Rehoboth News Notes – October

Town Starting to Feel Effects of Budget Cuts
The town is beginning to feel the effects of the recent budget cuts. Acting Police Chief James Trombetta reportedly told selectmen he had to divert two patrolmen to handle an alleged sexual assault against a teenager and selectmen had to transfer funds from the reserve account to pay for a bottle of water.

Committee Formed to Review Regional School Agreement
The Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School Committee has finalized the membership of the new Regional Agreement Amendment Committee. The committee will review the regional agreement and recommend amendments. The 12-member committee will have four school committee members, two selectmen (one from each town), two finance committee members (one from each town) and four citizens (two from each town). The Dighton members are: school committee members Susan Lorenz and Chris Andrade, Selectman Dean Cronin, finance committee member Ed Swartz, and two citizens: Glen Jefferson and Tony Roderick. The Rehoboth members are: school committee members David Katseff and Tiffany Bartholomew, Selectman Skip Vadnais, finance committee member George Solas and two citizens: William Dalpe Jr. and Susan McBride. Superintendent Anthony Azar and Business Manager Catherine Antonellis will serve as resources, but will not be voting members. The regional school agreement has not been updated in 27 years.

Rehoboth Man Charged with Raping 15 Year-Old
A Rehoboth man faced charges of sexually assaulting a 15 year-old boy after luring him into the woods to smoke marijuana. Daniel Ferreira, 34, who is reportedly a registered sex offender, denied any forced sexual conduct. He was ordered held in jail on $50,000 cash bail after pleading innocent in Taunton District Court. The boy, a student at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School reportedly told a school counselor who notified police. Counselors were made available at all Dighton-Rehoboth schools to students and staff. “We are troubled and saddened about the events that have unfolded over the last 24 hours,” Superintendent Anthony Azar said in a press release.

10th Grade MCAS Test Results Released
According to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 88 percent of 10th grade students in the state met minimum testing requirements in English, math and science on the standardized MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) test. Students must pass the 10th grade MCAS in order to graduate. In Rehoboth, the percentage of students who scored either advanced or proficient was: 93 percent for English Language Arts, 82 percent for math and 75 percent for English.

Voter Registration for November Election
The state election will be held on Tuesday, November 4 and all three precincts will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The last day to register to vote in order to be eligible to vote in the state election is Wednesday, October 15. The town clerk’s office will be open late, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. that day. Voter registrations may also take place during regular business hours at the town clerk’s office, Monday-Thursday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. to 12noon. Mail-in registration forms are also available online at: http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/2013-Voter-reg-mail-in.pdf.