be announced on WATD on Friday, Dec. 18. Proceeds will go to the purchase of children’s books.

Food for fines at library

H1N1 flu clinic set Saturday

Pembroke’s Board of Health, School Department and Emergency Management Team, in association with the Mass. Department of Health will be holding a free H1N1 flu vaccination clinic on Satur-day, Dec. 12 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Hobomock Elementary School.

Pembroke has been given 1,000 doses of the “swine flu” vaccine by the state and will be making them avail-able to children ages 1-18 and pregnant women. All must be Pembroke residents. People at higher risk will be given pref-erence but they must supply a doctor’s note explaining their condition. Officials advise that anyone with an allergy to eggs or those currently running a fever should not receive the vaccine.

Information has been distributed to parents on the schools’ broadcast e-mail sys-tem and is available online at townofpembrokemass.org.

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Get Out! has had a long, healthy relationship with Santa Claus. We also have much in com-

mon. We can both grow thick beards, we both live with elves, and we both find it enjoyable to enter my house through the chimney. There are differences, too. As I get older, I don’t like strangers sitting on my lap as much as I once did. I rarely wear matching velvet jacket/pant combos, and I’ve found that I’m wearing fur-trimmed boots less and less for reasons I

can’t explain. Now, my main issue through the years with Santa has been the fact that he gets all crazy busy after Thanksgiv-ing and he then seemingly goes on an 11-month vacation the day after Christmas. It’s a bit annoying, frankly. Everywhere I go lately, there’s Santa all smiling and spreading cheer. I go to another spot and Santa has already beaten me there and is, you guessed it, spreading more cheer. I’m dubious of people that can travel that fast. The Express was granted an exclusive, no-holds-barred interview with Santa. Here are some highlights.

Get Out! Santa, it seems like you’ve been downright ubiqui-tous these past few weeks. I’ve seen you on television more than Tiger Woods. Why not pace yourself?

Santa: It’s very important that I get out and make sure that I’m meeting as many kids as I can, and figuring out who has been naughty and who’s been nice. I’m happy to report that I’ve come across many wonderful little ones in my travels through Pembroke.

Get Out! I saw you at the tree light-ing this past week-end, and when you took the stage, you appeared to be doing a sorta “raise the roof” dance move that reminded me of the way I dance whenever I hear a song by the Notorious B.I.G. Is this a move you’ve been working on lately?

Santa: I’m an excellent dancer. I typically don’t break out my moves, because I usually have a giant bag of toys that I’m dragging around. Seeing all the kids there on the Town Green made me lose myself for a minute. That was an excellent event. It felt like a Norman Rockwell painting.

Get Out! There seems to be some confusion about what Santa really likes kids to leave out for him the night before Christmas. It seems some parents insist on cookies, others on reindeer food, and some say beer. Which is it?

Santa: Cookies are the best. A man needs to keep his figure, and a few cookies at every single house around the world really help me stay plump.

Get Out! My three-year daughter Grace says that she only wants scissors for Christmas. She pronounces them “fwissors,” in case you missed it when you guys met the other day. The upside of her only wanting scissors is that we (you and I) could probably make her Christmas complete for less than $5. Is that the wrong attitude? What are some hot gift ideas?

Santa: Three-year-olds and scissors are a bad idea on many, many levels. A lot of kids are asking for Bakugans, Matchboxes, Barbies, anything Dora the Explorer-related, Transformers and Nintendo games. Those seem to be the hot items this year.

Get Out! How do you determine naughty or nice?Santa: It’s a balancing act. Kids that are doing well in

school or trying hard are usually on my good list. Kids that help their parents and are well behaved also usually have a great Christmas morning. There are a lot of different things that can land a child on the naughty list. Talking back to their parents isn’t good. Getting arrested also typically doesn’t help.

Get Out! Listen, I know you’ve got to go stand in front of a Polaroid camera soon, so any final words?

Santa: I want to thank all the people that helped coordinate my trips to Pembroke. I can be high-maintenance, and everybody did such a great job. I’ve been reading all the letters from the kids, and I’m working these elves hard to make sure everybody’s wish list is fulfilled. Rudolph and his gang are ready to roll. I’ll be sliding down your chimneys before you know it. I want to wish all the Pembrokians out there a happy holiday season.

Matt York can be reached at [email protected].

GeT ouT!By Matt york

Arts & EntErtAinmEnt in And Around PEmbrokE

Santa Claus: the interview

CHECKIN’ IN: Santa Claus stopped by the Town Green Sunday night, where he showed off some of his dance moves.


Bright lights, little cityChamber kicks off holiday season with annual tree lighting

Mark Abraham takes a picture of a yellow ribbon hung in honor of his stepson, Pfc. Joseph Eldridge, who is serving with the U.S. Marines.

Patrick Moran and kids Madison, 9, and Pat, 11, and friend Michaela Ford, 7, roast marshmallows and warm up by the fire.

Tommy Lagner, 9, wrestles with pal Mitchell Martin, 10, on the Town Green slope.

Madison Butler, 4, makes a snowball.

Friends and family of four local Marines brought along a picture of their boys in uniform and hung yellow ribbons in honor of them on the town’s service tree. Marines Pfc. Joseph Eldridge, Pfc. Johnathan Martin, Pvt. Matt Callahan and Pfc. Sam Pomodoro are all 2009 Pembroke High School graduates and entered the service together. They are currently training at Camp LeJeune in North Carolina. Pictured here: Mark Abraham, Gerry and Gordon Martin, Jess Hobart, Christine Callahan, Jillian Eldridge Abraham and Barbara and Brian Pomodoro.

An eager sledder heads down the slope. Luke Butler, 5, wards off a snowball attack from his sister, Madison, 4.

Young sledders take their craft seriously as they stand atop the hill bordering the Town Green.

Avelina Cuscianna, 6, closes her eyes against an onslaught of snow as she plays with a friend on the edge of the Town Green.

Tree Lighting Committee chair-

man Kathleen Keegan welcomes

the crowd to the event and intro-

duces the Pembroke High School band

and choir.

photos By Becca Manning



Friday, dec. 11Council on Aging Activities. Every Friday: Line dancing class, 9:15-10:15 a.m.; card crafting class, 10:30 a.m. ($2 per class); games, 12:30-3 p.m. For information, call the senior center at 781-293-8220.

Battle of the Bands. 6-11 p.m., at community center. Tickets $5 in advance or $7 at the door. All proceeds benefit Pembroke Skate Park. Purchase tickets at the community center or by calling Donna Cannone at 781-294-4723 or Katie DiNardo at 781-294-7325. Food and beverages available to purchase at the event.

Saturday, dec. 12H1N1 Flu Clinic. 9 a.m.-3 p.m., at Hobomock Elementary School, 81 Learning Lane. Flu vaccines available for Pembroke residents ages 1-18 and pregnant women. Organized by Board of Health, School Department, Emergency Management Team and Mass. Dept. of Health. Information at townofpembrokemass.org.

Irish Step Dancing Class. 10-11 a.m., at the community center, 128 Center St. Children in preschool up through high school are invited to join a local class taught by instructors from The Forbes School of Irish Step Dancing in Quincy. Call AnnMarie Hanley at 781-293-6543.

4-H Teen Council Club Charity Event. 10 a.m.-3 p.m., at Hanson Grain, 968 West Washington St., Hanson. Plymouth County 4-H Teen Council Club will host multi-purpose charity event at from 10 am to 3 pm, on Saturday, Dec. 12. The 4-Hers will be selling candy bars and baked goods to raise money for the Salvation Army. For a donation, people can take a picture with a 4-H farm animal. The group also will be collecting donations for MSPCA Nevin Farm and Toys for Tots.

Sunday, dec. 13North River Community Church. 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Sunday services. Located at 334 Old Oak St., Pembroke.

Veggie Tales Premiere. 10 a.m., at St. Joseph the Worker Church, Hanson. Immediately following the 9:15 a.m. Children’s Mass, enjoy the premiere showing of Veggie Tales’ “The Star of Christmas.”

Scouts and Lions Grange Open House. 1 p.m., at Grange Building, 32 School Street. Public invited to come see finished renovations.

Monday, dec. 14December Story Time. 10:30 a.m. and 3:15 p.m., at the Pembroke Public Library. For ages 2-5. Registration required; call 781-293-6771 or stop by the youth services desk.

Board of Selectmen Meeting. 6:30 p.m., at Town Hall.

DPW Commissioners Meeting. 6:30 p.m., at Town Hall.

Conservation Commission Meeting. 7:30 p.m., at Town Hall.

tueSday, dec. 15Sit and Be Fit Exercise Class. 10 a.m., at Council on Aging. $5 per class. For information, call the senior center at 781-294-8220.

Tai Chi. 10-11 a.m., at The Wellness Community Massachusetts South Shore, 273 Hanover St., Hanover. Integrate mind, body and spirit through breathing, exercise, posture and meditation. Every Tuesday in December except Dec. 29. Drop-ins

welcome. Call 781-829-4823 for information.

Friends of the Council on Aging Meeting. 10:30 a.m., at senior center, 144 Center St.

December Story Time. 10:30 a.m., at the Pembroke Public Library. For ages 2-5. Registration required; call 781-293-6771 or stop by the youth services desk.

Newcomer’s Orientation. 10:30-11:30 a.m., at The Wellness Community, 273 Hanover St., Hanover. Learn about the free programs and services TWC-MSS provides. Every Tuesday in December except Dec. 29. Drop-ins welcome.

Seniors Living with Chronic Illness. 1-2 p.m., at Council on Aging building. Ruth Coleman, MSW, a clinical social worker, leads this support group every Tuesday for seniors living with conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, cancer, MS, lupus, heart disease, COPD and others.

Exercise Class. 3-4 p.m., at Council on Aging. $3 per class. For information, call the senior center at 781-294-8220.

Youth Yoga. 4-4:45 p.m., at Hanson Holistic Center, 156 Liberty St., Hanson. Yoga for ages 4-7. Learn basic poses using stretching and breathing techniques combined with games, stories, songs and affirmations. $10 per class. For information or to register, call certified instructor Becky Paul at 781-293-2447.

Men’s Network. Tues., Dec. 15. 6-8 p.m., at The Wellness Community Massachusetts South Shore, 273 Hanover St., Hanover. A drop-in group for men coping with cancer., to share common feelings and concerns. RSVP appreciated; call 781-829-4823.

WedneSday, dec. 16Dull Men Meeting. 10 a.m., at Council on Aging. Always open to new members. Stop by the senior center, 144 Center St.

Baby Lap Sit. 10:30 a.m. at the Pembroke Public Library. For ages 6-24 months. No registration required. For information, call 781-293-6771.

Participant Support Group. 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., at The Wellness Community, 273 Hanover St., Hanover. Every Wednesday in December except Dec. 30. Offers people living with cancer an opportunity to connect, share, support and learn from one another; facilitated by a professional therapist. Initial intake/interview required. Pre-registration is required by calling 781-829-4823.

Dollar Days Luncheon & COA Christmas Party. 11:30 a.m. lunch, 12:30 p.m. party, at senior center, 144 Center St. Sign up for lunch by calling 781-294-8220. Charlene Allen will entertain. There will be desserts and a raffle.

Reiki Workshop. 1 p.m., at The Wellness Community, 273 Hanover St., Hanover. Relax and re-balance mind, body and spirit to enhance the immune system. Pre-registration is required by calling 781-829-4823.

Breast Cancer Network. 3-5 p.m., at The Wellness Community, 273 Hanover St., Hanover. A drop-in group for those coping with breast cancer, to share common feelings and concerns. RSVP appreciated; call 781-829-4823.

Learn to Skate. 3:50-4:50 p.m., at Hobomock Arena. Pembroke Youth Hockey offers learn-to-skate lessons every Wednesday. Open to all ages. Walk-ins welcome. For information, visit pembrokepythons.com, call Joe

DiPrizio at 781-294-7110 or e-mail [email protected].

thurSday, dec. 17TLC Gift Drive. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and 3-6 p.m., at True Life Chiropractic office, 283 Main Street, Kingston. Participants may drop off new unwrapped gifts or toys, gift cards, cash or checks (minimum of $15). In exchange, current practice members will receive their adjustment for $15. who are not practice members will receive a complete wellness evaluation for $29 with their gift donation. For information, call 781-585-0585.

Healthcare Fraud Seminar. 12:30 p.m., at senior center. Seniors invited to learn about preventing health care errors, fraud and abuses.

Art Exploration. 12:30-3:30 p.m., at The Wellness Community, 273 Hanover St., Hanover. Explore creativity as part of the healing process. Pre-registration is required by calling 781-829-4823.

Pajama Story Time. 6 p.m., at Pembroke Public Library. Ages 2 and up. No registration required. For information, call 781-293-6771.

Grief Support Group Meeting. 6-7:30 p.m., at Beacon Hospice, Plymouth. Free grief education series and support group for people who are experiencing grief during the holiday

season. Register by calling Scott Ciosek at 508-747-7222.

Friday, dec. 18Council on Aging Activities. Every Friday: Line dancing class, 9:15-10:15 a.m.; card crafting class, 10:30 a.m. ($2 per class); games, 12:30-3 p.m. For information, call the senior center at 781-293-8220.

Holiday Wreath Craft. 3:30 p.m., at Pembroke Public Library. Bring at least 10 white plastic shopping bags to make a recyclable holiday wreath. For ages 7 and up. Registration required; call 781-293-6771 or stop by youth services desk.

upcoMingThe Joyful Mysteries. Sun., Dec. 20. 10 a.m., at St. Joseph the Worker Church, Hanson. Prepare for the coming of Christmas in the the final week of Advent by praying one decade of the Rosary immediately following the 9:15 a.m. Children’s Mass.

Holiday Story Time with Craft. Mon., Dec. 21. 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., at Pembroke Public Library. For ages 4 and up. Finger paint holiday wreaths, sing songs and hear stories. Registration required; call 781-293-6771 or stop by youth services desk.

Caregivers Network. Wed., Dec. 22. 6-8 p.m., at The Wellness Community

Massachusetts South Shore, 273 Hanover St., Hanover. A drop-in group for caregivers of people coping with cancer. RSVP appreciated; call 781-829-4823.

Baby Lap Sit. Wed., Dec. 23. 10:30 a.m. at the Pembroke Public Library. For ages 6-24 months. No registration required. For information, call 781-293-6771.

Children’s Christmas Eve Liturgy. Thurs., Dec. 24. 5:45 p.m., at St. Joseph the Worker Church, Hanson. Enjoy a retelling of the Christmas story through song, drama, dance, candles and emotion.

Silver Lake Hockey Alumni Game. Sun., Dec. 27. 10:30 a.m.-12:40 p.m., at Hobomock Arena, Rink I. Alumni skaters invited to come play or just meet up with old teammates and coaches. Cost is $50 per skater or a donation for the 18th annual alumni scholarship given to a Silver Lake and Pembroke graduate. Sign up by Dec. 15. Call Michael Baird at 781-754-0515, Drew Fitzgerald at 508-747-9517 or Craig Solari at 781-291-6015.

Dollar Days Luncheon & COA New Year’s Party. Wed. Dec. 30. 11:30 a.m. lunch, 12:30 p.m. party, at senior center, 144 Center St. Sign up by calling 781-294-8220. Charlene Allen will entertain.

Baby Lap Sit. Wed., Dec. 30. 10:30 a.m. at the Pembroke Public Library. For ages 6-24 months. No registration required. For information, call 781-293-6771.

Learn to Skate. Sat., Jan. 2. 12:30 p.m., at Hobomock Arenas. New session starts. Call 781-293-7575 or visit pilgrimskatingclub.com for more information.

Pembroke Community

Calendar

Pembroke Community

Calendar

Send calendar items by

noon Tuesday to events@

pembrokexpress.com.

A calendar for Pembroke events, meetings, classes, courses, workshops, plays, dances and volunteer opportunities!

Calendar items are published on a space available basis.

Preference is for non-commercial Pembroke-based events.

Bed & Breakfast– A Delightful Experience781-934-0991

390 Washington Street Duxbury by the Sea • Dinners nightly at 5:00 pm Closed Sundays


BRYANTVILLE & HOBOMOCK

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLSMonday: French toast

sticks with syrup, sausage links, juice, fresh apple

Tuesday: Chickwich on a bun, tator tots with ketchup, fruit mix

Wednesday: Meatball sub, baked Doritos, carrots, diced pears

Thursday: Baked chicken dinner, rice, green beans, chocolate Goldfish

Friday: Mozzarella sticks with pizza sauce, celery and carrot sticks with light ranch dip, cookie

Alternate lunch: Ham and cheese sub, baked chips, fruit, dessert. Snack: Reduced fat Cheez-Its

NORTH PEMBROKE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Monday: French toast sticks with syrup, sausage links, juice, fresh apple

Tuesday: Hamburger or cheeseburger on a bun, tator tots with ketchup, fruit, cake

with frostingWednesday: Meatball

sub, baked Doritos, carrots, diced pears

Thursday: Baked chicken dinner, rice, green beans, Animal crackers

Friday: Mozzarella sticks with pizza sauce, celery and carrot sticks with light

ranch dip, cookieAlternate lunch:

Chickwich on a bun, baked chips, fruit,

dessert. Snack: Reduced fat Cheez-ItsMIDDLE & HIGH

SCHOOLSMonday:

Chicken parmesan, peas, pasta, dinner

roll and strawberry cupTuesday: Deli turkey sub,

baked Lays chips, pickles, fruit, frosted cake

Wednesday: Hot dog on a bun with condiments, pickles, oven fries, peaches

Thursday: Baked chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, dinner roll, cinnamon Grahams

Friday: Personal pizza, peas, 100 percent juice cups, cookie

SEND PEMBROKE SCHOOL NEWS & PHOTOS to [email protected].

THE DEADLINE is Tuesday at noon.

school calendar

menus Week of Dec. 14

All meals include choice of milk.

WALSH, FIRNROHR, & McCARTHY, P.A.

272 Saint George StreetDuxbury, Massachusetts

781-934-8500

Engaging in the General Practice of LawConcentrating in Real Estate, Criminal Defense,

Estate Planning & Immigration

Hello, Wally!story and photos By

Becca Manning. express staff [email protected]

Students at North Pembroke El-ementary School had a surprise visitor Tuesday morning. Wally

the Green Monster, the Boston Red Sox’ colorful mascot, stopped by to congratu-late first grader Jack Connolly on winning the Massachusetts Teachers Association Red Sox Reading Game.

Connolly, 6, had a big grin on his face as he was called up to receive a $100 gift certificate, baseball autographed by Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek and a hug from Wally. This summer, Connolly also re-ceived tickets to a Red Sox game and a behind-the-scenes tour of Fenway.

Connolly was one of five students whose names were drawn from the thou-sands who participated in the reading pro-gram.

His mom, Kathleen, and sister Caro-line, 3, showed up to see Wally as well and hear Jack’s teacher, Lynne Badeau, read the book “Hello, Wally!” as everyone looked on.

“Reading’s huge for us at our house,” Kathleen Connolly said.

Wally the Green

Monster keeps an eye on the crowd

during his visit to North

Pembroke Elementary

School.

North Pembroke Elementary School first grade teacher Lynne Badeau reads the book “Hello, Wally!” to stu-dents as Jack Connolly, 6, and Wally himself look on.

North Pembroke Elementary School students shout out “Hello, Wally!” as their teacher reads the book with the same title, based on Wally the Green Monster’s preparation for a Red Sox game.

Friday, Dec. 11School Committee Education Subcommittee Meeting.

8 a.m. @ PHS conference room.Choral Performance. 6:30 p.m., @ Hanover Mall.

North Pembroke Chorus and Select Chorus will perform.Saturday, Dec. 12

H1N1 Vaccine Clinic. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. @ Hobomock. For ages 1-18.Monday, Dec. 14

PHS Progress Reports Sent HomeBryantville Report Cards Sent Home

Bryantville Winter Concert. 7 p.m. @ PHS.Tuesday, Dec. 15

Special Education Parent Advisory Council Meeting. 6:30 p.m. @ Hobomock library.

North Pembroke PTO Meeting. 7 p.m. @ N. Pembroke.School Committee Meeting. 7:30 p.m. @ N. Pembroke.

Wednesday, Dec. 16Hobomock PTO Meeting. 3 p.m. @ Hobomock.

First and Second Grade Winter Concert. 6:30 p.m. @ Bryantville cafe.

Thursday, Dec. 17Blood Drive. 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. @ PHS.

UpcomingWinter Break. Dec. 24-Jan. 1.

Hobomock Winter Concert. Jan. 12. 7 p.m. @ PHS.North Pembroke Winter Concert. Jan. 14.

7 p.m. @ PHS.



“My first year, I was a Polichinelle [associated with the character Mother Ginger] … then I was a mouse, then an angel, and last year I was a party girl and a candy cane,” Mitchell said. Of her new role: “I was very happy.”

Her mother, Elisa Mitch-ell, was pretty thrilled, too.

“I thought she was joking at first when she told me, and I kind of gave a little scream at the dance studio. I had to kind of control myself a little bit,” she said. “ It was a nice sur-prise.”

Elisa Mitchell is planning to bring more than two dozen friends and family members with her to the show, which will be presented on the Furnace Brook Middle School stage in Marshfield on Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at noon.

“Pretty much our whole neighborhood is coming on Sunday,” said the Hazelwood Drive resident.

The Children’s Dance En-semble has been performing “The Nutcracker” for more than 20 years, and the young dancers and their instructors put in a lot of work leading up to the big weekend.

“The girls are very dedi-cated to what they’re doing,” said MaryLou Cunningham, a former professional dancer who founded Dance Workshop in 1974.

“Clara pretty much carries the show. She has to keep ev-erything moving,” Cunning-ham said. “We need somebody that can stay on track and know what’s happening the full length of the performance and kind of be on her toes, no pun intended. I look for some-one different every year within the ensemble. [Candace] is a very sincere, hard worker.”

Though she has been in the ballet before, Mitchell said she sees each year’s performance as something new.

“Every year, my dance teachers try to change the

dances to make it more inter-esting,” she said.

The show also differs from other ballets in that it involves a lot of acting, she said.

“It’s almost as though it’s a play without talking,” she said. “I think the audience will en-joy it because you never really know what’s going to happen unless you’ve seen it before.”

Mitchell said her mother introduced her to dancing through a creative movement class and that, “after a while, I just started to really like it.”

The Pembroke Communi-ty Middle School eighth grad-er enjoys drama and modeling as well and said she wouldn’t mind pursuing a stage career.

“If there was an opportu-nity for me to be able to dance as a professional thing, then I would definitely go for it,” she said. “I just like being up on stage. It allows me to express myself well.”

Tickets to the Children’s Dance Ensemble production of “The Nutcracker Ballet” cost $14 for adults, $10 for

children and are available at Dance Essentials in Hanover or at the door.

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local lands ‘Nutcracker’ leadBRIGHT STAR: Candace Mitchell, 13, has been dancing with Dance Workshop of Hanover since she was 2 1/2 years old. She will play the role of Clara in the Children’s Dance Ensemble production of “The Nutcracker Ballet” this weekend in Marshfield. She is pictured below with her dance company.

Rehearsal photos courtesy of Elisa Mitchell

Grange opening on SundayThe Grange Gang invites the public to come see all the

improvements to the Scouts and Lions Grange Building on Sunday, Dec. 13 at 1 p.m. The grand opening and dedica-tion will give residents a chance to see the renovated historic building at 32 School Street, which has been an ongoing project for the Halifax Lions Club and Boy Scout Troops 43 and 105 for about 10 years. The building will be used as a meeting spot for the groups and will be available for other groups to rent for meetings and events.


By kiM phaMq u E S T i O N O F T H E w E E k By vanessa phaM

Send us your letters!The Pembroke Express welcomes all views. Thank you letters will be accepted if concise. Anonymous letters or letters published in other publications will not be considered.

E-mail: [email protected]

Mail: P.O. Box 1656, Duxbury, MA 02331

what’s the biggest item on your wish list this year?

I was appalled, when I read in the Globe last weekend that Pem-

broke is at the bottom of the barrel for recycling in the South Shore (at 11 percent). Seven barrels of trash for one household!? Where does anyone find so much trash to throw out week after week? And why should the citizens of Pembroke, who do recycle, have to subsidize these envi-ronmental delinquents? If they can afford to buy and throw so much stuff out, then they can afford to pay for each barrel. No wonder our rates are going up. Reducing the maximum to four barrels per household is not going far enough. And there is a better solution than raising rates across the board. As the article in the Globe reported, the towns that have gotten their recycling percent-age up to around 50 percent did so by pay-as-you-throw and single-stream recycling. It’s high time Pembroke joined them. We have this nice new recycling center. Let’s use it.

Dana BarunasBartlett Street

This is in response to the article in last week’s Ex-

press about raising the trash rate. Raising the rates again is going to deter me from recy-cling at all! I generate about one trash bag every three to four weeks because I recycle. Why should I (or anyone else who recycles) pay the same rate as

a person who generates four bags of trash every week? Pem-broke needs to reward those who recycle, not punish us. Ever go on a nice walk in town? Curbside pick-up has littered Pembroke from one end to the other, and I guess I’ll be joining in.

Eileen PicarielloLapham Avenue

Several weeks ago, I placed a call to the Department of Pub-

lic Works to let them know there was a bit of a problem with the end of our street that had recently been worked on. To my surprise, the DPW trucks arrived the next day to look over the situation. Then, about two days later, I saw all types of large equipment at the

end of my street ready to com-plete the project.

This project had potential-ly two phases to it and when it appeared the second phase did indeed need to be done to remedy the problem, they acted swiftly. They graded and paved the area and, in doing so, avoided having contaminated runoff from the road emptying into the pond.

Also, every once in a while, I see Scott down to check on it. I can’t say enough good things about the efficiency and dedi-cation of the DPW.

It is a pleasure working with everyone from the office to the on-site workers.

Susan and Robert ShannonWest Fish Street

I wish to thank all the patients and commu-nity members who

participated in our 12th annual food drive, which was held on Nov. 24 in our office. It is al-ways a pleasure to experience such generosity. All items were donated to the Plymouth Area Coalition and the Pembroke Food Pantry.

We look forward to your continued participation in our gift drive, which will be held on Thursday, Dec. 17.

Dr. Susan F. WaletkusTrue Life Chiropractic and

Our Healing PlaceKingston

Charlotte Nagle Cypress Terrace

“I really want a trampoline, because my friend has one

and she loves it.”

Dan McIver Old Washington Street

“I want a Fox sweatshirt, because they look cool.”

Peter Vousboukis Parker Road

“Assasin’s Creed 2, and more work for my business.”

Emily Teevens Edgewater Road

“A cell phone, because I am always in situations

when I need one.”

Kylie Sisson Captain Torrey Lane

“I am asking for Tiffany & Co. jewelry, because I am obsessed

with jewelry and I need to replace my old jewelry.”

DPW workers’ dedication appreciated —

Pembroke’s recycling performance a shame —

town’s recyclers should be rewarded, not punished —

thanks for supporting food drive —

Elaine F. (Johnson) Brown, 73, of Pembroke, died on Thursday, Dec. 3, at her home.

She was the wife of James (Tiny) Brown II of Pembroke; mother of James Brown III and his wife Susan of Halifax, Peter L. Brown and his wife Anne Svelnis of Pembroke, Edward Brown and his wife Sally of Middleboro, Theresa Brown and her husband Terry of Virginia, and Susan (Brown) Rossi and her husband Rich-ard of New Hampshire; sis-ter of Shirley Johnson Berg, Pauline Johnson Baldy, John Johnson, Edward Johnson and the late Philip Johnson II, Christine Johnson Wade and Barbara Johnson Delgarllo; grandmother of 12; and great-grandmother of two.

Elaine was a graduate of Braintree High School Class of 1954, worked at the Foxboro Co. and drove handicapped children and severely retard-ed to St. Colletta’s School in Braintree.

Elaine was a member of the Women’s Fire Auxiliary of Pembroke and enjoyed restor-ing and building hot rods with her husband, bowling and long trips.

Calling hours were held on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at the Shep-herd Funeral Home, Pembroke Center. A funeral service was held on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at the funeral home. All other services were private. Dona-tions can be made to jordans-polarplunge.com or the Pem-broke Fire Dept., P.O. Box 697, Pembroke, MA 02359.

Florence L. (McCarthy) Manning, of Milton and for-merly of Dorchester, died Thursday, Dec. 3 2009.

She was the wife of the late John J. Manning; mother of Jack of Quincy, Paul D. of Quincy, Michael J. of Marsh-field, Robert J. of Milton, James J. of Pembroke and Richard J. of Duxbury; sister of the late

James and Dorothea McCarthy of Dorchester; and grandmoth-er of 14 grandchildren.

Visiting hours were held in the John J. O’Connor & Son Funeral Home, Dorcester on Tuesday, Dec. 8. Funeral mass was held in St. Elizabeth Church, Milton on Wednesday morning. Burial was at Cedar Grove Cemetery.

florence l. (McCarthy) Manning

elaine f. (Johnson) Brown

SEND OBITUARY NOTICES to [email protected] or fax to 781-934-5917. DEADLINE: Tuesday at noon.

kiwanis’ tree and wreath saleKiwanis Club of Pembroke and Pembroke High School

Key Club are holding their annual Christmas tree and wreath sale now until Christmas. Stop by Reed Hollow Farm, 476 Center St. on Monday through Friday between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. or Saturdays and Sundays between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. Shop from fresh-cut balsam fir trees and wreaths. All proceeds will benefit the Kiwanis PHS Scholarship Fund, Key Club, Pembroke Food Pantry and Boy Scout troops 105 and 46.

There will be antique tractor-pulled hay wagon rides on Saturday, Dec. 12 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Bring an item to donate to the pantry in exchange for a ride.

For information, visit reedhollowthriftyantiques.com.


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piano. Tame your computer. Find a painter, a petsitteror a property manager. Market your summer

cottage or your cottage industry. Sell thecouch, buy the treadmill. Learn Spanish, algebra or anew operating system. Hire a yard service. Host a yardsale. Take sailing lessons. Buy a sailboat. Peddle your

putters. Plug your Persian. Pitch your piccolo. Clean out thehouse. Find a housecleaner. Buy the puppy, sell the rugs. Trimyour hedges, your hems, or your sails. Buy some firewood. Have a

firesale. Sell the antiques in your attic. Sell the wholedarn house. If it rocks, rolls, motors, meows, pedals,

putters, swings, sings, barks, brakes, sails orshakes, you can find-it, buy-it,

swap-it, sell-it, hire-it, hawk-itor trade-it in the Express Classifieds. OneSmall Town. One Big World.

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WeekendScavengers

�Estate Moving Sale

Couches, sectional, beds, bedroom suite, wall units, tables, chairs, entertainment centers, appliances, patio furniture, power lawn equipment, tools, books, desks, bookcases, ping pong and air hockey table, and more. 51 Maple Pond Lane, Duxbury. Sat-Sun, Dec. 12 and 13, 9-4.

TreasureChest

China Cabinet For SaleBeautiful cherry Colonial Furniture china cabinet. Like new. Interior lighting, glass shelving. $800 or best offer. Call 781-248-7278.

Patriots TicketsGreat holiday gift. Two (2) tickets for this Sunday, December 13 vs. Carolina Panthers at 1 p.m. and two (2) tickets for Sunday, December 27 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars at 1 p.m. Tickets are located in first row of upper level and are being offered at face value: $89 each. Call 781-248-6954 or 781-331-5654.

Power WheelchairModel Action Power 9000. $700. Please call 781-447-5766.

Complete Kids’ Bedroom SetBunk beds with mattresses, desk, two bureaus and mirror. Like new. Originally $2,500+. asking $1,000. Wooden kitchen table and 2 benches, $50. Wooden entertainment center, $100. Call 781-934-0978.

Dollhouses For SaleVarious prices. Call Bob, 781-293-5153.

Brand New Dell LaptopGreat holiday gift! Never taken out of box. Inspiron 1545 Intel Pentium Dual Core T4300, 2.1 GHz 800Mhz, 1M L2 Cache. Glossy widescreen 15.6” display. Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 Home Premium Edition. Many other extras. Must sell. Selling for $350. Call 781-934-6307.

Chubby Coal StoveHolds 25 lbs., 10 hour burn or log 15” L x 5” diameter. Includes accessories. $295. Call 781-447-5916.

TreasureChest

Exquisite Antique Sofa82” walnut Victorian Setee. Newly upholstered in cream on cream damask. Asking $900. Excellent condition. Also, Seven piece living room. Washed pine. 80H” lighted display cabinet, 80H” TV/stereo cabinet, 48” square coffee table, end table, sofa, loveseat, and window treatments. Paid $7800, asking $1300. All in excellent condition. Call 781-826-2587.

Automobilia Collection For SaleFrom 50 years accumulation of die cast vehicles such as Corgi, Tootsie toy, Dinky toy etc., pro-motionals, farm tractors, plastic kits, and all scales. Old car maga-zines and books, old car and truck literature, attractively indi-vidually priced. 781-244-3563.

Surprise Your Student MusicianYamaha YSL-354 standard brass trombone. Like new and in mint condition. Includes case, mouthpiece, slide lubricant and cleaning rag. Retails new on Amazon for over $900, asking $400. Call 781-934-1505.

Kitchen Table and ChairsSolid birch table top on decorative steel pewter base with four solid birch matching chairs. Your price, $280; Jordan’s Furniture price, $1150. Good shape. Emailed photo available upon request. Call 617-875-1990.

Holiday GiftsGive the gift of massage therapy.$5 off all gift certificates.Pleasestop by Healing Hands Massage Therapy and visit our self serve gift counter or call 781-934-9191 to arrange.

Entertainment CenterHooker solid maple entertainment center. Excellent condition. 57(l) x 54"(h) x 22(d) overall dimensions with 28" x 28" area for TV, plus shelving for media equipment, and two lower drawers. $300. 781-934-0241.

HomewardBound

NH Winter Season RentalWindsor Hill at Waterville Valley. Beautiful 3BR, 2 bath Condo, sleeps 7, large kitchen and living room with fireplace, mountain view. Close to town square, athletic center, downhill and cross country ski areas. Call Ken, 781-582-1704 for rates.

�Scenic & Serene 80 acres:

Pond, trails, flower garden. Luxury one bedroom no-smoking units. $700+. Pembroke 781-826-8888. Extensive description and photos at: ROCTRONICS.COM/ESTATE.


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Timeshare For SaleFebruary vacation week. Cape Cod Holiday Estates, Mashpee MA. $2000. Kids grown, and we now RV. 781-826-3567.

Pembroke: For Rent, 1 BR Unique townhouse style apartment. Cathedral ceiling, spiral stair, hardwood floor, private drive, gas heat, full basement, large yard, near train. First, last, security and references. $935 plus, 2 person occupancy limit, No pets. 781-294-9296.

Pinehills RentalPlymouth. Pinehills One Level Living! Winslowe’s View “J” model unfurnished with two bed-rooms, two baths, a one-car ga-rage and a very short walk to amenity area with pools, tennis courts, walk/jog trails, charming post office and meeting house. Back deck overlooks the 14th hole on the Nicklaus Golf Course. Rental fee Includes water, sewer-age disposal, refuse removal, snow removal, recreational facili-ties, grounds maintenance and swimming pool. Appliances: range, dishwasher, microwave, refrigerator, washer and dryer. One and two-year leases avail-able. Small pets O.K. with re-strictions. Built: 2004; Approx. living area: 1100 square feet. Rent: $2100/month. $50 applica-tion fee includes background check. Security deposit and spe-cial pet deposit required. Contact Jeannie at [email protected] or 727-898-9744.

At YourService

John GallagherInterior, exterior painting and carpentry. Duxbury. Over 20 years of experience. Reasonable rates. Call John, 617-697-6451 (cell).

TutorsCertified teacher with Masters in Education and Organizational Skills and experienced physicist available. Remediate, Review and Advance. Classroom, ESL, business and tutoring experience. Individualized attention with study skills, reading, writing, science, Algebra, Calculus and Physics. Support with SAT, college admissions. 508-830-0305.

Fall Clean UpsS.P.M. Enterprises is a full service landscape maintenance company that offers fall cleanups, fall hedge trimming, lawn mowing, weeding, mulching, and much more. We are fully insured and offer free estimates. Call Shawn today 781-264-5595 [email protected]

At YourService

Need Computer Help?Does your computer run slowly? Do you need a wireless network setup? Memory upgrade? I’ll in-stall, configure, optimize your computer, trouble-shoot applica-tion problems, educate you on surfing the web and help you buy your next computer. Scott, 781-626-2638.

Snowbirds To FloridaSouth Shore based company providing auto transport service to Florida and nationwide. Great rates and reliable, safe door-to-door transport. Call DWO Auto Transport Services, 954-648-3677. Mention ad for $25 discount.

Seasoned FirewoodPrices have dropped. Call Nessralla’s Farms in Marshfield, 781-834-2833, or go to our website www.nessrallas.com.

�Dump Runs

Specializing in cleanouts of basements, garages, attics, yard debris, and odds and ends. We also specialize in carpentry, painting, gutter work, and window washing. Best prices, free estimates. Please call or leave a message for Mike, 781-789-3612.

At YourServiceFall Cleanups

Immaculate cleanups at very competitive prices. Leaf vacuum also available; you get the leaves into pile, we pick them up and dispose of them. Other fall services include: gutter cleaning, window washing, and irrigation winterizing. Also call for any other landscaping needs. Reliable and professional service, free estimates, and friendly communication. No job too big or small. Call Paul, 617-877-7524.

Gutter and Yard Cleanup We specialize in raking and removing leaves, small trees, branches and yard debris. Any and all junk removed, inside and out. We also clean gutters, install gutter guards, and wash windows. Please call Mike at 781-789-3612.

Up Against The Wall PaintingInterior and exterior painting. 15 years experience. Free estimates, excellent references. Contact Vicki Bagnell at 508-868-0278

Gutter Cleaning .50/footLowest price on the South Shore. Bellew Window Cleaning. 781-603-6088.

At YourService

Carpet & Upholstery CleaningFree deodorizing. Pet odor removal. Leather cleaning. I guarantee you will like the way your carpets look. Receive a free armchair cleaning with a sofa cleaning. 508-580-4777. Quality Carpet.

Photo DVD SlideshowsYou supply your favorite digital pix; I will turn them into slide shows on DVDs with your choice of music background. It’s a great way to organize family photos for a special gift. Call 781-934-2139.

I Can Save You MoneyExperienced carpenter available for all aspects of construction, as well as other odd jobs. Free estimates. Call Josh, 781-706-9487. (Also, looking for FT/PT work, if you’re hiring).

Music Lessons In Your HomeBerklee College of Music graduate offering personalized drum, beginner piano or guitar lessons in the convenience of your home. Reasonable rates, references available. Bring in this ad for $5 off first lesson. 508-583-8503, email: [email protected]

Absolute RemovalNo job too small. Junk removal, basement cleanouts - attic - shed etc. Fast and reliable service 7 days a week. Free estimates. Call 781-588-4036 or e-mail [email protected]

The Paint SaintProfessional interior/exterior painting, gutter cleaning, power washing and window washing. Best prices and service always with a smile. Will paint your home like it was our own. Call Andrew for your free estimate. 781-264-3628.

Gutter CleaningDo you need your gutters cleaned this fall? Call Andrew, 781-264-3628. Average house is $100. For an additional $25 we will clean the mildew off your gutters with TSP. Interior/exterior painting available.

Michael’s Windows & Gutter Cleaning

A local service. Windows start at $5 each. Also, repair loose and leaking gutters, and can install gutter screens. Also, repair window and door screens. (A great gift idea!) I answer my phone. Cell 508-523-9927.

House CleaningHome and/or office cleaning. Many years of experience. References available. Free estimates. Call 508-746-0764 or 781-336-3533.

At YourService

Wallpapering/Interior PaintingCeiling, walls, woodwork, drywall repairs, touch-ups, cleanouts done at low, reasonable prices. Free estimates. Call Debbie, 781-585-8043.

�Lucy’s Magical Cleaning Svcs. Introducing ourselves to your town. Customized, personal attention to your home. Efficient, professional, insured. References available. Call 508-231-6770.

Home ImprovementSemi-retired remodeler with 25 plus years experience. Design and build. Bath, kitchen, tiling, family room etc. Your problems, our solution. Call Larry McCarthy, 508-746-7829.

Painting PlusSpecializing in interior/exterior painting, power washing, gutters, carpentry, dump runs, and window washing. Free estimates, best prices guaranteed. 10% off exterior painting booked this summer. Fast and reliable service. Please call Mike, 781-789-3612.



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TOWN OF PEMBROKE

BOARD OF ZONINGAND

BUILDING LAW APPEALS

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

A public hearing will be held on Monday, December 21, 2009 at 7:20 p.m. in Pembroke Town Hall, Lower Level, Room 6 on the application of Bell Atlantic Mobile of Massachusetts requesting a special permit and variance of the Zoning By-Laws of the Town of Pembroke, Sec. V, 5. Non-Conforming Property and Sec. IV, 4. D. 6. Rear Yard Requirements to install an

internally mounted antenna array within the existing flag pole and construct an equipment shelter adjacent to existing shelters. Property is located at 380 Washington Street, Pembroke as shown on Assessors’ Map E-12, Lot 13A.

Gregory Hanley Chairman

Zoning Board of Appeals 12-04-09 and 12-11-09

at 7:00 p.m. in Pembroke Town Hall, Lower Level, Room 6 on the application of Thomas and Maria Evans requesting a special permit of the Zoning By-Laws of the Town of Pembroke, Sec. IV, 1. B. 4. Uses Allowed by Special Permit to legalize an in-law apartment. Property is located at

34 Edgewater Drive, Pembroke as shown on Assessors’ Map F-10, Lot 87.

Gregory Hanley Chairman

Zoning Board of Appeals 12-04-09 and 12-11-09


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Send itemS for the sports section to

[email protected].

the deadline is tuesday at noon.TiTan SporTS

The Express Fall Sports Awards

Most Valuable PlayerBoys Girls

Cina and Kelley ran to-gether at the head of races all season for the

Titans to help them go undefeated in the Patriot League and repeat as Eastern Mass. Champions in their first year in Division III. The duo then led the Titans to their first All State championship, with Kelley finishing second overall and Cina third.

BErkElEy HAll Volleyball

Hall finished her high school career by lead-ing Pembroke to a

third consecutive appearance in the MIAA volleyball tournament in another All Star season for the Titan standout. The senior captain was one of the most dominant net players in the league again this season and was among the league leaders in kills.

Rookie of the YearJoE VErcollonE cross country

Vercollone switched from soccer to cross country in his sopho-

more year and made an immedi-ate impact for the Titans. He and Brendan Adams traded the third spot for Pembroke all season, and helped Pembroke repeat as East-ern Mass. champions with a sixth place finish at Franklin Park. Ver-collone then added another medal to his resume at the All State meet with a 15th place finish to help the Titans win Division II.

Wandell was the most consistent of three freshmen to earn a

spot on the varsity volleyball ros-ter in their first year at Pembroke High School, and she was the team’s libero for most of the year. Wandell gave the Titans solid de-fense and nice serving to help the team earn another trip to the MIAA tournament this season.

Player to Watch in 2010lukE nAglE

Football

Nagle took over as quar-terback for the Titans midway through the

season and led the team to two of their three wins. He will likely be the starter for the Titans again next season and will be the focal point of an offense that needs more con-sistency for the football team to improve. Nagle will have weapons to throw to in Matt Allen, Dan Mc-Court and Jon Hooper, and his con-tinued improvement will be crucial for the Titans next year.

PAul cinA & ryAn kEllEy cross country

kATiE WAndEll Volleyball

cHElSEA SAVAgE cross country

Savage said she began to take the sport seriously this past season, and was

rewarded with a breakout year. The sophomore stepped up in the wake of injuries to Heather Connick and Mary Scanlan to win the first race of her career and earn her first ap-pearance in the All State meet. If she continues to improve and the Titans stay healthy next season, the girls team may have a chance at a title of their own.



Best of the B-roll Sports Editor Dave Palana’s favorite fall photos that didn’t make the paper

LET THE DOMINOES FALL: Michelle Coate (21) goes down, but takes two Duxbury Dragons with her in the last girls soccer game.

GOOD-BYE, BLUE AND WHITE: Seniors Berkeley Hall and Brittany Mazzola exchange a final high five during the Titans’ loss to Bishop Feehan.

CARRY ME HOME: Pat Calfin is carried to the bus by Pat Walsh (36) and Bob Gratzer after kicking the game-winning field goal against Middleboro with a sprained ankle.

MY BAD: Boys soccer keeper Ryan Kulik reacts after his attempt to clear the ball went straight out of bounds.

TITAN IN TRAINING: One young Pembroke resident keeps busy during a field hockey timeout.

CRUEL RUNNINGS: Both Chris Waterfield and a Brockton defender overrun a bouncing ball.

OUR OWN WORST ENEMIES: Brianna Larkin (13) dives to knock away a loose ball but instead takes out teammate Michelle Coate.

LEAN ON ME: Chris Savoia gets some help from his dad, Stephen, during the boys soccer senior day.

A GOOD BUZZ: One Titan parent shows his support during the Pembroke Youth Football Super Bowl.

Photos by Dave Palana



by Dave Palana, sPorts eDitor [email protected]

For the past three years, the journeys of Niki Cross’ pro-

fessional soccer career have seemed to mirror her career on the field — seemingly since the day she laced up her cleats for Pembroke Youth Soccer at age five.

From her days as a stand-out at Notre Dame Acad-emy in Hingham, to her four years starring for UConn and through last summer when she suited up for St. Louis Ath-letica in the inaugural season of Women’s Professional Soc-cer, her coaches have recog-nized her talent but have been unsure where she fits best. Though listed as a defender, Cross has played just about everywhere on the field, short of goalie, for every team she has played for.

“I play a little bit of every-thing,” Cross said in an inter-view on Tuesday. “I was all over the map and they couldn’t really find a home for me.”

Just as she bounces from position to position on the field, she has been pinballing around the map.

In 2008, she played for Swedish professional team Umea Sodra while the start of WPS was on hold for the Olympic Games. When the league kicked off last sum-mer, Cross was drafted by St. Louis and logged 616 minutes while starting in eight games and scoring one goal. In 2010, she will again find herself with a new team as she signed as a free agent with FC Gold Pride, the San Francisco Bay area team, and will be heading out to California at the end of February.

However, the globe-hop-ping nature of her career is not a source of frustration for the Pembroke native, who said she is enjoying the opportuni-ties she’s been given to see the world.

“I just think I was at a point where I’m still young enough to be moving around and trying new places,” she said. “I had a great time in St. Louis, and I loved my team-mates and the organization. But it will be nice to play with my old [UConn] teammate Kristen Graczyk and experi-ence something new.”

She added that she would gladly take the whirlwind of the last three years than suf-

fer through another year like 2007. Fresh out of UConn with the future of the startup profes-sional league uncertain, Cross was left without a team and only an abstract goal of a non-existent league ahead of her.

“That was very frustrat-ing,” she said. “I was just stuck in limbo. I was training by myself instead of how I’ve been taught to train with your team for a goal. It was a big relief when it was over, and I had a goal and something to look forward to as opposed to just waiting. ”

Cross eventually caught on in Sweden, thanks to some connections she made playing in summer leagues, and she came home in time for the first WPS draft. Playing alongside Olympic gold medalists Hope Solo and Lori Chalupny, Cross and St. Louis finished second in the WPS standings before bowing out in the playoffs.

“It was crazy when you see those guys in a different light,” she said. “You get to know them less as a superstar and more of who they are.”

Cross enjoyed her time in St. Louis, through she said it took a little while to get used to the idea of soccer being her livelihood and the cutthroat nature of professional sports.

“This is your job, this is your well-being, you need to perform every day because they can trade you or they can cut you. In college, it’s not like that,” she said. “Sometimes it was hard because I was in between playing and not play-ing all season. Sometimes you knew where you stood and other times you had no idea.”

For the present, Cross is enjoying her time off from that daily intensity by living in Allston, working at Catz gym in Needham and enjoying the company of friends and family.

“It’s good to come back and relax and enjoy that part of my life,” she said. “It’s good because you see how proud people are. Sometimes, you get to the point of just think-ing of playing as what you do,

and they remind you of how exciting it is.”

She also volunteered with the Boston University wom-en’s soccer team as a coach, an experience she said im-proved her game greatly. It was Cross’ first experience as a coach, something she hopes to do when her playing days are over, and she was sorry to see the season end. Especially when the Terriers were elimi-nated from the NCAA tourna-ment, ironically enough, by UConn.

“That was a bitter one for me,” she said with a smile. “I would ideally like to stay in soccer and take what I have learned growing up and help kids. I just want to pass on my knowledge and help other kids accomplish their dreams. But coaching this year, I learned a lot from the kids that were playing that I hopefully bring to my game next year.”

And years after, wherever she may be.

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cross country

Niki Cross (right) will start her second season in Women’s Professional Soccer on the West Coast with FC Gold Pride.

Pro soccer player Niki Cross heading to the West Coast

Cross turns to celebrate with teammate Lori Chalupny after scoring her first goal in WPS.Photos by Scott Rovak/ Saint Louis Athletica

Paul Cina, Ryan Kelley and Berkely Hall

Cina and Kelley earned their MVP awards by leading the boys

cross country team to a State Championship, while Hall was equally dominant on the vol-

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Breakfast with Santa

What did 3-1/2-year-old Adrian Reid ask Santa for? “EVERYTHING!”

Matt York, wife Beth and daughters Grace, 2, and Madeline, 1, wait in line to visit with Santa Claus at Center Nursery Kindergarten’s annual Breakfast with Santa on Saturday, Dec. 5 at First Church.

Five-year-old Kameron Tom happily eats his pancakes before Santa arrives.

Santa arrives for breakfast.

Stephanie, 10, and brother Ben Dyer, 3, tell Santa what they want for Christmas.

Will McNamara, 4, and Kayleen and Connor Paquette, also 4, enjoyed seeing Santa.

Jack Taylor, 10, little sister Katryn, 2, and mom Tiffany pose for a family portrait with Santa.

Michael Mathisen, 3, asked Santa for trucks and cars, while Abigail Mathisen, 5, hopes Santa will leave a Barbie with a bed under her Christmas tree.

Christopher McNamara, 2, was happy about the candy cane he got after his visit with Santa.

Photos by Denise hawes



Congratulations to Kathy Delano, Chuck Crossley, Fred Doyle, George Migre, Carol Reed, Otis Hathon, Doc Iacobucci, Dottie MacInnes, Scott MacInnes and Fred Holmes (who grew up in Pembroke and now lives in Vermont) for correctly guessing the Dan Simmons Store on Washington Street (known early on as King’s Highway) near Water Street.

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customers for their patronage this past year!

By karen proctor, express coluMnist [email protected]

It’s that time of year again! Everyone crowds into the malls and other shopping centers and the pace of life speeds into overdrive as we try to get all our Christmas

and holiday shopping done. Where would we be without those malls? What did our Pembroke ancestors ever do without them? Here is a little peek.

The spirit of entrepreneurial endeavor that began to sweep America after the Revolutionary War was strongly in evidence in New England. Pembroke was no exception.

Perhaps because of its close proximity to the North River and the wealthy shipbuilding families, the area of North Pem-

broke became a haven for those in the area who wished to spend their hard-earned mon-ey or credit on store-

bought and/or manufactured items. In addition, there were those necessities that had to be purchased by the average citizen, such as shoes, harnesses for horses, metalware, etc.

One such store, known to the locals as the “Old Brick Store,” was run by Bailey Hall, a hatter by trade, son of Dr. Jeremiah Hall, around 1826. The building itself was built from bricks made at the “old clay pit place” on Pleasant Street. The store was kept for many years by Horace Collamore, who was also the postmaster.

A typical American general store, everything you could pos-sibly think of was kept at the Old Brick Store. It is said that the candy case was one of the best stocked in both quantity and variety of any store in the area. You could also purchase cotton cloth at 11 to 15 cents a yard. Linen, silk handkerchiefs, ladies kid gloves, thread and hairbrushes were part of the regular stock. Also, molasses at 30 cents a gallon, coffee, butter, brown sugar, Holland Gin and N.E. rum could be purchased. Eventually, the Old Brick Store went out of business.

For a few years, another store run by Allen Blackman took its place, but it too was later moved to a different location and used as a private residence.

Another well-known store in the North Pembroke area was the Simmons Store built in 1873. The store was built with a large dance floor upstairs. There was a store located at the West Box Factory that was kept by Calvin Shepherd. This store was also built around 1830, as was a grocery store run by Captain Morton on or near the corner of Pleasant and Washington Streets.

Another local entrepreneur was Aunt Prussy Ford, a tailor-ess who went from house to house tailoring for 25 cents per day. Unfortunately, her fitting ability sometimes left a bit to be desired, and it was said that if you saw someone with rather ill fitting clothes, they were probably the work of dear old Aunt Prussy.

There were also a number of small stores located on Brick Kiln Lane that provided the shipbuilders of Pembroke with their needed supplies.

So you see, the stores of North Pembroke came and went, not unlike today, each providing some important service for the time, and then fading into memory. Each and every one served to help the residents of Pembroke build our town into a thriving community and set down the base on which we continue to build for the future.

Karen Proctor is research director for the Historical Soci-ety. For details about these images, call 781-293-9083.

Photo courtesy of Pembroke Historical Society

Before there were malls

Silver Lake alumni invited to join annual hockey game

The 24th annual Silver Lake Hockey Alumni Game will be held on Sunday, Dec. 27 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. at Hobomock Arena, Rink I. Alumni skaters are invited to come participate —for those who have hung up the blades, come and see old team-mates and coaches. Skaters of all ages will play together. Cost is $50 per skater, or a do-nation for the 18th an-nual Silver Lake Hockey Alumni Scholarship would be appreciated. Checks should be made payable to “Silver Lake Hockey Alumni.” Sign up by Dec. 15. A shootout will be held between periods. For information or to sign up, call Michael Baird at 781-754-0515, Drew Fitzgerald at 508-747-9517 or Craig Solari at 781-291-6015.


amendment, my grandmother and great-grandmother and their right to vote,” said Sa-brina Chilcott, who stopped by Pembroke Community Middle School to vote. “I bring them with me to every election, ev-ery primary, even if there’s only one bubble to fill in on the ballot.”

A total of 2,174 Pembroke voters showed up to the polls, about 19 percent of the town’s registered voters, according to Town Clerk Mary Ann Smith. Forty-three people voted by absentee ballot.

“It was about what I ex-pected,” she said Wednesday. “I figured about 2,000 people would show up.”

Local voters echoed the rest of the state in selecting Mas-sachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley as the Demo-cratic candidate and state Sen. Scott Brown as the Republican candidate. The two will square off in the Jan. 19 special elec-tion to fill the late Ted Ken-nedy’s U.S. Senate seat.

Around Pembroke, the polls were quiet throughout much of the day.

There were 129 votes cast as of 11 a.m. at Precinct 1, in the Town Hall, but ballot in-spector Kathy McIver, along with poll workers at all of the town’s five precincts, did not seem surprised.

“Primaries are notoriously slow,” McIver said.

Some voters wondered if an election was even going on, without the usual cluster of campaign signs and waving supporters standing at the en-trance to each polling spot.

“The worst is a lot of people don’t think there’s any voting because there’s no cam-paigners outside,” said warden Pat Cullity, who was working Precinct 2 at PCMS. “Some of them have driven right by.”

Jerry and Judy Stowell brought the total voters at North Pembroke Elementary School’s Precinct 5 to just un-der 100 around 10:30 a.m. The Stowells said though they don’t always vote in primaries, they felt this one was important.

“We like the person that we voted for,” Judy Stowell said. “I had met her years ago, and she is a children’s advocate. She is what she says she is.”

The couple brought their five-year-old grandson Connor Lynch to the polls with them.

“We thought we’d teach

him the process,” his grand-mother said. “Today’s a quiet day to do it.”

At Town Hall, Douglas and Vivian Perry said they try to vote in every election.

“We think it’s very impor-tant, so we always vote in even the smallest, like today,” Viv-ian Perry said.

Her husband said he chose his candidate for the person’s stance on “what’s good for America and for the people — health care, peace in the world, things like that.”

“Of course, you don’t al-ways get what you vote for,” he added.

At Precinct 3, in the Bry-antville Elementary School gymnasium, voter Richard Edlund said he has refrained from voting in primaries in the past because he didn’t want to be labeled as a certain party.

“This is the first primary I’ve been to in probably 20 years,” he said.

Edlund said his purpose in voting was to pick someone who would bring a balanced viewpoint to Washington.

“I thought it would be use-ful to have a woman in the seat. That’s where the balance comes in,” he said. “Martha Coakley just seems kind of unflappable.”

Outside Bryantville, se-lectman Don Anderson said,

though as a registered Repub-lican his choices were limited, he felt it was important to show up to vote.

“It’s my patriotic duty to be part of the process,” he said.

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light turnout for primarycontinued from page one

Jerry and Judy Stowell check in to vote at Precinct 5 at North Pembroke Elementary School. They brought along their five-year-old grandson, Connor Lynch, to give him an early introduction to the voting process.

A sole voter makes his deci-sion at Precinct 3 at Bryantville Elementary School. Voter turnout for the special state primary was light, with about 19 percent of Pembroke voters showing up.

New England Village is offering a basic swim skills class for adults and young adults with developmental disabilities. Swimmers should be at least 18 years old, independent in the water and be able to follow simple directions. All swimmers are required to wear water shoes in the pool and in the locker rooms. New England Village offers enrichment and fitness opportunities to individuals with developmental disabilities living at home with a family member. For more information on this class, call Ginger Comeau by Dec. 18 at 781-293-5461 x204 or [email protected].

Basic skills swim class offered

Photos by Becca Manning

pembroke express 12-11-2009

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