A joint Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals public hearing on the proposed Walmart move to West Wareham was canceled on Thursday, January 19, infuriating the more than 20 residents who had showed up to speak about the matter.

Board members said that because a meeting to address a traffic study involving Walmart, the town, and Mass Highway has not yet occurred, the information up for discussion at the public hearing was not available and thus the hearing could not continue.

"There are 20 people here from Great Hill Estates in seven cars," resident Tom Monaghan said after the meeting was adjourned several minutes after it was scheduled to begin. "It's very hard to get people together."

Residents said they called Town Hall at 4:15 p.m. to make sure the meeting was still on. This puzzled the members of the boards, who said they'd known earlier in the afternoon that the meeting would not proceed.

The ongoing public hearing was continued to February 16 at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall cafeteria.