Man About Canton: New Rail Line Has Problems

DID YOU KNOW …

Public hearings by the Army Corps of Engineers to discuss the proposed $1.5 billion South Coast Rail Project between Fall River and New Bedford to Boston will be held on May 4 and May 5. The May 4 hearing will be at 7 p.m. at the Qualters Middle School, 240 East Street in Mansfield; and the May 5 hearing will be at 7 p.m. at the Keith Middle School, 225 Hathaway Blvd., in New Bedford. Not everyone is happy about the proposed rail project, even though it will provide badly needed commuter rail service between Boston and Fall River and New Bedford. The proposed new line would pass through Canton on the Stoughton branch, and some say it will have an adverse effect on Canton, Stoughton and Easton. In fact, the town of Stoughton has initiated legal action to stop the project, and the towns of Easton and Raynham are actively seeking other towns to join them in their effort to stop the commuter trains. Among the vocal opponents is Richard Phillips, Sr., who built his popular Town Spa pizza restaurant years ago alongside what has been an “abandoned railroad bed” on Route 138. News reports say Phillips believes that if the line is activated, trains will cross Plain Street behind his restaurant, and he insists it will be a safety hazard. So keep your eye on this controversy — it isn’t over yet.

The Council on Aging will begin a new program, Zumba for seniors, on May 4 at 2:15 p.m. The free program will take place every Wednesday until the end of June at the CHS wellness yoga annex.

The U.S. Mint recently unveiled its 2011 Native American $1 coin in Plymouth. The “tails” side depicts the 1621 peace treaty between Wampanoag Chief Massasoit and colonial leader John Carver.

The new principal at the Kennedy Elementary School on Dedham Street is Kimberly Sefrino, who has 15 years of experience as an elementary school principal, most recently in Fall River. The new principal lives in Freetown and was selected from 50 applicants.

MAC was saddened to see that the Breyers (formerly Sealtest) Ice Cream factory in Framingham has shut down after producing ice cream at that location for nearly 50 years.

The Canton Town Club will host its 2011 Challenge Cup Golf Tournament in memory of the late Bill Duggan at the Wampatuck Country Club on Monday, May 2. The tournament, which benefits the Town Club’s scholarship fund, commences with a shotgun start at 8 a.m., rain or shine. The format is five-member teams, Florida-style. The entry fee is $100 per person, which includes green fees and golf cart. For more information, call Mike Logan at 781-828-9232 or 339-987-1193.

A single-family home on Navaho Drive in Canton recently sold for $1,225,000.

Blue Hill Adventure, a nonprofit organization focused on preserving the Blue Hills, will again be offering canoe rentals this spring. Six canoes are available for rent at $30 for a half day and $60 for a full day. The canoes are located at the end of University Road, off Dedham Street, at the Signal Hill Reservation. For more information, call 781-326-0079.

Now that the 2010 Federal Census is over, it was interesting to see that Hispanics and Asians are our two fastest growing demographic groups; and for the first time, Asians had a larger numerical gain than African Americans, who remained the second largest minority group at roughly 37 million. MAC will have more census observations in the future.

Talk about being a real Red Sox baseball fan: Joe Zogalis, formerly of Canton, has attended 39 straight Boston Red Sox opening day games, which is quite an accomplishment.

Things are looking up. The U.S. Transportation Department estimates that the number of U.S. highway deaths in 2010 was 32,788, the lowest number since 1949 when Harry Truman was president. They credit the reduction to the fact that more people are wearing seatbelts, vehicles with better safety equipment, and efforts to curb drinking and driving.

The Clarke School for Hearing and Speech in Canton is holding a pancake breakfast and silent auction at the Canton Town Club on Sunday, May 1. For more information, call Julie Quinn at 781-821-3499, ext 101.

In case you are unfamiliar with the Clarke School, it provides children who are deaf or hard of hearing with the listening, learning, and spoken language skills they need to succeed in life. The school currently has five campus locations: Jacksonville, New York, Philadelphia, Northampton, and the Boston-area campus, which is located at 1 Whitman Road in Canton.

The last nine NCAA basketball champions have had “blue” as one of their colors.

Finally, MAC, must correct an error in last week’s column, which erroneously stated that Stephen Dockray, the new superintendent of the Tri-County Regional Vocational High School, is the son of the late former town treasurer Ed Dockray. Ed is very much alive and living in Florida. He is 92 years old.

One does not get better, but different and older, and this is always a pleasure.

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

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

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Posted by Joe DeFelice on Apr 28 2011. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.