March 28, 2024

January News Notes

Posted

Town Election on April 6
The annual town election will be held on Monday, April 6. Nomination papers are now available in the town clerk’s office for the following positions: moderator, selectmen (two for 3 years), town clerk (one for 3 years), assessor (one for 3 years), school committee (two for 3 years), planning board (one for 5 years), park commission (one for 5 years), housing authority (one for 5 years), storm water officer (one for 5 years), tree warden (one for 3 years), and water commissioner (one for 3 years). Nomination papers must be signed by a minimum of 38 registered voters and returned to the town clerk’s office by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17. All three precincts will be open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the election

Rehoboth Police Chief Reports on Drug Bust, Requests Budget Be Restored

Acting Police Chief Lt. James Trombetta updated selectmen on a recent incident where officers chased a suspect and seized a suitcase full of various drugs including cocaine, heroin and marijuana with an estimated street value of $250,000. With assistance from other departments, the State Police and the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office, an extensive search was conducted but the suspect was not located. An arrest warrant has been issued. Trombetta also told the board that the department is feeling the effects of the $360,000 budget cut and wants funding restored in the 2016 budget. The department went from 16 patrolmen to 13, forcing the shutdown of the detective division in order to cover the patrol positions.

Hundreds of Residents Lost Power on December 10

More than 600 Rehoboth residents and nearly 100 in Seekonk lost their electricity for several hours on December 10. A power surge caused damage to a substation and set off several alarms in town. The outage lasted from about 10 p.m. to about 3:30 a.m.

Twelve Communities Have Joined SRPEDD Electricity Aggregation Program
A total of 12 communities have voted to participate in the Southeast Regional Planning and Economic Development District’s Community Electricity Aggregation Program. Rehoboth voted to join at the October special town meeting. The objective of the program is to lower electricity bills through the formation of a buying group composed of residents and businesses that could solicit bids for cheaper electric rates. Participating communities include Acushnet, Dighton, Fairhaven, Fall River, Freetown, Northbridge, Norton, Plainville, Rehoboth, Seekonk, Somerset and Swansea. For more information and to sign up for email updates on the program, visit www.srpedd-muniagg.com.

Dighton-Rehoboth School District Roof Projects Progressing

The projects to replace the roofs at three schools in the district – Beckwith Middle School, Dighton Elementary and Dighton Middle – is moving forward and is under budget. In Rehoboth, replacement of the Beckwith Middle School roof is complete. Other ancillary work is still proceeding there. The project is under budget by more than $1 million. The work at Dighton Elementary is expected to be completed this month and Dighton Middle should be completed in February. Both Dighton projects are also under budget. The roof repairs are being partially funded through the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s accelerated repair program.

Reserve Police Officer Promoted to Full Time

Adam Brown, a reserve officer for the Rehoboth Police Department, has been appointed as a full-time patrolman. Brown will be filling a vacancy left by Patrolman Ryan Brule.

National Grid Plans Electric Upgrades

Representatives from National Grid told selectmen last month that the company is looking at building new substations is town, but it will reportedly take five years for them to be built. Selectmen said they were concerned about the risk of widespread power failures if another major storm hits the area.

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