MAC: Canton planners not showing up

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It appears that the Canton Planning Board may have an attendance problem. According to a recent review of members’ attendance records, the five-member board has had perfect attendance at just 12 of its 39 public hearings since mid April 2014, when newest member Michael Mitcheroney was elected. Tori McClain, elected in 2013 and currently the board’s vice chairwoman, has missed more than half of all meetings during that span (21 absences). Current Chairman Chris Connolly, who has decided not to seek reelection this year, has missed more than a quarter of all meetings (10 absences), while George Jenkins has missed six. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Jeremy Comeau is the lone member with perfect attendance, including one meeting where he participated via Skype, and Mitcheroney has missed just one of the 39 meetings.

Woody Allen famously once said, “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” As a former selectman and Planning Board member, MAC is inclined to agree. Not only is it one’s duty as an elected official to attend and participate in meetings, but also the town has a bylaw stating that a municipal board member can only miss one hearing in order to be eligible to vote on an adjudicatory matter, such as a permit hearing. The bylaw, which was adopted in 2009, also requires board members to review an audio or video recording of the missed meeting and certify in writing that they have reviewed all of the evidence pertaining to the hearing in question.

Three sons of former Canton High School football stars made the Super 26 2015 All-State Football Team recently announced by the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association. The three sons include Canton High School linebacker Jake Ragusa, a 5’11”, 180-pound senior and son of Doug Ragusa; Millis/Hopedale offensive lineman Peter Fallon, a 6’4”, 285-pound senior and son of Shawn Fallon; and Marshfield offensive lineman Shane Leonard, a 6’3”, 290-pound senior and son of Chris Leonard. The team will be honored at a banquet co-sponsored by the Coaches Association and the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston on Sunday, March 6, at Lantana’s in Randolph beginning at 4 p.m.

Erin Martin of Canton is the starting forward on the unbeaten Amherst College women’s hockey team.

The public reaction this year to the holiday lights at the town hall, library, and in the downtown business district has been generally positive, but many residents would like to see more of the lights in the Washington Street waterfall area where there are none. There have been many suggestions for next year, such as decorating Sydeman Park next to the downtown waterfall and maybe lights around the newly constructed waterfall at Shepard’s Pond, as well as lights at the Viaduct. It certainly would make it more festive during the holiday season.

Kudos to the T.L. Edwards Paving Company of Avon, which did an excellent job of paving 14 streets in Canton over the past year, including the Ponkapoag Fire Station parking lot.

The Canton selectmen recently appointed Josh Cohen to the Canton Conservation Commission in place of Steve Landry, who is relocating to Portland, Maine.

Selectmen also voted to accept with regret the retirement of Water-Sewer Administrator Karen Welch, who served the town for 26 years. Pat Cawley was named as Welch’s replacement.

The state’s hourly minimum wage increased from $9 to $10 per hour effective January 1, 2016. On January 1, 2017, the minimum wage will lock in at $11 an hour.

The word of 2015, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is actually not even a word. It is an “emoji,” an expressive face that you typically see after a sentence on a text message or comment on the internet. Specifically, it is the emoji called the “face with tears of joy.”

The town of Foxboro receives $1.52 per ticket for professional football and soccer events and $2.64 for all other events.

For those of you who are interested, the Boston Red Sox pitchers and catchers will report to spring training on Thursday, February 18. The first workout will be February 19 while the first full-squad workout is February 24 at Fenway South in Fort Myers, Florida. The Red Sox host a single admission doubleheader against Boston College and MAC’s alumni Northeast University on February 29 at Jet Blue Park. The Grapefruit League opener is March 2 at home against Minnesota. The regular season opens against the Indians in Cleveland on April 4.

On January 1, 2016, the state income tax rate dropped slightly from 5.15 percent to 5.10 percent.

As was reported in the Canton Citizen and Patriot Ledger, former Canton High School field hockey star Mary McNeil led the Merrimack College field hockey team in goals (14), assists (11), and points (39) during her freshman year. Mary led her team to its first ever appearance in the NCAA Division 2 national championship game. Merrimack lost that game 1-0 in overtime to No. 1 East Stroudsburg (PA) University. Mary’s assists and points-per-game marks were good enough for No. 1 in the nation among freshmen in Division 2. She also earned Northeast-10 Rookie of the Year and All-Conference First-Team honors while being named a second-team 2015 Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division 2 All-American.

Know what your values are and then stick with them. Don’t let people talk you out of what you know is right.

This is all for now folks. See you next week.

Joe DeFelice can be reached at manaboutcanton@aol.com.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=32271

Posted by Joe DeFelice on Jan 29 2016. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.