News

News

Candidate profile: Brenda Eckstrom for Select Board

Everyone always says finances are one of the biggest challenges facing Wareham, but Select Board candidate Brenda Eckstrom pointed out, it's the use of those finances that can prove more the challenge. “We need to use that in responsible ways,” she...

Two vie for one-year Board of Selectmen seat

In the town-wide election May 3, former Select Board member Brenda Eckstrom and newcomer Tricia Wurts will vie for the one-year term of Select Board member Peter Teitelbaum, who has announced his resignation, effective on Election Day. To learn more...

Additional covid-19 boosters approved for people over 50

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved on March 29 an update to its vaccination recommendations : those who are immunocompromised or over 50 are eligible for another mRNA booster shot if it’s been at least four months since their...

Learn about native plants at the library

On Wednesday, April 13, at 7:00 p.m., the library will be hosting naturalist and educator Joy Marzolf from the Joys of Nature to talk about native plant gardening for wildlife. The best way to attract butterflies, birds or other critters to the...

Public safety, Council on Aging collaborate

The Council on Aging met with law enforcement last week as part of TRIAD, a partnership between District Attorney Tim Cruz, public safety leaders and senior organizations. The partnership aims to improve senior safety through programs including...

Residents must register to vote by April 5 to participate in Town Meeting

The deadline for voter registration is Tuesday, April 5, for all residents who plan on voting at Spring Town Meeting and the upcoming Town Election. Residents can register online or at Town Hall, with the latter open from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on...

‘The youth and the muscle’: Teen volunteers make a difference at Damien’s Pantry

Paige Fuller doesn’t sleep in on Saturday mornings. Instead, the 17-year-old Old Rochester Regional High School junior wakes early to visit Damien’s Pantry in Wareham. At the pantry, the Marion teen helps pack and organize food to be distributed to...

Meet the candidates up for votes this town election

In just over a month, voters will cast their ballots to elect a number of new faces to prominent elected roles in town. Three of the five Select Board seats are up for votes with only one incumbent in the race, and newcomers are running unopposed...

Kelley sworn in as new Wareham Fire Chief

John Kelley was officially sworn in as the Chief of the Wareham Fire Department on Thursday, March 31. A small crowd of officials attended the ceremony at the district’s headquarters, where Kelley was sworn in by treasurer Wendy Lemieux. Thursday...

Next to New Thrift Shop gets ready for warm weather fashion

The Next to New Thrift Shop at the First Congregational Church, 11 Gibbs Ave., will be closed from April 4 through April 13 to get ready for the spring and summer. When the store reopens, warm-weather clothing for men, women and children will be...

Committee hears possible building layout, budget for Decas building

Members of the Decas School Steering Committee heard possible plans for the old school building’s interior layout, a list of potential expenses and plans from a possible tenant during the committee’s Wednesday night meeting. Clerk Jon Dallmeyer...

Zoning for multifamily housing required, lest towns lose state funding

Wareham must have enough zoning to fit about 1,300 housing units within a half-mile radius of its train stop or it could lose infrastructure funding from the state in future years. A new state law aimed to address the housing crisis now dictates...

Select Board discusses Sure-Cran land purchase

To buy or not to buy: That was the question up for discussion at Tuesday’s Select Board meeting as members considered whether the town should waive its right of first refusal to purchase current farmland. Sure-Cran, a cranberry company, is looking...

Five people named to town’s Golf Course Advisory Committee

The Wareham Select Board has named five men to its newly created Golf Course Advisory Committee, meant to aid Town Administrator Derek Sullivan as the town selects a management and maintenance company for Little Harbor Country Club. The members of...

Parker Mills Pond Dam removal to be studied

A state-funded study of the Parker Mills Pond Dam is underway, with the goal of evaluating whether to partially or fully remove the crumbling dam, which sits under a long-closed section of Elm Street. The town’s stated goals for the project are to...

No fireworks for the Fourth; other events, fall fireworks planned

Onset’s skies won’t be lit by an official fireworks show this Independence Day, but the Blessing of the Fleet and childrens’ parades will be held, and a beach bonfire is in the works. There will be a fireworks show in Onset, but it will be held in...

Superintendent search narrowed down to two candidates

Interviews for the superintendent position at Wareham Public Schools will be held the week of April 11, and the Search Committee is down to two candidates. After reviewing 19 total applicants, three candidates were submitted to the School Committee...

Tremont Nail Factory signs, bell removed from building

The sign and bell tower atop the Tremont Nail Factory were removed by the town’s municipal maintenance department on March 16, and the town may later display the ancient bell in the Town Hall auditorium, Community Preservation Committee Chair Joan...

Solar bylaw recommended by Planning Board

A comprehensive revision of Wareham’s solar bylaws got the recommendation of the Planning Board at its March 28 meeting. The bylaw was developed over the past year by the Solar Bylaw Committee, chaired by Nancy McHale of the Wareham Land Trust. The...

Funding still available for small businesses affected by pandemic

Local businesses with five or fewer employees can still apply for funding through a regional microenterprise grant program, the town reminded Wareham business owners recently. Available to businesses across Wareham, Rockland, Abington, Avon,...

Sewer rate increase announced

The Board of Sewer Commissioners have announced a rate increase. All ratepayers will see a 15 percent increase to their EDUs for a yearly cost of $743. That increase will go into effect on August 1, 2022, and will be reflected in the March 2023 bill...

Vietnam veterans honored at Onset VFW memorial brunch

A crowd gathered at the Dudley Brown VFW in Onset Sunday morning for a memorial brunch honoring those lost in the Vietnam War. The PFC. Carlos James Rose Memorial Brunch honored Wareham residents Rose, Richard Arruda, Ronald Bumpus and James Crowley...

Celebrate spring at the library with native plants, fun with PEEPs

Spring is in full bloom and the Wareham Free Library has planned two events to kick off the season. On Wednesday, April 13, at 7:00 p.m., the library will be hosting naturalist and educator Joy Marzolf from the Joys of Nature to talk about native...

Mary V. Rose Scholarship applications available

Applications are now available for the Mary V. Rose Scholarship, which is awarded annually to honor the longtime Onset resident who passed away in May 2020. Mary V. Rose was well-known for her love of community and her compassion and devotion to...

Candidates’ Night planned for April 4

A Candidates’ Night is planned for Monday, April 4 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. The event will be held in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room #320 at the town’s Multiservice Center, 48 Marion Road. The event will be hybrid with help from WCTV so voters can watch...

Wareham High Theatre to perform ‘The Life and Death of Larry Benson’

The Wareham Viking Theatre Company will perform its festival play, ‘The Life and Death of Larry Benson,’ at 7 p.m. on both Friday, March 25, and Saturday, March 26 at the Wareham High School auditorium, 7 Viking Drive. The play tells the story of...

Developer seeks funds to build new affordable apartments on Main Street

Voters will decide whether to spend $300,000 of Community Preservation funds to support the effort to build six affordable housing units at 801 Main St., adjacent to the existing Village at 815 Main St. development. Joan Kinniburgh, chair of the...

Dangerous dog is missing, Select Board reports

The Select Board voted on March 22 to indefinitely continue a dangerous dog hearing “until such time as we find out where the dog is,” in the words of board member Peter Teitelbaum. The hearing pertained to Flash, a 9-year-old bulldog owned by Adam...

Sewer department to request funds for two coastal repairs

The town’s sewer department will request funds at Town Meeting to complete two major projects that would strengthen some of the Wareham’s most vulnerable coastal infrastructure. Jim Giberti of the Sewer Commission presented the two projects, located...

One solar bylaw struck by Attorney General; two more up for votes at Town Meeting

Attorney General Maura Healey has slapped down a solar bylaw approved at last year’s Spring Town Meeting that, in her words, violates the state’s “prohibition against unreasonable regulations of solar uses.” Two other proposed solar bylaws will be...

50’s Sock Hop Dance to benefit Council on Aging

The Salerno’s Function Hall at 196 Onset Ave. will be hosting a 50’s Sock Hop Dance to benefit the Wareham Council on Aging on Friday, April 8, from 5 to 10 p.m. Tickets cost $15, and all of those funds will go to the Council on Aging. The event...

Everett School to be auctioned on April 12

The former Everett School building at 15 Gibbs Ave. will be up for auction at noon on April 12. The school, built in 1918, has served as a high school, kindergarten, alternative school and, most recently, office space. The building has been empty in...

Motocross track closes after decade of dirt biking

Wareham MX, the motocross facility in East Wareham just off Cranberry Highway, is closing after years of providing riders with 30 acres to practice, ride and race on. The facility announced on Facebook on March 10 that it would be closing this year...

Wareham Garden Club plant and yard sale

The Wareham Garden Club will host its annual plant and yard sale at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 14, at the Methodist Meeting House, 495 Main St. Plants on offer will include annuals, perennials, herbs and vegetables. Other items on offer will include...

Seattle-based marijuana manufacturer looks to set up on Cranberry Highway

A Seattle-based cannabis company is exploring the idea of opening a manufacturing facility on Cranberry Highway, after it held a community outreach meeting on March 10. ASV MA Operating Inc. held a public meeting last week to hear questions and...

Residents want better town website, bulletin boards, social media presence

Social media and the town website, bulletin boards, face-to-face chats and newspaper calendars: Wareham residents have many ideas on how they’d like to hear from their town government, and local officials listened on Thursday. Select Board candidate...

Growing a community: Plant exchange at Echo

For those who are feeling spring fever, a free plant trimmings exchange is taking place at ECHO every weekend in March. Linda Scharf helped organize the exchange, which was inspired in part by the community she’s helped build through the Onset...

Conservation Commission dinged by AGs Office for Open Meeting Law violations

The Wareham Conservation Commission violated state Open Meeting Law in three different ways in recent years, according to a letter penned by Massachusetts Assistant Attorney General Sarah Monahan on Feb. 28. Wareham resident Nora Bicki filed two...

Wareham Library adds more museum passes to collection

The Wareham Free Library has added five new museum passes to its collection. The daily passes include the Boston Children’s Museum, the Isabella Stewart Museum, the Old Colony History Museum, the Plimoth/Patuxet Museums, and the Roger Williams Park...

Town election heats up

The town’s election races are heating up, with all Select Board seats contested and a newcomer in the running for town clerk. Three seats are up for votes on the Select Board this year. Two are three-year positions currently held by Patrick Tropeano...

Sidewalk improvements, youth services on budget for CDBG grants

Community Development Program Manager Jaime Rebhan-Buckminster shared the progress of state grants helping Wareham fund several local organizations and services with members of the Select Board during its Tuesday night meeting. The state’s Community...

Low vacancy rates, high percentage of cost-burden renters in Wareham

Low vacancy rates, a growing number of smaller households and renters paying a high percentage of their income on rent are all factors in Wareham’s evolving Housing Assessment and Production Plan, which the Select Board heard pieces of on Tuesday...

Select Board establishes golf course advisory committee for Little Harbor

The Select Board approved during its Tuesday night meeting the creation of a golf course advisory committee to help Town Administrator Derek Sullivan as a management company is selected to run Little Harbor Country Club. Board members discussed the...

Solar company sues Wareham Conservation Commission over project denial

The solar company that was working with a Wareham farmer to put a solar field over his cranberry bog has sued the town’s Conservation Commission and asked for judicial review of the commission’s denial of the project. BE RE LLC, a Utah-based solar...

Onset Bay Association’s Easter Egg Hunt returns

The Onset Bay Association’s Annual Easter Egg Hunt will return in Bay View Park on Saturday, April 16, at 11 a.m. sharp. The hunt is over in minutes, so it’s important to arrive on time! Egg hunters should bring their own baskets, and can earn an...

Crumpet factory plans move from New Bedford to Wareham

A New Bedford crumpet factory is one step closer to moving its manufacturing from the whaling city to Wareham’s industrial park after the Planning Board’s Monday night meeting. Board members heard from G.A.F. Engineering representative Bill Madden,...

Planning Board endorses Main Street lot division

A house and other structures on a Main Street parcel of land will be demolished before the land is divided into four separate lots, the Planning Board endorsed at its Monday night meeting. The project, submitted by Zoning Board of Appeals Chairman...

Shoppers paws to visit adoptable pups at Black Dog Outlet

WAREHAM — The sacrifice made by a stray dog in Texas will lead to a new life for three lively puppies available for adoption in Massachusetts. The 12-week-old puppies, a mix of Lab and German shepherd, visited the Black Dog Outlet Saturday, March 12...

Scholarships available for summer fun at the Onset Bay Center

Registration is now open for April and summer vacation programs at the Onset Bay Center, with plenty of scholarships available. Sign-ups are initially restricted to Wareham residents. The Onset Bay Explorers programs are the center’s camp options,...

Citizens’ petitions tackle community center, Town Meeting procedures and solar

Wareham citizens have submitted eight articles by petition to be voted on at the Spring Town Meeting on subjects including holding future Town Meetings on Saturdays, celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day rather than Columbus Day and placing a...

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