Westport in Brief!
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Sunday, September 17, 2017
Quick Article Index . . .
Pot talk politics
puts pundits, planning board, select board on center stage.
Westport Juvenile Busted for Amazon Hacking.
Southcoast Wellness Van announces October schedule for
community screenings and vaccinations.
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Pot talk politics puts
pols, pundits, planning board, select board on center stage. EverythingWestport.com Friday, September 15, 2017 Photos | EverythingWestport.com By Jeffrey D. Wagner Special Correspondent to EverythingWestport.com
Above:
Selectmen, Planning Board are unsure of options, but vote unanimously against
a complete prohibition of
marijuana facilities in Westport. Photos | EverythingWestport.com
To Selectman R. Michael
Sullivan, the legalization of marijuana reflects poorly on society and his
generation, the Baby Boomers, who failed to teach their children that
marijuana use is unacceptable. For two consecutive
selectmen meetings, pot talk took center stage at a selectmen meeting. The
Planning Board has asked selectmen for guidance because the moratorium on
recreational marijuana will expire in June, and regulations need to be
crafted. Planning Board Chairman
James Whitin and Planner Jim Hartnett have remained
mum on how they feel about the issue. But, both have said that the Planning
Board is under the gun to come up with some rules and regulations before next
June. Next June, voters will
have the final say on everything from how many facilities are allowable and
where they could be placed. Selectmen voted
unanimously last Monday against a complete prohibition and they also voted to
give the Planning Board clearance to begin drafting regulations and zoning
terms. Although the vote was
unanimous, the opinions of the selectmen ran the gamut. Selectman Brian Valcourt
says what’s the big deal - there’s a liquor store on every
corner in town. Selectmen Craig Dutra and
Brian Valcourt noted that many voters turned up last November and supported
full legalization -- so town officials should not get in the way. Sullivan
countered that many of those "yes" voters likely would not approve
of marijuana in their respective neighborhoods. He also expressed concern
that it could be zoned in the north section of town, which also has a zone
dedicated to adult entertainment. Sullivan
cautioned that there should be fairness in allowing a
recreational marijuana facility and voters from all precincts should
get an opportunity to weigh in on how they feel about a facility in
their section of town. Sullivan
(pictured below) still laments its legalization, and after the meeting had
some strong words about it. "In
some aspects we Baby Boomers have not done a good job with the torch passed
to us by our parents; legalizing marijuana is a prime example. I think
we have been too consumed with vindicating our own youthful, and perhaps
continued adult rule-bending behavior and now we are foisting upon our grandchildren
a set of norms that we will regret," Sullivan said. "Recreational
use of marijuana is the law of the land, at least in Massachusetts and a
growing number of other States. There will be plenty of places that
users can lawfully obtain pot." He
added, "The state has provided municipalities a set of legal tools
that would allow us to regulate or even prohibit dispensaries in
Westport. As one Select Board member, I won't have any part of making
pot even more available in our Town. If you live on Former
town planner and former state employee Wayne Sunderland expressed views
aligned with Sullivan. Sunderland went as far as saying, "it should be
put on the moon.” While
Sunderland and Sullivan had some strong words, Selectmen Chairman Steven
Ouellette has also expressed an anti-marijuana stance. He has mentioned that
when he rides his motorcycle, he constantly spots car passengers blowing
marijuana smoke out the window. Selectmen
Vice Chairwoman Shana Shufelt expressed an opinion
in between these two extremes. Gee's
view was on the other side of the spectrum, saying the term
"recreational" should not even be used. She said she has a medical
marijuana card and knows people who use it, as many drink wine and other
alcoholic beverages in moderation. She,
Wiley and Valcourt noted last week that the taxes generated would lead to
much-needed revenue for a cash-strapped town and recreational and medical
facilities tend to be highly secure from underage use and other issues. "We
have seen it in Colorado without any problems," Valcourt said. Between
now and next spring, the Planning Board will have meetings and public
hearings, at which voters can offer their input. Cuffe symposium, heritage
trail help recognize Cuffe contributions to
Westport & battle for civil rights. EverythingWestport.com Saturday, September 16,
2107 Photos | EverythingWestport.com
except as noted.
Special Correspondent to
EverythingWestport.com Ship builder, whaling
vessel captain, successful businessman, and Quaker philanthropist are just a
few of the labels commonly used to describe Paul Cuffe,
whose family moved to Westport in 1766, when he was eight years old. By the time that young
farm boy, the son of a Native American mother and a former African slave from
Ghana, died in 1817 in Westport, he had traveled all over the globe, earned a
reputation as a civil rights activist here and abroad, and become one of the
wealthiest people of color in America. The life story of Captain
Paul Cuffe and his long-lasting legacy were
explored in great detail on Saturday, September 16th in his family’s adopted
hometown with an all-day symposium sponsored by the Westport Historical
Association and a coalition of historical groups from neighboring Dartmouth
and New Bedford. Over 100 scholars,
authors, genealogists and local history aficionados flocked to Westport’s
Central Village to take part in the event, held just a few days after the
200th anniversary of Cuffe’s passing.
Museum-quality exhibits, a slide show, and a panel discussion all helped tell
the remarkable story of the world-famous Quaker and his extended family. “We come to honor Paul Cuffe and recognize his legacy,” president of the New
Bedford Historical Society Lee Blake said in her introductory remarks to the
packed meeting house at the start of the symposium. People of color played
important roles in local history, and Cuffe and his
family contributed a great deal to that history on many levels, she
suggested. State Senator Michael
Rodrigues, delivering a proclamation from Gov. Charles Baker declaring
September 7, 2017 as Paul Cuffe Day in
Massachusetts, acknowledged one of Cuffe’s earliest
battles on behalf of people of color – a 1781 petition to Dartmouth selectmen
from him and his brother John, seeking the same rights as white residents. When
the petition was denied, they refused to pay the annual poll tax they had
been assessed, and were briefly jailed before submitting payment. Later that same year, the
two young men and four other men of color from Dartmouth sent a similar
petition to the state legislature, urging them to consider equal rights for
free blacks, Native Americans, and other mixed race residents of the
Commonwealth.
Former New Bedford poet
laureate Everett Hoagland read a stirring poem about Cuffe’s
Native American and African heritage; then the event’s keynote speaker,
Vanessa Julye, delivered her address, focusing on early Quaker history, and Cuffe’s role in the Society of Friends on both the local
and regional levels. Inset:
Former New Bedford poet laureate Everett Hoagland (center) read a stirring
poem about Cuffe’s Native American and African
heritage. Westport Historical Society Director Jenny O’Neil is in the
background. Julye characterized Cuffe’s involvement in the Quaker faith as a natural
development for an ambitious, self-taught man who was a social activist at an
early age, and “fought for the empowerment of African-Americans.” He is also
credited with founding “the first school in Westport open to both European
and African-American children,” she said. As he approached middle
age, his hard work and success as a businessman helped him become accepted as
an equal by the mostly white community he lived in, and by the local Quakers
who dominated the area’s business community, she suggested. “He was the
largest African-American employer of his time,” owned shares in numerous
ships, and for a time, operated a shipyard, sawmill, and windmill in
Westport, she noted. Cuffe became the only person of color
admitted as a member of the Central Village Friends Meeting, she noted. He
was almost 50 when he was formally accepted into the church in 1808, a time
when most meetings kept black slaves, Native American servants, and Cuffe’s father, Cuff Slocum, had likely sat
on such a bench when owned by John Slocum, a Dartmouth Quaker, before he was
able to purchase his freedom in the 1740s. His 10
children had probably had similar experiences growing up in Westport, then
part of the sprawling Dartmouth township, and had been “raised in the
religion” by their father, she said. In some places in the
late 1700s, some Quaker congregations held separate
“black meetings” for non-whites, but the religion’s leadership stopped their
special ministry to people of color around 1805, Julye indicated. Only a
handful of New England congregations ever accepted people of color as members
for many years to follow. Insert: Event keynote speaker, Vanessa
Julye, delivered her address, focusing on early Quaker history, and Cuffe’s role in the Society of Friends on both the local
and regional levels. Because of his business
experience, Cuffe was picked for the building
committee for a new Westport meeting house in 1813. In addition to donating
nearly half of the cost of the meeting house, Cuffe
also served as the accountant and clerk of the works for the project, she
said. By that time, Cuffe had already advised his Quaker friends that he was
planning to help found a colony of black ex-slaves to Sierra Leone, in East Africa.
In 1812, he brought the first black colonists there on his favorite ship, the
brig Traveler. Native American Influences A panel discussion held
later in the morning dealt with new research on Cuffe’s
world, and the influence his Native American heritage may have had on his
life. Dr. Cedric Woods, director of the Institute for New England Native
American Studies, said he was sure that Cuffe’s
mother, Ruth Moses, had passed on many aspects of Indian culture and
spirituality on to her children. Woods said that some of
her relations were involved in whaling, and that may have contributed to her
son’s signing on to a New Bedford whaleship at age 16. Many Native Americans
found work as mariners in those days, and gravitated towards coastal towns throughout
New England – and the offshore islands – where such work could be found, he
indicated. His mother’s heritage
also likely influenced Cuffe’s choice of a Native
American widow as his wife, Woods suggested. In 1783, at age 24, he married
Dartmouth Wampanoag Alice Abel shortly after her first husband, John Pequit, had passed away.
Inset:
Keynote speaker, Vanessa Jukye, Program Coordinator
of the Ministry on Racism and Youth Ministries at the French General
Conference spoke Saturday morning to a sold-out Westport Friends Meeting
House. Local records report that
Wainer was living in Russells Mills Village in
1776, where he operated a tannery and made shoes from the leather he tanned
at the site. After marrying Cuffe’s sister, he
eventually became involved in a number of maritime business ventures with her
brother, who sold Wainer a 100-acre farm on Drift
Road abutting his own property. The family’s Native
American heritage was recognized at the end of the day’s activities with a
smudging ceremony conducted by local Wampanoag David Blake, who used the
sacred smoke to bless the gravesites of Cuffe and
his wife, family descendants who were present, and other attendees of the
symposium. In afternoon symposium
sessions, local historians offered up their new contributions to the Cuffe story. Westport history experts Dr. David Cole and
Dr. Betty Slade teamed up with Attorney Richard Gifford to talk about their
recent extensive research into deeds and other records which have finally
pinpointed the exact locations of Cuffe and Wainer properties in Westport and Dartmouth. Later, Gifford sat on
stage with genealogist Andrew Pierce to trace the family trees of the Slocums, the Cuffes and the Wainers. Gifford also provided
some data from the 1790 federal census showing Dartmouth and Westport had
more people of color living Historian Carl Cruz from
the New Bedford Historical Society presented a slide show of the many
portraits of black men erroneously identified as Paul Cuffee
through the years, and told the story of how the well-known silhouette of Cuffe came to be created and widely distributed in
newspapers and other periodicals during his lifetime. Inset:
Blessing of the Paul Cuffe grave site behind the
Friends Meeting house. Photo
| Robert Barboza Quakers of that era
thought it vain to have their portraits painted, he explained, and it is
believed that Cuffe never sat for one. Cruz also used the period
description of Cuffe as “both tall and stout, and
dressed in the Quaker fashion” as the basis for doubting the veracity of any
of the suspected paintings of the famous man from Westport. The Heritage Trail One of the secondary
goals of the symposium was to advertise the creation of a new
African-American and Native American heritage trail, and a website, www.paulcuffee.org,
detailing the 11 sites of interest related to the Slocum, Cuffe
and Wainer families. The website also contains
family facts, timelines, and related artwork.
Above and below: Graphical displays in the Community Center
provided extended Cuffe family and descendant linieage, as well as the family voyagers of Cuffe and Wainer.
Westport Juvenile Busted for Amazon
Hacking. EverythingWestport.com Sunday, September 17, 2017 A 17-year-old Westport juvenile — the same youth responsible for
calling in a fake active shooter incident at Westport High School in 2015 —
was arrested Thursday for hacking into a Texas man’s Amazon account and
buying $1,000 in computer equipment, according to a Westport Police press
release. Detective Jeffrey Majewski said the male juvenile, who is not
identified because of his age, is charged with larceny over $250 and identity
fraud. He was arrested Thursday morning in Fall River and arraigned Thursday
in Fall River District Court. Westport police were notified by a Texas man, who claimed his Amazon
account had been hacked and $1,000 in computer equipment had been purchased
and sent to an address in Westport, according to Majewski. A search warrant was obtained for the Westport address and the stolen
computer equipment — two hard drives and gaming equipment — was seized by
Westport police, he said. Police also seized “dozens of other items” they
believe were stolen using other people’s Amazon accounts. The boxes of Amazon
packages were pilled one on top of the other in a closet with others spread
out in the teen’s room. “We believe there will be a multitude of other victims who had their
Amazon accounts hacked,” Majewski said. “This investigation is going to be
much deeper.” Majewski said the teen is the same youth who claimed there was an
active shooter at Westport High School on May 12, 2015, and people had been
shot and hostages were being held in the cafeteria. The teen said he was
hiding in a closet at the school for his own safety. As a result of the call, eight heavily-armed state and six Westport
officers checked and double checked every bit of space at the school in
search of a shooter and hostages. They did not find anything. It was hoax,
police said. In addition, the teen called in fake bomb threats at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School and B.M.C. Durfee High School, both
in Fall River, he said. “It’s unfortunate that this boy’s vast computer knowledge is being
used for illegal activities instead of furthering a brilliant adult career,”
Majewski said. The teen was also the subject of a nationwide investigation regarding
false bomb calls and fake active shooter cases, according to Majewski. He was adjudicated (the term used when someone is found guilty in
Juvenile Court) and ordered to make restitution on the 2015 Westport charges,
Majewski said. One of the terms of his probation was that the teen only use the
Internet for educational purposes, he said. As a result of the new charges,
Majewski said he believes the youth is in violation of the terms of probation
for his 2015 case. Southcoast
Wellness Van announces October schedule for community screenings and
vaccinations. EverythingWestport.com Sunday, September 17, 2017 NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The Southcoast Wellness
Van announces its October schedule for community screenings and vaccinations. The Southcoast Wellness Van upholds Southcoast Health’s mission to promote the optimal health
and well-being of individuals in the communities it serves. Southcoast Health focuses its attention on increasing
access to services and caring for the entire population through wellness
initiatives and disease management that are designed to limit — and
preferably prevent — the patient’s need for acute care. The Southcoast Wellness Van travels across
the region bringing health screenings into the communities of southeastern
Massachusetts. Free mobile health services available by the staff include:
Please note that screenings sponsored by the Southcoast
Wellness Van are sometimes held at community locations and not always on the
van. Look for signs when arriving at a location if you do not see the van
outside. For more information and to schedule free screenings, please call
Susan Oliveira, RN, at 508.973.8740 or email oliveiras@southcoast.org. You
can also check the schedule on www.southcoast.org or follow Southcoast
Health on Facebook
and Twitter.
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