News

News

One step closer to ‘Doobie’ delivery: Host community agreements approved by Select Board

The Select Board voted at its July 1 meeting to approve three host community agreements with DB Delivery MA for marijuana cultivation, manufacturing, and delivery. The company, which will do business as Doobie, is owned by Wareham natives Ericca and...

No Onset fireworks this Independence Day

The Onset Bay Association will not host its fireworks display this year. The event had to be canceled in part because the pandemic meant the group couldn’t hold many of its usual fundraisers, and in part because the town’s staffing levels are low,...

Trey Strong Organization collecting school supplies for kids

Each year, the Trey Strong organization collects school supplies to make sure students have what they need to succeed. The organization honors the memory of Trey Miranda, a 17-year-old student-athlete who passed away due to brain cancer in 2016...

Wareham Gatemen to host a movie night

The Wareham Gatemen will be hosting a free movie night at Spillane Field at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 22, with a rain date on July 29. Using their new video scoreboard, the Gatemen will screen “The Sandlot,” a PG-rated movie about a neighborhood...

The vanishing monarch butterfly

Reader George B. Emmons of Fairhaven contributes occasional essays about the wildlife of Wareham. The monarch butterfly population has been declining for decades. The tragic loss of this colorful species, lovingly known as “mother nature’s...

Fearing Hill Road solar plans draw criticism

A 20-acre solar array proposed for Fearing Hill Road drew extensive criticism from the public at the June 28 Planning Board meeting. The project, to be located at 91 and 101 Fearing Hill Rd., would be located on a 44 acre site. Joe Shanahan,...

Puff-ing in to say hi: Cute fish makes appearance at Onset Pier

Beneath the waves of Onset Bay, mysterious creatures lurk in the deep… and occasionally show their seemingly smiling faces above the surface. The Wareham Department of Natural Resources shared photos on Friday of a Northern Puffer that was caught...

‘It’s critical:’ Town sewer department is severely understaffed

The town’s sewer department is severely understaffed, and although the problem isn’t necessarily new, Director of Water Pollution Control Guy Campinha said the low staffing levels are cause for concern. During a June 24 Sewer Commission meeting,...

American Legion annual flea market to be held on August 14

Wareham American Legion Post 220 will be sponsoring its 42nd annual flea market on August 14. The market will be held at the post headquarters at 777 Main Street (at the corner of Main Street and Tobey Road) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Indoor and outdoor...

No new cases of covid-19 recorded in the past week

For the first time since early September 2020, Wareham saw no new cases of covid-19 in the past week, according to data from the state’s June 24 Weekly Public Health Report. Wareham remains categorized “gray” in the state’s covid-19 risk reporting...

‘Be Well Wareham’ wellness walk at the YMCA

On Saturday, June 26 at 8:30 a.m. Dr. Ashwini Sahni, a cardiologist who works for Southcoast Health, will be leading a health and wellness walk at the Gleason Family YMCA. The walk will be followed by chair yoga, meditation and nutrition. The event...

Sewer capacity commitments approved for Littleton Drive, Settler’s Glen

Although members of the sewer commission were not ready to “open the floodgates” and guarantee that sewer capacity commitments would be available for any number of future developments in town, the commission approved gallonage six projects in the...

New Onset Fire Station set for completion next week, move-in later this summer

The new Onset Fire Station, located at 8 Sand Pond Rd. behind the old Salvation Army, is nearly complete. Project Manager Joe Sullivan said at the June 24 Prudential Committee meeting that the building would likely be deemed substantially complete...

New funding options considered for community amenities at Littleton Drive

After voters denied an $830,000 Community Preservation funds grant for the affordable housing development at Littleton Drive, the Wareham Redevelopment Authority is considering alternate ways to obtain funding. The town-provided funding won’t impact...

Redevelopment Authority rethinks community outreach strategy

The Wareham Redevelopment Authority is rethinking its approach to communicating with residents about upcoming projects, and the board might soon have a new ally in its efforts: Tricia Wurts. Wurts ran a late-stage write-in campaign to become a...

Council on Aging plans July activities

The Council on Aging Senior Center is still closed, but a variety of outdoor and indoor activities are planned. The Center hopes to resume full operations in the near future. On July 13 at 9 a.m., learn to shellfish at the Onset Bay Center. The...

Eye in the sky: Onset drone video in the works

Residents who’ve visited the town’s Discover Wareham site might remember watching the drone video filmed of downtown Wareham and the waterfront. Now, the town hopes to create a similar video of Onset Village. The video would be filmed using a drone...

Zoning Board of Appeals signs off on cannabis testing at Smithers Lab

On June 23, the Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved a special permit to allow the Smithers Lab at 790 Main Street to add cannabis testing to its laboratory services. Town Meeting voted to allow the lab to test cannabis despite its close...

Onset Beautification Fundraiser

Trevor’s at 144 Onset Ave. will be hosting an Onset Beautification fundraiser at 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 17. The event will include raffles and a silent auction. Food will be provided by the Italian Market Cafe. For more information, email...

Donations stack up: Library funded for another year

With a handful of days left in the fiscal year, the annual effort to “bridge the gap” in the Wareham Free Library’s budget has met and surpassed its fundraising goal for 2021. Liz Wiley, president of the Wareham Library Foundation, reported that a...

‘Boo Boo’ the Bear spotted in Wareham

A black bear believed to be the same bear affectionately nicknamed “Boo Boo” by several nearby police departments has made an appearance in South Wareham, according to a Wareham Department of Natural Resources Facebook post . The department...

Wareham cyclists to participate in bike-a-thon for cancer research

On Aug. 7 and 8, two Wareham residents — Katie Moulding and Nichole Stahmer — will participate in the annual Pan-Mass Challenge, a two-day 211-mile bike-a-thon across Massachusetts that raises money for cancer care and research. Along with more than...

Wareham sees two new cases of covid-19 in past week

The town saw two new cases of covid-19 in the past week, continuing the trend of single-digit case counts. Wareham remains categorized “gray” in the state’s covid-19 risk reporting — the lowest risk level. According to data from the state’s June 17...

Methodist Church to host Summer Fair

The Wesley United Methodist Church will be hosting its Annual Summer Fair on Saturday, August 7, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., rain or shine. The fair will feature the thrift shop, crafts, baked goods, outside vendors, and raffles. The church will also be...

Comfort, good energy at Oniset Wigwam Psychic Fair

The lawn outside the Oniset Wigwam Spiritualist Camp was bustling on Saturday for the opening of the biannual, two-day Psychic Fair. “We’ve been mobbed today,” said Patti Craig, the president and minister. She said that the psychics, mediums, card-...

Emergency Operation Center a priority for new police station

The Public Safety Complex Study Committee may end up building a police station, rather than a full complex, but Chair Claire Smith said that regardless, including an Emergency Operation Center is a priority. An Emergency Operation Center allows...

Property owner found ‘in contempt’ by county housing court

Donald McMullin, the owner of two properties the town has been struggling with for some time, was found “in contempt” by a Plymouth County Housing Court judge for his inability comply with town requests for upkeep at his 16 Wareham Ave. property...

Oak Grove Cape Verdean Cultural Center chosen to lease Oak Grove School

The Oak Grove Cape Verdean Cultural Center was chosen to lease the former Oak Grove School for a five-year term, Town Administrator Derek Sullivan reported on June 15. He told the Board of Selectmen that Oak Grove Cape Verdean Cultural Center and...

Town Hall will be closed June 17

Town Hall will be closed on Thursday, June 17 in observance of the Juneteenth holiday. Town Administrator Derek Sullivan announced the closure during the June 15 Board of Selectmen meeting. The holiday falls on a Saturday, but the Wareham Free...

Trade winds secures marijuana courier host community agreement

The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to approve the marijuana courier host community agreement negotiated with Trade Winds, a company that plans to make deliveries directly to consumers on behalf of retailers and collect a fee for every...

Town works to rein in pair of dogs whose escapes are a ‘nuisance’

A pair of dogs who regularly run off their owners’ properties — much to the frustration of neighbors and beachgoers — have 60 days to start showing off their best behavior. The Board of Selectmen unanimously voted on June 15 to continue a “nuisance...

June proclaimed LGBTQ Pride Month

In an effort to acknowledge that “the town is strengthened by and prides upon the rich diversity of ethnic, cultural, racial, gender and sexual identities of all of its residents,” Wareham will formally recognize June 2021 as LGBTQ Pride Month...

Owlet returned to nest

A tiny owlet that fell out of its nest in Onset on June 10 got lucky when a gentle dog found it on the side of the road. The dog’s owner called over a Wareham Police Officer, who alerted the Department of Natural Resources. The sun was setting, and...

Friends to host June book sale

The Friends of the Wareham Free Library will be hosting a used book sale on June 24, 25, and 26 in the Library Meeting Room. The sale will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. For June...

Grace Lighthouse begins services in a tent

Grace Lighthouse Church is now holding its weekly services in a tent at 2703 Cranberry Highway — the lot where Pastor Dave Beguerie hopes to one day build a standalone church. In case of poor weather, services will be held in the church’s location...

Town sees 3 new covid cases as vaccination rate continues to lag

Continuing the trend of single-digit case counts, the town saw three new cases of covid-19 in the past week and has now been designated “gray” in the state’s covid-19 risk reporting — the lowest risk level. According to data from the state’s June 10...

Oniset Wigwam Psychic and Vendor Fair

The Oniset Wigwam Spiritualist Camp’s Psychic and Vendor Fair will be held on June 19 and 20 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 9 Crescent Place, off 13th Street in Onset. The fair is free to enter, but organizers are collecting donations for St. Jude’s...

Marathon town meeting names school, bans nips, limits solar

As the sun moved across the sky and late morning turned into the late afternoon, intrepid voters in the Decas School cafeteria managed to conquer a 43-item Town Meeting warrant and pass a $61.7 million town budget, guided by Town Moderator Claire...

Tremont Nail redevelopment outreach events postponed

Two outreach events planned by the Town of Wareham and Bentley Companies — the master developer for Tremont Nail — have been indefinitely postponed. Residents had been invited to learn more about the future of the Tremont Nail site at events...

Housing coming to Tremont Nail property?

Bentley Companies, the master developer for the town-owned Tremont Nail Factory property, is considering adding about 50 to 60 one or two-bedroom apartments to its plans for redeveloping the historic site. During a June 10 meeting of the Wareham...

Intermediate care center pitched for Sandwich Road

An intermediate care center has been proposed for 238 and 240 Sandwich Road, near the intersection with Rte. 28 and next door to Upper Cape Realty. The building would have a parking garage on the ground level, four floors of space for the center,...

A voter’s guide to the annual spring Town Meeting

Wareham’s twice-postponed Annual Town Meeting will finally be held on Saturday in the cafeteria at John W. Decas Elementary School, beginning at 11 a.m. Voters at the June 12 meeting, which would normally have been held in April, will be asked to...

Citizens petition aims to increase affordable housing stock

Former Selectwoman Brenda Eckstrom has proposed a zoning change meant to create incentives for Wareham residents to increase the town’s stock of affordable housing through deed-restricted individual homes and apartments, rather than large 40B...

June 8 Selectmen’s Meeting cancelled

The Board of Selectmen’s meeting scheduled for June 8 was cancelled due to issues with Zoom, the online meeting program used by the town.

Controversial changes to town’s wetland bylaws up for vote at Town Meeting

When voters gather at Decas Elementary on June 12, they’ll be asked to consider two wetland bylaw amendments proposed by Director of Planning Ken Buckland. The first — Article 10 on the Special Spring Town Meeting warrant — would remove the “No...

Town Meeting articles could regulate renewable energy projects

Two articles related to future solar projects in Wareham will come before voters during the Town Meeting on June 12. Voters will be asked to approve a commercial solar/wind taxation home rule petition for Wareham (Article 6). Town Meeting attendees...

Wareham now has second-lowest percentage of vaccinated residents in Plymouth County

The percentage of at least partially vaccinated people in Wareham is the second-lowest in Plymouth County. According to the state’s June 3 data, only 48 percent of Wareham residents have received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine. That amounts...

New school’s name up for a vote at Town Meeting

Voters will decide the name for the new elementary school being built on Minot Avenue at Town Meeting on June 12. A citizens petition article, led by former School Committee member Mike Flaherty and School Building Committee member Rhonda Veugen,...

Town Meeting set to decide whether to limit size of future solar projects

One article on Saturday’s Town Meeting warrant aims to regulate solar projects — namely, by reducing the size and potential ecological impact of a project. Brought forth via a citizens’ petition, Nancy McHale’s article would amend Wareham’s solar...

Bingo is back at the Elks Lodge

Bingo is back at the Wareham New Bedford Elks Lodge! Weekly games are resuming, starting on Tuesday, June 8. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m., with sales happening between 5:30 and 6:30. The snack bar will be open from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The first game will...

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