Best feet forward

The Third Annual Rochester Road Race on Sunday was a real kick for everybody involved. For more, see full story in News.

Tinkham Forest leaves
more controversy

By Andrea Smith
Correspondent

    The four-year Tinkham Forest battle that has pitted 22 Mattapoisett residents against their selectmen has heated up once again.
     During a recent selectman’s meeting, Chairman Stephen Lombard read the following statement into the record:
“For some time now, a small group of individuals in Town who blocked the Town’s opportunity to exchange the 20-acre Tinkham Forest for over 400 acres of valuable and environmentally important land have been claiming that the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen is “wasting money” by pursuing an appeal in the lawsuit that these individuals brought against the Town. The Board of Selectmen feels that it is time to put the record straight. 
     “The proposed exchange was supported by over two thirds of the voters at the Town’s 2004 Annual Town Meeting and would have resulted in the Town’s acquisition and preservation of land more than 20 times the area of the present Tinkham Forest. Much of this land is in the Zone 2 protection area for the Town’s drinking water supply, as well as the Town’s Watershed Protection District, and is vital to the Town’s present and future water needs.  Some of this land would have contributed to the proposed bike path that is to be constructed at the Mattapoisett/Marion border. This exchange would have provided the first ever opportunity for the Town to develop a handicapped-accessible public park along the Mattapoisett River. Other benefits to the public are too numerous to mention here. In fact, many of the individuals who sued the Town have actually suggested that the Town should spend hundreds of thousands (maybe millions) of dollars to acquire the very same land that they have prevented the Town from obtaining for free. 
    “Many months ago, in November of 2007, the Board of Selectmen made an offer to dismiss its appeal if the plaintiffs would do likewise and drop their attempt to force the Town’s taxpayers to pay their private legal bills. The plaintiffs refused this offer; yet they continued to publicly attack the Board of Selectmen for not unilaterally dropping the Town’s appeal. 
    Most recently, on Aug. 1, 2008 the plaintiffs filed their latest appeal brief with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Appeals Court. It is perplexing that these same individuals accuse the Board of Selectmen of “wasting money” by following the will of Town Meeting and pursuing the Town’s legal rights in this litigation. Even more surprising is that they argue that the Town should drop its appeal, while they refuse to drop their own appeal of the court’s decision to deny their claim against the Town for well over $100,000 in attorney fees. That’s right: these same individuals who claim they want the Town to drop its appeal in order to save the taxpayers money really just want the taxpayers to pay their own lawyer’s six-figure legal bill.
     The Board of Selectmen has directed its attorneys to dismiss the Town’s appeal. If the plaintiffs are really interested in saving the Town money, the Board calls upon them to also dismiss their appeals.  If the plaintiffs continue to appeal, the public will know that it has not been the Board of Selectmen that has been prolonging this litigation and costing the taxpayers money, but the very individuals, who have been leveling this false accusation against the Board.”
    Stephen D. Clapp, the attorney representing the 22 Mattapoisett residents, sent the following letter to the Observer in response to Lombard’s statement:
    “The statement omits the important fact that the Town Meeting vote to swap Tinkham Forest was ruled unlawful by the court. The overwhelming evidence showed that Floyd Tinkham intended for Tinkham Forest to be protected for the use and enjoyment of future generations and he did not intend his gift to be transferable by the town.
“The statement reveals the relentless approach the Selectmen and their lawyers have taken in this case. The theme is that the plaintiffs are blocking the town from receiving fabulous benefits the swap would bring and that these benefits somehow justify the swap. We teach our children that no amount of gain justifies an unlawful act. Instead of recognizing this basic truth and giving up the doomed quest for unlawful gain, the Selectmen’s response to the plaintiffs’ suit was to grease the gears of their legal machine with an unlimited budget. The plaintiffs stood firm in their resolve although they had nothing of monetary value to gain. They only wanted the town to keep the promise it made to Floyd Tinkham in 1968 when it accepted his gift. The court’s decision that the promise had to be kept was no surprise.
    “Appeals from the decision were filed by the Selectmen and by the plaintiffs. The Selectmen’s appeal claimed that the judge was wrong in ruling the swap unlawful. The plaintiffs’ appeal claimed that this ruling was correct but the judge should have required the town to pay their legal fees and the judge should not have addressed access in his opinion.
    “The statement also omits an important part of the failed settlement proposals. The plaintiffs indicated that they would dismiss their appeal and waive their claim for attorneys fees if the Board of Selectmen would only enforce the town’s 2003 contract with the Bay Club developers guaranteeing three unimpeded public access routes to Tinkham Forest. Although signed, this contract has never been recorded in the Registry of Deeds. The Selectmen declined, so the case goes on because the plaintiffs believe that free access will be valued by and important to future generations.
    “The statement says the Board of Selectmen has directed its attorneys to dismiss its appeal. This comes after the parties have both expended substantial legal resources on the issues related to the Selectmen’s appeal over the past year. The Selectmen’s appeal had a great handicap because it was defectively filed. Perhaps a late dawning realization of this defect has something to do with the timing of the decision to dismiss.
    Tinkham Forest is not just any piece of land. It has been preserved for its historic value for the last 130 years. It is crossed by the Sippican Trail once trod by Massasoit, Machacani, Totosin and Benjamin Church. Whatever else the swap would have produced, it could never have replaced what would have been lost. Tinkham Forest is still a “special” place.”
    Resident Brad Hathaway had recently sent a letter to local media outlets to solicit contributions toward the legal expenses being incurred by the 22 residents. According to Hathaway, since 2004 the 22 have been receiving donations toward their legal expenses from a number of residents. That appears to have been the catalyst for Lombard’s statement.
    “I thought (the statement Lombard read into the record) that was supposed to ‘put the record straight’ was totally self-serving, incomplete, and at times inaccurate,” Hathaway said.

West Nile Virus found in Mattapoisett
 
    The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) has announced identification of the first West Nile virus (WNV) positive mosquito of 2008 in Mattapoisett.
    "There is no reason for panic,” said Dale Barrows of the Mattapoisett Board of Health. “There is no epidemic. The notification is just a precaution. We want people to be aware. Symptoms of West Nile virus (in humans) are typically flu-like. The symptoms are usually no worse than aches and pains."
    Confirmatory laboratory tests were completed at the State Laboratory Institute on Aug. 11, 2008. The species of mosquito that tested positive typically bites birds, not humans.
    While WNV can infect people of all ages, people over the age of 50 are at higher risk for severe infection. WNV is most commonly transmitted to humans by the bite of a mosquito infected with the virus. Mattapoisett and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) recommend that the public take action now to avoid mosquito bites and reduce mosquito populations around their home and neighborhoods.
    • Limit your time outdoors during peak periods of mosquito activity (dusk and dawn) or if you must remain outdoors, wear a long-sleeved shirt and long pants.
    • Use a mosquito repellent that contains DUET (the chemical N-N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) and follow the directions on the label. Products containing DEET should not be used on children less than two months of age and should be used in concentrations of 30 percent or lower for older children and adults. Higher concentrations of DEET may provide protection for a longer period of time, but do not provide a higher level of protection. If you are concerned about exposures to chemicals, use the lowest concentration of DEET, which provides protection for the length of time you will be exposed to mosquitoes. Wash your skin when you return indoors.  Take special care to cover up the arms and legs of children playing outdoors. When you bring a baby outdoors, cover the baby’s carriage or playpen with mosquito netting.
    • Fix any holes in your screens and make sure they are tightly attached to all your doors and windows.
    • Remove any standing water around your home that is available for mosquito breeding.
    Mosquitoes will begin to breed in any puddle or standing water that lasts for more than four days. Make sure water does not collect and stagnate in ceramic pots, trash cans, recycling containers, old tires, wading pools, birds baths, etc. Remove leaves and debris that may prevent drainage of roof gutters.
    MDPH encourages all residents to continue to report dead birds through its public health Information line at 1-866-MASS-WNV (1-866-627-7968). While most dead birds reported will not be tested for WNV, keeping track of their locations plays an important role in directing further bird, mosquito, and human surveillance activities.
    Information about WNV and reports of WNV activity in Massachusetts during 2008 can be found on the MDPH website at www.mass.gov/dph/wmv/wnv1.htm. Mattapoisett will continue to work closely with the MDPH to improve awareness of and decrease the risk from WNV.