News

Wareham surpasses 1,000 covid cases since start of pandemic

Wareham has seen a total of 86 new cases of covid-19 in town over the past week, according to the state’s Jan. 21 Weekly Public Health Report . In total, since the start of the pandemic, there have been 1,066 coronavirus cases in Wareham. Wareham’s...

Decas School not feasible as senior housing, board says

It would not be feasible — or economically advantageous — to repurpose John W. Decas Elementary School as affordable housing for Wareham’s seniors, according to analysis conducted by Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District...
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Transfer station stickers now sold in-person at Municipal Maintenance

Transfer station stickers are now being sold in-person at the town Municipal Maintenance building at 95 Charge Pond Road. The stickers are available at the maintenance building Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Town Administrator Derek...

Littleton Drive apartment complex approved by Zoning Board of Appeals

The Zoning Board of Appeals approved the 93-unit Littleton Drive housing complex at its Jan. 13 meeting. The development has yet to be approved by the Conservation Commission, which will be discussing it at the board’s Jan. 20 meeting. And it’s...

Free spay/neuter services for Wareham pit bulls

Cape Cod’s MSPCA is offering free spay/neuter services to pit bull owners in Wareham, New Bedford, Hyannis and Mashpee, now through February. Special funding from the Massachusetts Animal Coalition has made the free services possible. Those who...

Wareham first responders receive covid vaccine in Marion

Hundreds of first responders - including Wareham and Onset Firefighters, Wareham Police, and Wareham EMS - have received the first round of the covid vaccine, thanks to a clinic at the Benjamin D. Cushing Community Center in Marion. The drive-...

New Onset Fire Station only several months from completion

Construction on the new Onset Fire Station is continuing, and the building is quickly taking shape, reported David Halberstadt at the Prudential Committee’s Jan. 14 meeting. The exterior paneling will be complete in about two and a half weeks, and...

Town’s limited sewer capacity will likely slow Littleton Drive development

The town’s severely limited sewer capacity and moratorium on issuing capacity commitments will likely put the 93-unit housing complex at Littleton Drive behind schedule. When the Sewer Commission reviewed developer Pennrose’s request for sewer...

Town sees more than 100 new covid-19 cases in past week

The number of new covid-19 cases in town is a triple-digit figure once again. In the past week, 108 new cases have been reported, according to the state’s Jan. 14 report . The Jan. 14 report marks exactly two weeks since New Year’s Eve, when...

Town can hire emergency staffing, Sewer Commissioners say

The town will continue to be able to hire additional licensed operators to staff Wareham Sewer Department facilities as needed, following the Sewer Commission’s 3-0 approval of an emergency staffing proposal during its Jan. 14 meeting. “As covid...

High school AV Club’s morning show evolves into live news show

When AV Club members at Wareham High School learned they would be unable to film their weekly show in their school studio due to pandemic restrictions, it’s unlikely anyone expected the students would turn their online-only Morning Show into a live...

Selectmen discuss marijuana businesses

The Board of Selectmen expressed concerns about the many inactive marijuana business licenses in town at their Jan. 12 meeting. The board voted to open host community negotiations with Trava, Inc., a proposed marijuana grower and manufacturer hoping...

Transfer station stickers now available online

Residents can now order transfer station stickers or opt out of curbside pick-up online. Transfer station stickers cost $125 for the first vehicle and $60 for an additional vehicle. Carver residents may purchase stickers for $140 for the first...

Buzzards Bay Coalition awarded $15,000 to repair Wickets Island pier

The Buzzards Bay Coalition was awarded a $15,000 state grant to repair a stone pier on Wickets Island in Onset Bay. The Baker-Polito administration announced that the Buzzard Bay Coalition’s grant was among a series of grants awarded to “improve...

Building Commissioner ‘couldn’t be happier’ to return to Wareham position

David Riquinha returned to his role as Wareham Building Commissioner in November 2020, after about a year and a half as Dartmouth Building Commissioner. Prior to leaving for the position in Dartmouth, Riquinha had worked in Wareham for about two and...

Affordable Housing Trust hopes town will consider housing at Decas School

The members of the Affordable Housing Trust agreed that housing should be considered as one of the options for the future of the Decas School. Housing Trust member Sandy Slavin said she was disappointed to see that housing was not one of the uses...

Developers share adjusted Littleton Drive housing complex plans

Plans for the proposed 93-unit housing development at Littleton Drive continue to evolve following input from locals and town officials, according to Charlie Adams, the regional vice president of the developer Pennrose. Most notably, the plans now...

Adopt a Vet goes virtual

Veterans can record their stories for future generations through the Adopt a Vet Program. The program is completely free, and interviews are being recorded remotely for safety reasons during the pandemic. For nearly ten years, William R. (Bob) C...

Winter Mindfulness Walks with Wareham Land Trust

The Wareham Land Trust is hosting a series of winter mindfulness walks. Those who attend the walks will “learn practices to reconnect with nature” and how to “remove yourself from the stresses of everyday life,” according to a press release. The...

Five former St. Patrick’s priests accused of abuse

Five priests who served at St. Patrick’s Church in Wareham have been accused of sexual abuse, according to a list of 75 accused clergy published on Jan. 7 by the diocese of Fall River. It is unclear when or for how long these priests worked in...

Covid cases on the rise

The spread of coronavirus in Wareham is once again on the rise, with a total of 93 new cases in town over the past week, according to the state’s Jan. 7 report. Wareham’s average daily incidence rate increased to 45.8 cases per 100,000 people in the...

Could limited sewer capacity hinder Littleton Drive development?

Wareham’s limited sewer capacity could be a hurdle developer Pennrose might face when constructing its proposed 93-unit housing complex at Littleton Drive, according to discussion at a Jan. 7 Wareham Redevelopment Authority meeting. In October 2020...

Eight seats to be on ballot for Town Election

Eight positions will be up for votes at the annual town election on May 4 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The positions that are open are one three-year Selectmen’s seat, two three-year assessors positions, two three-year school committee positions, one three...

Selectmen approve agreement with marijuana manufacturer

The Board of Selectman voted on Tuesday night to approve a Host Community Agreement with Beachgrass Topicals, a marijuana manufacturer planning to open in town. BeachGrass Topicals’ proposed facility would be located at 3103 Cranberry Highway, in...

Town sees spike in covid cases

The town is seeing a spike in coronavirus cases, Town Administrator Derek Sullivan reported at the January 5 Board of Selectman’s meeting. Over the past two weeks, Sullivan said, there have been 155 new confirmed covid cases. There have been 92 new...

Selectman nix request for second special Town Meeting this spring

The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday night denied the request for a second special Town Meeting before the planned April Town Meeting. Because all non-financial articles from the previous two Town Meetings have been pushed off, some of those...

Covid vaccine to be available for first responders next week

Firefighters, emergency medical services, and police officers in Wareham are set to begin receiving the coronavirus vaccine on Monday. Wareham officials are collaborating with those from Marion, Mattapoisett, and Rochester to distribute about 400...

Selectmen give positive report on transfer station, bag sales

The Rte. 28 Transfer Station reopened under Wareham’s management on Jan. 5, as town trash bags became available at Shaw’s (127 Marion Rd.) and the Onset Village Market (231 Onset Ave.). Bags will be for sale at Municipal Maintenance, 95 Charge Pond...

New elementary school construction is weeks ahead of schedule

The elementary school being built on Minot Avenue is almost eight weeks ahead of schedule, according to Mark Adrean, one of the project leads from PMA consultants. “We’re going to try to hang onto that lead as long as we can,” Adrean said. During a...

Special Town Meeting delayed to March 13

The Special Town Meeting, originally scheduled for Dec. 19 before being moved to Jan. 16, will now be held on March 13. Town Moderator Claire Smith decided to issue two thirty-day recesses due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. “This warrant is of...

Brush pile to reopen

The town’s brush pile, operated by the Municipal Maintenance Department at 95 Charge Pond Road, will reopen on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month, beginning on January 9. The pile will be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Christmas trees will be...

Shipment of dog license tags delayed

Dog tags are yet another element of life that has been impacted by covid-19, reports Town Clerk Michele Bissonnette. Because the company is running fewer machines with a smaller staff, the shipment of tags has been delayed, but is expected later in...

Annual polar plunge kicks off the New Year

A small, socially-distanced group of Wareham residents entered 2021 with a splash by participating in the third annual New Year’s Day Sandy Beach Plunge. Guy Hemond, who said he was one of three 2021 participants who also attended the Polar Plunge...

Two Wareham businesses will receive $75,000 covid-19 small business grants

Dorothy Cox's Candies Inc. in Wareham and the Creative Development Child Center — also known as Sandy’s School — in East Wareham will each receive grants of $75,000 through the Covid-19 Small Business Grant Program. Sandy Boucher, who owns Sandy’s...

Town sees about 60 new covid-19 cases in past week

As of Dec. 31, there had been 62 new coronavirus cases in Wareham over the past week, according to the state’s latest report. That’s a decrease from the prior week , in which there were 83 new cases. But cases are expected to increase rapidly...

WCTV to broadcast varsity basketball and ice hockey games

Wareham High School’s varsity winter sports games will be broadcast by Wareham Community Television. WCTV will broadcast girls basketball, boys basketball and ice hockey varsity games throughout the winter on the Education Channel (Comcast 97,...

Motion to dismiss indictment denied in fatal stabbing case

A Plymouth Superior Court judge denied a motion to dismiss a grand jury’s decision to indict David Robbins — the Onset man arrested for killing 33-year-old Yves Roux Jr. in November 2019 — for first-degree murder. Robbins’ defense attorney John...

A class act: Student stars in new, locally-filmed TV show

Wareham native Charlie Tacker was bitten by the acting bug — or radioactive spider, perhaps — after he watched all of the Spider-Man movies when he was around age 4 or 5. “I was really fascinated with it. My mom thought I was going to end up jumping...

Grand plans for East Wareham

While Notos Group developer Tom O’Connell says he doesn’t know exactly what he wants to build on land up for rezoning at the Jan. 16 Special Town Meeting, he knows whatever it is will be big. O’Connell hopes that the proposed “Economic Opportunity...

Council on Aging’s January activities and programs

Although the Wareham Council on Aging remains closed because of covid-19, a variety of outreach programs and appointments are available, according to a Council on Aging press release. Meals on Wheels will continue to be delivered to homes of seniors...

Wareham honors ‘Wreaths Across America’

Wreaths were placed at significant locations across town on Dec. 28 in honor of National Wreaths Across America Day. The national holiday — with a mission of remembering, honoring, and teaching about those who serve — was actually on Dec. 19, but...

Town trash bag mandate delayed to Jan. 12

The town’s pay-as-you-throw trash bags will not be required until Jan. 12 at the Rte. 28 transfer station, Town Administrator Derek Sullivan announced on December 29. Initially, the town planned to require that the bags be used starting when the...

$150,000 in EPA funding to support local saltmarsh restoration efforts

Two of Mass Audubon’s wildlife sanctuaries — Great Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Wareham and Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary in Dartmouth — have been awarded $150,000 for saltmarsh restoration efforts through an Environmental Protection Agency program...

Police rescue individual in distress from water

Wareham police officers responded to a report of a person in the water in distress on Sunday, Dec. 27, according to a department press release. Officers James White and Jon Verhaegen went to a beach location in Wareham and found the person in neck-...

Next to New Thrift Shops’s January sale

The Next to New Thrift Shop’s January sales event will begin on Friday, Jan. 1. For the month of January, all clothing with black tags in the men’s, women’s and children’s shop will be half price. The shop is open Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to...

Thrift shop at Wesley United Methodist Church to hold clearance sale

The Mission Thrift Shop at Wesley United Methodist Church will be open for its January clearance sale on the following days: Thursday, Jan. 7 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Friday, Jan. 8 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 9 from 10 a.m...

Town releases transfer station policy, bags not yet available

The town has released its official transfer station policy , including the answers to many common questions. However, town trash bags and transfer station stickers are not yet available. The Rte. 28 Transfer Station will be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m...

More than eighty new covid cases last week

As of Dec. 24, there had been 83 new coronavirus cases in town over the past week, according to the state’s latest report. That’s a decrease from the prior week, in which there was a record 112 new cases. But cases are expected to increase rapidly...

VFW brings Christmas cheer to those in need

Christmas carols filled the air at the Onset VFW on Wednesday as a small crew of volunteers packed up hot meals to-go for seniors, veterans, the homeless, and anyone else in need. For the past five years, volunteers led by Deneen Rose have thrown a...

Commemorative sign, bench dedicated to the late Robert ‘Grumpy’ Conway

A commemorative sign and bench on the banks of Grumpys Brook were formally dedicated in memory of Robert (Bob) “Grumpy” Conway on Saturday, Dec. 19. A crowd of more than 15 people gathered for the outdoor dedication ceremony on Cole Property...

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