Westport
in Brief!
EverythingWestport.com
Thursday,
February 26, 2015
photos/EverythingWestport.com except as noted
Quick
Article Index . . .
Westport April
election update. Five are in, one is out.
Westport’s Veterans’ Services Agent is stepping down to pursue other interests.
Appointed vs.
elected – what’s going on with the Westport town Treasurer’s position?
Letters to the Editor
define difficult issues facing Westport Assessors.
Westport’s
Claude Ledoux to speak at Dartmouth’s Russells Mills Schoolhouse on Sunday, March 15th.
Westport April election
update. Five are in, one is out. EverythingWestport.com Wednesday,
February 25, 2015 Former Highway
Surveyor Harold “Jack” Sisson, one of six who pulled nomination papers for the
two contested seats on the select board did not return them to the Registrars’
office by yesterday’s 5:00 p.m. deadline. Selectmen Craig
Dutra and R. Michael Sullivan will be joined by challengers Pam Costa, William
Harkins, and Maurice May for the two select board seats up for grabs. Besides the two
select board seats there are only three races involving multiple candidates
in this year’s town elections: one Assessor, one Planning Board seat, and one
Housing Authority seat. And there is no candidate for the one Fish Commission
position. For Three Years: Two Selectmen - Selectmen Craig Dutra, 65
Union Ave., and R. Michael Sullivan, 149 Cherry & Webb Lane are joined by
challengers Pam Costa, 1185 American Legion Highway; William Harkins, 660
Gifford Road; and Maurice May, 1878 Main Road. One Assessor - William Burns,
909 Horseneck Road will challenge incumbent and
Chairman Robert Grillo of 388F Old Bedford Road.
One Board of Health - Incumbent
John J. Colletti will run unopposed for another
term. Stuart M. Davidson, 442 Hixbridge Road had
pulled nomination papers but then decided to withdraw. Two School Committee - Incumbents Antonio M. Viveiros,
20 Sandpiper Drive and Sylvia C. Africano, 65 Union
Avenue will seek reelection. They will be unopposed. Woodrow E. Wilson decided
to withdraw from the competition and did not submit his nomination papers. One Fish Commissioner -
Incumbent Peter Kastner is not running for reelection.
There are no candidates for this elected position. Write-ins welcome! Two Trustees of Free
Public Library - Incumbent Paul Cabral, 111 Mouse Mill Road will
run unopposed for another term. Newcomer Mark E. Pawlak,
1 Olin Howard Way will run unopposed for the seat being vacated by incumbent
Nancy M. Dawson, who decided not to seek reelection. Two Landing
Commissioners - Carl Tripp of 24 Perseverance Lane and Jefferson
L. Bull, 149 Horseneck Road are running uncontested
for reelection. Highway Department employee Scott J. Boyd, 22 Amory Petty Way
had pulled nomination papers but decided not to run. One Commissioner of
Trust Funds - George Foster, 196 Sanford will be unchallenged. Incumbent
Charles W. Nichols is not running for reelection. For Five Years: One Housing Authority -
Incumbent Elizabeth A. Collins will be challenged by newcomer Craig D. Mignone, 666 State Road. One Planning Board - Challengers
Charles Gerrier Jr., 47 Union Street, Andrew M.
Sousa, 408 Gifford Road, and Richard W. Brewer, 1971 Main Road vie for the
seat currently held by Elaine Ostroff who will not
seek reelection. For Two Year Unexpired Term: Treasurer - Brad C. Brightman, 13 Judges Way will be uncontested for the
position vacated last year when former longtime Treasurer George Foster retired.
Lisa Mauk of 6 Princess Pine Way had pulled papers for
this position but did not return them by the deadline date. Four
prospective challengers for four different seats did not return their
nomination papers by the February 24th deadline. Westport’s Veterans’ Services Agent is stepping
down to pursue other interests. Selectmen
appoint interim services agent at Monday’s Selectmen’s meeting. EverythingWestport.com Thursday,
February 26, 2015 Westport’s Veterans’ Services Agent is stepping down to pursue other interests. Jerry LeBoeuf’s
last day will be March 1st. LeBoeuf has been
on the job for only a few years, but the energetic ex-marine leaves the office
better than he found it, and that’s saying something as long-serving, former veterans’
agent Ron Costa left very large shoes to fill. He will be missed
by veterans and veterans’ groups alike. Above: VSO Jerry LeBoeuf
visiting with veterans at the Westport Council on Aging. Photo/EverythingWestport.com Selectmen moved
quickly, appointing a search committee to recruit a replacement, but in the meantime
Selectman Richard Spirlet suggested at last Monday’s
Selectmen’s meeting that they fill the vacancy with an interim assignment to
provide uninterrupted services to Westport’s veterans. He could hardly have
recommended a better candidate. “I would like to appoint
Donat J. “Dan” LeBlanc of Freetown as an interim services’
agent,” Spirlet told Selectmen Monday night. LeBlanc served as
the VSO for the City of New Bedford for eight years, before retiring October,
2010. Click here to read LeBlanc’s resume. Above: Ex-marine Donat J. “Dan” LeBlanc Photo/Peter Pereira-The
Standard-Times The Veterans' Service Officer (VSO) or agent works out of the Town Hall,
and is knowledgeable about an array of federal, state, and local benefits to
which veterans and dependents may be entitled. The primary job of a service
agent is to administer Massachusetts
Chapter 115 Public Assistance. Their job is to help veterans in the community learn about, apply for,
and in some cases, receive benefits. Every VSO is a veteran. Chapter 115 Public
Assistance The Commonwealth of Massachusetts offers a need-based program of
financial and medical assistance for veterans and their dependents known as
M.G.L. Chapter 115 (Chapter 115). Qualifying veterans and their dependents receive
necessary financial assistance for food, shelter, clothing, fuel, and medical
care in accordance with a formula which takes into account the number of
dependents and income from all sources. Eligible dependents of deceased veterans are provided
with the same benefits as if the veteran were still living. Click
here to learn about all the assistance programs supported by the Tow of
Westport through the Veterans’ Service Agent. Donat J.
“Dan” LeBlanc 148 County Road, E.
Freetown, MA After graduating
from New Bedford High School in 1964, Dan enlisted in the United States
Marine Corps in 1965, where he trained as a helicopter mechanic and machine
gunner. He served in Vietnam from April to October of 1966. He received two
meritorious combat promotions, and was awarded the Expert Riflemen’s badge,
Combat Aircrewman Wings with 3 strikes, 3 Air
Medals, Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Unit Commendation
Ribbon, Vietnam Service Medal (w 2/ Bronze Stars)Republic of Vietnam Campaign
Medal, Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation (Gallantry Gross Medal
w/ Palm) and the National Defense Service Ribbons. He was retired with an
honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corps in February of 1967,
due to his severe combat disabilities sustained in action in Vietnam. After his return
from Vietnam he attended Southeastern Massachusetts University in Dartmouth,
Mass. In 1968 he was employed by the
United States Post Office as a letter carrier then later as a clerk. Then in
1972, Dan joined the Department of Veterans Affairs, continuing his career in
the Federal Government. During his 27
years with the Department of Veterans Affairs (DV) he worked at 11 different
VA Medical Centers throughout the country, from Massachusetts to California,
including a brief time in the VA’s Central Office in Washington, DC. At each
of these posts he received numerous awards for service, dedication, ingenuity
and commitment to the Department. Dan retired from Federal service on July
31, 2002, with over 32 years of combined Federal Service, upon retirement he
received the Secretary of Veterans Affairs “Distinguished Career Award” for
excellence in Government service from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Mr.
Anthony Princippi. Dan is especially proud of this
award as he was submitted for this award by his staff in New England upon his
retirement which required numerous higher level approvals throughout the DVA which
he received. He was selected
by the Mayor of New Bedford and appointed by the New Bedford City Council on
June 30, 2002 as the Director / Veterans Agent of the Department of Veterans
Services for the City of New Bedford and began that position on September 9,
2002. During his 8 years with the City he upgraded the operations to full computerization
enabling the small staff of five employees to go from serving 53 clients in
2002 to over 530 in 2010. As reported by the State Department of Veterans’
Service which was the highest number of clients per captia
of any City or Town in the Commonwealth he retired from that position on
October 10, 2010 receiving Certificates of Appreciation from both the Mayor
and the City Council of New Bedford. During his Federal Service he also
served as an Equal Employment Opportunity Investigator and a diversity
facilitator for the Department of Veterans Affairs and a Civil Service
Examiner for the U.S. Post Office. His last position
in the DVA was as the first Veterans Integrated Services Network (VISN) # 1
Prosthetic Program Manager overseeing the VISN Prosthetic Consolidated
Program for the entire New England Healthcare System (VISN #1). This included
8 DVA Medical Center facilities and co-coordination of a $38 million dollar
budget. During his tenure in VISN #1, Dan was involved as the on screen
co-host and the subject matter expert for the DVA Learning Network television
program televised live from Washington, D.C to the entire country. This proved to be very successful in
educating field staff with new computer technology for the Prosthetic &
Sensory Aids Program. He co-hosted
more than six two hour live broadcasted shows during a two year period. Dan has also been
involved in many public speaking efforts over the last27 years. He has been
an annual participant over this time in the Brookline Public School system’s
“handicapped awareness program” speaking to over 300 fourth graders annually.
He has also been and continues to be an annual participant guest speaker at
the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and at the Bridgewater State
University speaking on the subject of “amputations and prosthetic development
from the personal and professional perspective”. These presentations are made
to post graduate students in Physical Therapy and to Adaptive Physical
Education students. Professor Joseph H. Huber, Ph.D. of Bridgewater State
University has written to state, “I wish you to know that I treasure your
generous nature, community spirit, and fellowship. Bridgewater State
University is most fortunate to have you as a dear friend.” Dan is also the
recipient of numerous private and public awards. In 1996, he won the State of Rhode Island’s
Federal Executive Councils Employee of the Year award in the “Community
Service” category competing with all other federal agencies in the State of Rhode
Island. In November of 1999, he received the Veterans’ Transition House
“Veteran of the Year” award for Southeastern Massachusetts. Also in 1999, he
was selected as the “Man of the Year” for Freetown, MA, by the New Bedford
Standard Times. In 2000, Dan was
awarded the Veterans Health Administration’s “Scissors Award”, along with
five other workgroup members, for their efforts in reducing waste in
government with the development of time saving computer software. On June 15, 2006
he was awarded “The New England Patriots Community MVP Award” at the awards
ceremony he was presented with an engraved football trophy by Patriots owner Mr.
Robert Kraft and his wife Mira on behalf of the Kraft family. The Kraft
family also awarded a $1,500.00 grant in Dan’s name to the SE Mass Veterans’
Transition House for use by that organization because of Dan’s efforts as a
volunteer at that facility. On May 3, 2010 he received the first University
of Massachusetts at Lowell, Department of Health and Environment, Department
of Physical Therapy, Distinguished Service Award for his participation in
their program. In his community
of Freetown Dan has served as Post Surgeon, Service Officer, Junior Vice and
Senior Vice-Commander of the Freetown Memorial, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post
6643 in Freetown, Mass. He currently serves as the Post Adjutant and was a
Post Trustee both positions he has held for 13 years. He recently resigned as
Trustee to assume a position on the Post Corporation Board of Directors
serving now as the President of the Board. Dan was asked to participate as a member of
the Freetown Memorial Park Committee working to develop a memorial Park in
Freetown for veterans of all Wars, POW/MIA’s, as well as Firemen and Policemen.
A Cobra Helicopter with 2 flagpoles, Police and Firefighters stones as well
as a POW/MIA memorial with POW/MIA flag pole as well as a stone to honor CPO2
Tyler J. Trahan USN who was killed in the War on Terror in Iraq have been erected
at the site on Chace Road in Freetown, work continues towards completion of
this beautiful park where the Towns WWII Memorial was relocated this past
summer to the Park and a duplicate of the Towns WWI Memorial will be placed at
the site very soon. Dedication ceremonies are planned for 2013. Dan also
enjoys riding his motorcycle trike as a member of the Patriot Guard Riders,
to honor families of those lost in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan he has
completed over 36 missions in the last 9 years. He previously
served on the Board of Directors at the Southeastern Massachusetts Veterans’
Transition House, a position he held from 2002 to 2007. He was elected to serve as the Vice
President of that Board in 2005. Dan
is a very dedicated individual and works very closely with veterans and staff
to resolve issues for veterans regarding their Federal DVA and Massachusetts
State Veteran benefits. He is a highly regarded resource to many that know and
work with him he continues to advise veterans,
families and widows of their rights. He was selected by Devol
L. Patrick, Governor, Commonwealth of Massachusetts to serve as a member of
the Selective Service Board #3, on June 3, 2009 and appointed for the
President by Acting Director of the Selective Service on July 23, 2009 and
continues to serve in that position to this day. Dan lives in
Freetown, Massachusetts with his wife Susan and their son D.J. who graduated
in May 2011 from Roger Williams University with a Bachelor of Science degree
in Construction Management. Susan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in
Accounting, Cum Laude from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, and is
the President of Le Blanc Embroidery a successful business of thirteen years
in Freetown, Massachusetts. Dan has three other children Christopher, Justin
and Bonnie and has seven grandchildren. He served his
community as the Director/Veterans Agent in Freetown appointed on November 1,
2012 with 6 active Chapter 115 clients on the rolls he retired for good from
that position on December 1, 2015 having served over 23 Chapter 115 clients.
But still advises veterans and widows of their veteran benefits. Appointed
vs. elected – what’s going on with the Westport town Treasurer’s position? EverythingWestport.com Friday, February
27, 2015 Voters will face
a ballot question this April to change the elected position of Treasurer to
an appointed one. A similar ballot
question a while back changed the Highway Surveyor’s position from elected to
appointed. Once again,
voters are being asked the same question vis-à-vis the town Treasurer. The fly in the
ointment with the Treasurer’s job, however, is that on the same ballot a
candidate is running for the two-year unexpired term that was vacated with
the retirement last year of then Treasurer George Foster (pictured right.). If the ballot
question is rejected by town voters, then the elected Treasurer will immediately
assume the office
But what happens
if the ballot question is approved, and the position becomes appointed. Well, the answer to
that question is a lot more complicated than you might think! According to Michelle
Tassinari, lead counsel for the Massachusetts
Election Division, if voters approve the change of the office to
appointed, then the candidate who wins the election will immediately assume
the position of Treasurer until Selectmen can appoint one. To further add to
the complexity of this question, if the town has a charter or special act
that requires the position to be elected, then Selectmen can’t immediately appointment
someone to the vacant position until the Massachusetts Legislature approves
the results of the ballot question, a process that could take between 30 and
90 days. Most ballot
questions requiring legislative approval usually receive consent by the state’s
lawmakers – but happily it appears the town may not have such a provision in
its charter. And, if there is an
appointed treasurer already occupying the post at the time of the election,
than that individual would continue as treasurer, and the newly elected official
is out of luck! Had enough? There is one more thing: last year Assistant Treasurer, Christine
Sylvia (pictured right) was appointed by Selectmen as interim Treasurer. Interestingly, under
the town’s charter, the Treasurer’s job requires that only a Westport
resident can run for election. Ms. Sylvia is a
Dartmouth resident, so she couldn’t put her name on the ballot. But if the ballot
question is approved, she could be appointed Treasurer by the Selectmen. Got all that? Good! Photos/EverythingWestport Letters to the Editor define difficult issues facing
Westport Assessors. April
ballot question seeks full assessment of Westport properties by outside firm. EverythingWestport.com Friday, February
27, 2015 To the editor: In response to
Mr. Baron’s letter to the editor dated February 22, stating “Bill Burns, who
is one of the leaders of the attack on the assessors has quite famously lost
in the courts in his effort to have his assessments reduced. The other
claimants may well be people who would themselves benefit from a reduction in
valuation.” I offer the
following clarifications and observations. Mr. Baron please note that I have applied to the Appellant Tax Board in
Boston four times after my requests were denied by the Westport Board of
Assessors (WBA). The first time I
won my case based on Department of Revenue case law I received from the Mass.
Farm Bureau. The second time I won my case with the judge asking me for
my appraisal values on a piece of paper which he used. The third time I
won my filing, which culminated with then Chairman Grillo
stating at a Board of Selectmen meeting, (to paraphrase) we made a mistake
followed by then Selectman Coyne (to paraphrase) well then why don’t you fix
it. The fourth time I lost on my primary resident filing based on a
technicality of paying my taxes late, which negated the filing. Notwithstanding,
if Mr. Baron is so concerned about the expense to reform the way in which
property is assessed in Westport, he should first question how much taxpayer
money has been misspent in the case that The Board of Assessors lost over
their attempt to impose a “conveyance tax” in the 2010 Appeal Court case of
Adams vs. Board of Assessors, 76 Mass.App.Ct. 180,
920 N.E.2d 879; 2010 Mass. App. Lexis 81. The assessors lost that case
and the taxpayers paid a hefty legal bill. Any taxpayer may
file an abatement with the state if denied by
the WBA for a fee of $100 where the taxpayer can present their case. Please note Mr.
Baron: In successfully fighting my own battles with the Board of Assessors
over the years, I have discovered that the way in which residential and
commercial property is being assessed in Westport favors the few at the
expense of the many. Because many
property owners in town have been under-assessed by a factor of 10-50% for
several years, thousands of other taxpayers have been overtaxed and have been
made to pay more than their fair share of taxes. Most of you have been paying
more than your fair share of the tax burden without knowing it. Mr. Baron why do
you feel the need to attack me personally in your letter to the editor?
If you are going to, please get your facts straight as I have noted here in
my response I won three times. Your letter is another indication of why
taxpayers need to have a choice in the process. In your current
position as chair of the Westport Finance Committee I understand your role is
to watch out for the taxpayers, therefore I know you must understand my position
to making the assessment process more transparent. I believe everyone
who pays taxes should be assessed using the same unbiased and objective
method. Under the law, the process of tax assessment must treat every
taxpayer equally. Let’s all work together to pay our fair share. Bill Burns Westport
To the editor: Once again,
Westport seems on the verge of distracting itself from its real financial
issues by lining up into competing camps over what has all the appearances of
a phony one. The Westport
Taxpayers Association and others in town have suggested that Westport’s
assessors engage in a pattern of undervaluing the most expensive residences
in town. They have occasionally expressed the belief that
under-assessing some properties cuts down on the amount of property tax that
the town can raise. That shows a
complete misunderstanding of how Proposition 2.5 works in
Massachusetts. Prop. 2.5 limits the total
absolute amount of property tax that can be collected in any one year (the
tax levy) to an increase of 2.5% over the last year’s tax levy. Were there to be
a sudden gold rush on Westport real estate (resulting from, let’s say, the
news that a rail line was being planned to run directly from Boston to the
Head of Westport) and that caused the total assessed value of real estate to
jump by 100%, it would not increase by a single penny the amount of property
tax that could be levied in any year. It would remain increasable only
at 2.5% of what had been levied the year before. Thus, if there is
any inequality of assessment of values like that suggested by the WTA and
some others, it will not produce more tax income for the town. Indeed,
any revaluation process is likely to reduce the amount of tax available for
several years. Any wholesale revaluation will undoubtedly produce a
rash of requests for abatement and consequent litigation in cases where those
abatements are denied. This means an increase in the amount of tax
money that must be held up in the “overlay” to be available to cover any
abatement requests that could conceivably win the day. Although that
money might eventually be freed up for use in later years, the extensive
costs of defending suits would be forever lost. It is hard to
know if there is any merit to the claim that some of the more expensive properties,
especially those near the water, are relatively undervalued for tax purposes
and that some of those in other parts are overvalued. It is even hard
to know what standards those who are challenging the values are using to
claim that. Real estate assessment
is a complicated, nuanced, and inexact process for which experts receive
specialized training. One would have to ask experts to appraise the
methodology being used by our assessors. Perhaps that is what should be
done (rather than having all the property in town reappraised at very high
cost, which is what the WTA and others seem to be asking). However,
keep in mind that their work is already being overseen by the state, which
gives the assessors’ work and their assessments several levels of review
throughout every ten year period. One would have
thought that the WTA’s first resort would have been to ask the DOR what marks
it gives Westport’s assessors for the job they do, rather than immediately
making public attacks based on its members own untutored look at the records. It is hard for me
to understand what the WTA folks think the motivation of the assessors could
be in doing a biased job of assessing — one that allegedly favors the “haves”
over the “have less” folks. My sense is that all three of our assessors
have deep roots in the town and cannot be claimed to be among the newcomer
“haves” with expensive waterfront properties in the south end. They
certainly do not seem to be folks who could be claimed to benefit directly
from the alleged undervaluation or part of the class of people who are
supposed to be so benefiting. Is there some suggestion that they are
being bribed? Threatened? Without that, the allegations of
systematic prejudiced treatment make no sense. On the other
hand, the motivation of the WTA and the others making such allegations seems
clear. Bill Burns, who is one of the leaders of the attack on the
assessors, has quite famously lost in the courts in his effort to have his
assessments reduced. The other claimants may well be people who would
themselves benefit from a reduction in valuation. But, even if not,
they are associated with an effort to gain politically through demagoguery
that pits the north end against the south end in town — an effort that we see
at work in the dispute over Beach Avenue as well. Among other things,
this effort undermines the goal of trying to get the town to work
cooperatively in meeting the financial challenges with which it has been
faced since the state drastically cut back in local aid to towns while
maintaining or increasing unfunded and underfunded mandates that it places on
them. Charles “Buzzy”
Baron Chairman,
Westport Finance Committee Westport’s Claude
Ledoux to speak at Dartmouth’s Russells Mills Schoolhouse on Sunday, March 15th. The
ex-marine will share a lifetime of adventurous living on the SouthCoast. The lecture is set for 7 p.m. EverythingWestport.com Saturday,
February 28, 2015 Claude Ledoux has been a farmer, author, radio show host,
father, public servant, and avid historian. The ex-marine will share a lifetime of
adventurous living on the SouthCoast with a series
of lectures on ethnic farming on the SouthCoast at
Dartmouth Historical and Arts Society's Russells
Mills Schoolhouse, 1205 Russells Mills Road. The first lecture
is set for 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 15th. Ledoux came to the United States
from Quebec in 1949 when he and his family moved to a farm in Westport. “We left an
environment that was about 90 miles removed from Varennes
where the first Ledoux immigrant from France
settled in 1668," Ledoux wrote in a letter to
DHAS President Robert Harding. "Our society was overwhelmingly agrarian
and 13 generations had passed on the evolutionary love of farming... luckily,
we settled on a small Westport farm on the corner of Mouse Mill and Beulah
(has different name now) roads, surrounded by an agrarian society similar
(to) but a bit more advanced than the one we had left. The main difference
was that here the farms were owned by a variety of populations: Polish,
Portuguese, Jewish, Yankee, French Canadians, Russians and others.” “Farmers are the
same everywhere and adaptation only required learning the common language,” Ledoux said. Ledoux enlisted in the Marine Corps
in 1952 during the Korean War and, using the GI Bill benefit, he earned an
education in electronics while cutting pulp wood and working various
itinerant jobs. In 1958, Ledoux went to work for the Nuclear Navy and, in 1960,
joined the submarine signal division of Raytheon in Portsmouth, R.I., where
he engaged in instrumentation and acoustical measurements. “Learning became
a way of life in order to continue in more complicated work and
research," Ledoux said. Since retirement,
Ledoux has strengthened his relationship with the
land. For more than 30 years, wood heat and solar hot water have limited his
family's oil consumption to about 20 gallons per year, he claims. Ledoux has been an active
participant in Westport government since 1965, having served on about 12
committees, boards and commissions. In 1995, he
co-authored "A History Of Westport In The Twentieth Century.” From 1992 to
2006, he hosted a weekly local access TV show, "Westport Matters." He married his
wife Clarisse in 1958 and raised four children. © 2015 Community Events of Westport. All rights
reserved. EverythingWestport.com |