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Apply for CPA funding

May 9th, 2010
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Apply for CPA funding

PLYMOUTH – The 2010 application for Community Preservation Act funding is now available at the Plymouth Public Library, at 132 South St.; in the clerk’s office at Town Hall, at 11 Lincoln St.; and on the town’s website at Plymouth-ma.gov. All the required information can be found within the application itself, including eligibility and deadlines. Call CPC Chairman Bill Keohan at 508 789-5012, if you have questions.

Pilgrim Hall Museum program

PLYMOUTH – The Pilgrim Hall Museum, at 75 Court St., is featuring an April lecture series, “Old Dominion to Old Colony.” Enjoy coffee at 9:30 a.m.; the lecture begins at 10 a.m. The topic April 28 is “From Hence to Virginia, The Scandalous Ministry of John Lyford” by Richard Pickering, deputy director of Plimoth Plantation. This series is sponsored by the Plymouth Industrial Development Corporation. Call 508-746-1620 or visit pilgrimhall.org for details. Pilgrim Hall Museum is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. seven days a week. Residents of Plymouth are admitted free. Admission is $8 for nonresidents, $6 for seniors (62-plus) and AAA members; $5 for children (ages 5-17); and $25 for families (two adults with their children ages 5-17).

Free homebuyers seminar

PLYMOUTH – Bridgewater Credit Union is partnering with Mid Cape Home Centers and MassHousing to host a free homebuyers seminar from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 28. The program will feature presentations from a real estate attorney, a Realtor, a mortgage professional and a certified home inspector. This program will be held in the Mid Cape Home Centers conference room, located in the Shops at 5 shopping center at 60 Long Pond Road in Plymouth. Topics will include the benefits of buying vs. renting, how to get pre-approved for a mortgage loan, how to make an offer for a home, how the mortgage process works and affordable mortgage products available from MassHousing. Confirm you plan to attend by e-mailing .

 

New Testament open house

PLYMOUTH – At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 28, parents, grandparents and caregivers are welcome to a special open house at the New Testament Christian School, at 1120 Long Pond Road. Meet the students and hear in their own words why they attend the school, take a tour of classrooms, meet with teachers and the principal. The school is accepting applications for the 2010-2011 school year for grades K-12. New Testament is an independent, private church school that utilizes a Christian curriculum and applies biblical principles through the academic disciplines. The school is a ministry of the New Testament Church of Cedarville. Call the school for information at 508-888-1889.

‘Talk of the Towne’

PLYMOUTH – Director of Public Works Hector D. Castro will co-host Talk of the Towne Wednesday, April 28, with co-producer Karen Buechs. The live PACTV call-in show is cablecast each Wednesday at 8 p.m. on channel 13 for Comcast customers and 43 for Verizon subscribers.

Car raffle

PLYMOUTH – As part of the Plymouth Safe Driving Campaign, auto repair students in Plymouth South’s Technical Studies program have been fixing up a smashed automobile donated by Commerce Insurance. Repairs on the car, a 2005 Mazda 6, are nearly complete and raffle tickets are now on sale to award the refurbished vehicle to some lucky winner. Tickets are $10 each and are available at the school stores at South and North high schools. Students under the age of 18 must be licensed drivers in order to purchase a ticket.

In addition, tickets are also available at NAPA Manomet Auto Supply at 21 Robert J. Way in Plymouth, King Collision Centers at 48 Holman Road in Plymouth, and at South Side Cruise Night, to be held every Wednesday night in May at South High. You can also purchase tickets by calling Chris Baker, South High technical studies director, at 508-224-7512, ext. 1004. The winner will be drawn May 26 at the South Side Cruise Night at Plymouth South. Proceeds from the sale of the vehicle will support SkillsUSA, the nonprofit funding source for the technical studies program at both the two high schools.

While the car is not yet 100 percent ready, you can view its progress at Plymouth South’s website at plymouth.k12.ma.us. In addition, the school’s news program, Panther TV, has also covered the progress of repairs. Updates will also be posted on the Plymouth Safe Driving campaign’s website at plymouthsafedriving.org.

Free legal advice for veterans

The Massachusetts Bar Association will host a supplement to its free Dial-A-Lawyer programming by offering a session dedicated solely to veterans’ legal questions from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 29. The Veterans Dial-A-Lawyer program is part of the MBA’s Serving Our Veterans in the Law initiative. Volunteer attorneys will answer questions about a range of legal concerns, including benefits, divorce, child support, employment and landlord/tenant issues. Call 617-338-0610. The Veterans Dial-A-Lawyer is provided as a public service of the MBA with the financial support of the Massachusetts Bar Foundation, the philanthropic partner of the MBA. The MBA partnered with the Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services on the program.

 

Global climate change

PLYMOUTH – The Plymouth Area League of Women Voters invites students and everyone interested in global climate change to spend an evening with Dr. James C. Anderson, the Philip S. Weld Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Earth and Planetary Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University, as he shares his group’s research on Earth climate and global climate change. This event will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 29, in the auditorium at Plymouth North High School, 41 Obery St.

Anderson is a leading expert in climate feedback systems and climate change. He will review the demand for energy in the past, present and future and discuss how the escalating demand for energy is linked to feedbacks in the climate system – and what you can do to help restore the system. He will also address the question, “What role do the physical sciences play in selecting policies for the United States?” Trevor Lloyd Evans, a senior scientist from the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, who conducts field research in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, will facilitate the discussion.

To learn more about Anderson and his group’s research, visit the Anderson Group website atarp.harvard.edu/.

Vote in the PACCIE Awards

PLYMOUTH – PACTV’s annual PACCIE Awards will be held May 26, honoring the community TV producers who produced at least four programs in a series during 2009.

Twenty-four shows have been nominated in six categories and all nominees will compete for Show of the Year. 

“We are proud to honor our community producers who work so hard all year long on their shows,” PACTV Executive Producer Nancy Richard said. “This year, we have put the ballot online so the entire community will have an opportunity to vote for their favorite shows.”

To cast your vote, visit PACTV’s website at pactv.org. Voting is open until May 10 at 5 p.m. One ballot will be accepted per computer IP address. The awards will be announced live May 26 during the annual PACCIE Awards show.

The seven categories in this year’s PACCIE Awards are General Talk Show, Entertainment, Educational/Instructional, Community/Informational, Religious/Spiritual, Sports/Recreation and Show of the Year.

PACTV’s public access channel can be seen in Kingston and Plymouth on Comcast channel 13 and Verizon channel 43.  

PACTV is a not-for-profit membership-based organization that serves the communities of Kingston and Plymouth. PACTV provides a first amendment forum, video production training, coverage of government meetings and free publicity for nonprofit organizations and community service providers. For more information about PACTV, visit pactv.org.

Nominations for leading women awards

Nominations are being accepted for the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts “Leading Women” awards. This year’s 19th annual Leading Women awards breakfast event will be Tuesday, Nov. 9, at the Seaport Hotel in Boston. The Leading Women Awards event raises funds to support Girl Scout programs that are relevant to today’s girls and their interests in fitness and health, science, technology, engineering, and math and, most importantly, serving their communities. The Leading Women award honors women who possess the leadership qualities that are at the core of the Girl Scout experience. Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts is dedicated to building girls of courage, confidence, and character. This distinguished award is a mark of professional achievement and influence in the community and these women are role models for the girls. Girl Scouts has honored 198 women with the Leading Women award since its inception in 1992. The award celebrates the outstanding commitment and contributions of women leaders. The nominees should be visionary, exemplary in their work, leaders in their community who promotes inclusion and opportunity for all women. Submit a nomination for the Leading Women Award online, girlscoutseasternmass.org/webforms/leading-women-nomination.html. Nominations close Friday, April 30

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The Two Categories of Garden Ornamentals

May 5th, 2010
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When our search for garden ornaments began, we discovered they fell into two categories: fat plaster ducks and crouching dwarfs, or marble fountains and pieces of statuary with high price tags.

The first group didn’t appeal, the second was far too expensive. It was a case of getting along without ornaments or joining the “do it yourselves” we chose the latter.

Our first effort was a table made from a large tree stump and a piece of flagstone. The stump was cut off at ground level and placed under a tree, then the flagstone was cemented to its top. It proved to be a “conversation piece” when friends gathered around it during the hot summer evenings and doubles as a bird feeder all winter.

Later on two big wagon wheels came our way via a farm auction. These were set upright between rose beds and an old-fashioned rose planted in front of each. If you try this, don’t use climbers, in less than two years they will be a tangled mass with nowhere to go but out on the lawn and the wheels will be invisible.

In the center of the garden we made a round bed for about eight bushes and some ground covers where we “feature” plants off and on. I think now planting some more permanent would have been a better choice, something with a more continuous and abundant bloom.

A heavy piece of driftwood was set upright in the middle of the bed with some evergreen vines and a sundial screwed to its top. Several years ago sundials were advertised in quite a few magazines. I haven’t noticed any for sale lately and it’s too bad, every garden should have one.

When father made a “wishing well,” using weathered boards for the base and old shakes for the top for a non profit group he once belonged to. It was carefully hauled to their BBQ’s and events like that, and set up near the entrance with a note tacked to its side asking visitors to “drop a coin and make a wish.”

The resulting nickels, dimes and quarters, went into the organization’s treasury. Two years was all the wishing well could take, so its sagging top was straightened, loose boards nailed back in place and it now stands proudly in his old-fashioned garden.

A birdbath was put close enough to a crepe myrtle bush/tree. The birds flock to the area all summer long. I think they feel sheltered and protected by the tree. Birdbaths can be purchased very reasonably at most garden centers and big box stores.

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