Man About Canton: ConCom Questions
By Joe DeFeliceDID YOU KNOW …
Canton Conservation Commission Chairwoman Debra Sundin has come under fire for her handling of a request for public records made by developer Scott Lenhart. According to a letter sent to Sundin on May 25, Lenhart had requested the public records on April 18, and as of May 25, he had not received the records. Lenhart had submitted plans for his development at 41 Plymouth Street to the Conservation Commission, which has become controversial due to the dismissal of former Conservation Agent Robert Murphy.
In the letter written by Lenhart and sent not only to Sundin but also to all the commissioners, the selectmen, the office of the Secretary of State, and others, Lenhart questions the veracity of a statement made by Sundin during a public meeting in April pertaining to a particular vote (or non-vote) by the commission on a stormwater management policy matter. Lenhart has also sent a letter to the Secretary of State asking that office to investigate the Canton Conservation Commission. He also requested that the “appropriate district attorney’s office or the office of the Attorney General become involved.”
Reached by the Citizen last week via email, Sundin offered no comment on the matter other than to state that “any public records request made to the Conservation Commission by Mr. Lenhart has been fulfilled.” Lenhart, however, told a Citizen reporter on Sunday that he is still awaiting the documents he requested from the commission over a month ago.
Stay tuned for more to come on this controversy.
The Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council and its police SWAT teams include 17 south shore police departments. Canton, Stoughton, Randolph, and Milton are part of this consortium formed in 2002. During the marathon bombings and ensuing massive manhunt for the terrorists, the council sent in more than 100 officers in tactical gear and area police dogs.
Each year, the Canton American Legion Auxiliary sponsors two young ladies to attend the Girls State program held at Stonehill College. This year’s program will be held the week of June 21, and this year’s participants are Kaitlyn Kelleher and Shannon Proctor.
The Canton American Legion Post 24 elections will take place on Tuesday, June 18. All legionnaires are welcome to vote at the Legion Hall but only between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
The state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, in a recent survey, has verified 30 active bald eagle nests in the state. Last year, a bald eagle was spotted at the Reservoir Pond in Canton.
According to the Mass. Department of Revenue, the average assessed value for single-family homes for the towns of Canton and Sharon has only dropped 5 percent over the past four years while the values in Stoughton and Randolph have fallen over 15 percent. The state median shows a decline of 10.2 percent in home values from 2009 to 2013.
Lt. Rodney Cleveland of the Canton Fire Department will retire on June 30 after 33 years of service.
The Canton DPW is in the process of repaving Legion, May, and Beatty streets.
The state legislature recently passed a $300 million Chapter 90 bill, of which $1,158,755 was allocated to the town of Canton. The town will use part of that funding toward repaving Pleasant Street, as well as Jackson, Beaumont, Woodlock, Shawnlee Way, and Chapman Street from Spaulding to Neponset Street.
The average annual premium for flood insurance in Massachusetts is $1,160. The recent catastrophic storms have depleted the finances of the federal program, and as a result, premiums will increase up to 25 percent. Residents in landlocked communities like Canton are also affected because of flooding risks from rivers and ponds. There are 84 households in Canton with flood insurance policies. In Stoughton, there are 162, Brockton 483, Dedham 308, Norwood 70, Sharon 64, and Wareham 2,077 with flood insurance.
The Canton Association of Business and Industry will hold its seventh annual “Tom Clark Golf Outing” on Monday, June 10, at the Milton Hoosic Club at 70 Greenlodge Street in Canton. The cost is $75 per player with a shotgun start at 3 p.m. For more information, contact Paul Hannigan at 781-828-2555.
The Canton Council on Aging, Canton High School, and Saint Gerard’s CYO are joining together to offer valuable services to seniors in need. They will help seniors to fix up and clean inside and outside their houses. Call the Council on Aging at 781-828-1323 for assistance and to make an appointment.
On June 22, in recognition of the Civil War Sesquicentennial, the Canton Historical Society will take part in a rededication ceremony of the memorial to Canton’s Civil War dead at the Town Hall on Washington Street. The Historical Society will also have an open house displaying its Civil War memorabilia.
Talking about the Civil War, the largest reunion of American veterans ever was held July 1-4, 1913, when 53,407 Civil War vets congregated at Gettysburg to celebrate the battle’s 50th anniversary. The average age at that time was 74. By the time the 75th anniversary of Gettysburg came around in 1938, only about 8,000 Civil War vets were still living. Yet 1,845 of them, or about 23 percent, made it to the July 1-4 commemoration. Their average age was 94 by then. This year, we will celebrate the 150th anniversary of this monumental battle where 11,098 soldiers will killed and an estimated 57,225 were wounded. There were 93,921 union soldiers and 71,699 confederate soldiers at the Battle of Gettysburg.
Former Canton Board of Health Agent Gina McCarthy, the nominee as the new administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, was asked a total of 1,120 questions before the Congressional Hearing Committee. Republican Senator David Vitter of Louisiana asked Gina 653 questions. Democrats called the record number of questions a form of harassment. McCarthy, in addition to being the Canton Board of Health agent, served in senior policy positions under Massachusetts governors Mitt Romney, Jane Swift, Paul Cellucci, and William Weld. She also served as the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection from 2005 through 2009.
Benjamin and Emma topped Massachusetts’ list of the most popular baby names for 2012, while Jacob and Sophia were the most popular baby names in the United States.
If you find some happiness inside yourself, you will start finding it in a lot of other places, too.
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=20914
Posted by Joe DeFelice
on Jun 6 2013. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion.
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