CP_MBHC_20230524_1_A07
marbleheadcurrent.org
Marblehead Current Wednesday, May 24, 2023 A7
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Ota has strong record of service To the editor: I will be supporting resident and former long-time Glover Elementary School principal Brian Ota in his desire to serve on the School Committee, and I hope you will too. Knowing Brian for more than a decade, I was pleased to learn about his decision to serve in this important role, and I can’t think of a better or more qualified candidate. Brian’s years in the United States Marine Corps instilled in him the values of dedication, honor, reliability, attention to detail and service to others. He has clearly carried those values with him throughout his life and
into the education profession. As the Glover School principal, these traits made him an excellent role model for both the children and his colleagues. As an early morning riser myself, I regularly saw Brian’s car at the school by 5:30 a.m. each day, well before any school employee would be expected at work. Watching and listening to him as he interacted with the children, the staff (whom he appeared to treat as co-workers and not subordinates) and parents, it was clear that he valued all opinions. While always one to look for consensus, he was also not afraid to tactfully put his foot down and take a stand or make a decision when one was needed. This occasionally included being on the unpopular side of
issues and having the courage and character to speak truth to power (a trait largely absent in today’s world). Brian will bring a tremendous amount of experience onto the School Committee, as he is uniquely suited to understand the complexities of the budget process from having to complete one each year while a principal. As a former manager, he is well versed in the various contracts between the district and its diverse unions. I am confident that he will bring a high degree of fiscal responsibility to the committee and the district that will be beneficial during difficult future financial times. Brian continues his commitment to helping others through his appointment with a local marine patrol as an
assistant harbormaster, taking only a year off for himself following his active years in Marblehead’s school system. “Service above self” appears to me to be Brian’s unspoken motto. Please consider entrusting Brian once again with the safety and welfare of the town’s young people and the taxpayers’ assets. I believe he has earned our confidence by his years of exceptional service. Matthew Freeman Willow Road
Thank you to Essex Tech students To the editor: We are writing to publicly thank students and staff from
Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School, who came to Marblehead to help plant the native species garden at Chandler Hovey Park on April 24 and 25. Sustainable Marblehead worked with the Marblehead Recreation and Parks Department coordinating with garden designer Larry Simpson to plan and prepare for the installation of the garden, which was financed with donated funds from the Hannaway family. We also thank Marblehead’s Mark Strout, school committee chair for Essex North Shore, for his help to start the process and the many other volunteers who made this project possible. Palma Bickford Sustainable Marblehead
SUSTAINABLE MARBLEHEAD
Investing in Marblehead Harbor’s future BY ROB HOWIE Marblehead Harbor is our town’s greatest asset, a source of pride and enjoyment for everyone and the lifeblood of our local economy. When the muchawaited Marblehead Harbor Plan is presented to the Select Board and the public next month, will we be prepared to implement it? Planning is important, but it’s the execution that counts. The state’s Seaport Advisory Council funded the first Marblehead Harbor plan in 2009 which examined infrastructure needs, harbor uses and challenges. It detailed: » Addressing environmental and safety concerns » Improving public access, including ADA compliance » Dredging Little Harbor and rebuilding the public launching ramp there » Repairing seawalls and piers at State, Cliff and Commercial Streets » Rehabilitating Crocker Park landing » Promoting commercial fishing » Improving Parker’s Boatyard with better public access, launch facilities and ADA compliance. It noted
that Parker’s is “underutilized … and the best candidate for improvements within the harbor.” For a variety of reasons — including focus, funding and lack of an implementation capability — the town acted on only a few of these. The state funded another Marblehead Harbor plan in 2021 (to be released in June). Some 14 years after the first plan, the new one, unsurprisingly, finds the same environmental and safety concerns and carries forward most of the same recommendations, including repairing existing infrastructure, assessing seawalls’ condition, improving public access to the water, promoting commercial fishing, ensuring public safety and more effective use of Parker’s as a community boating center and boat launch facility. The new plan also recommends adding a second trawl line for Town Class and other small boats, installing electric charging stations accessible to boats in the water and adding kayak storage at Riverhead and Gas House Beaches. It also suggested
improving recreational boating facilities and services, including ADA compliance, on the West Shore at Stramski’s and Village Street. A parallel planning process undertaken in 2022, led by Salem Sound Coastwatch and Woods Hole Group, focused on resiliency to sea level rise and climate change. Among the most important recommendations of the new harbor plan is forming an implementation working group to turn it into reality in the months and years ahead. This step should be immediately embraced by the Select Board, which is charged with appointing the group and providing a clear mandate and accountability to execute the plan. It should be a collaborative and cooperative effort consisting of representative stakeholders from town boards, non-profit organizations focused on the harbor, commercial fishermen, the recreational boating community and land-side and water-based businesses. This was the model for the Harbor Plan Working Group, which worked well.
The new plan identifies goals, priorities, actions, the responsible parties, timeline and estimated costs. With these in hand, the implementation group can get to work and begin to make things happen. They will be required to submit an annual report to ensure accountability for the steady progress needed to implement the recommended projects. Working with the town Planner and newly-approved Sustainability manager, a key responsibility of the implementation group will be to secure funding, most of which is available through an abundance of federal money earmarked for coastal resiliency projects. More than 20 federal, state and private funding sources for project studies, construction drawings and actual construction have been explicitly identified in the plan, and advice on how to apply for the money. Specific publicprivate partnerships also have potential to get traction. Despite the good intentions of the 2009 plan, it largely ended up on the shelf. We cannot let the same fate happen to the 2023 Marblehead Harbor Plan. Our work now is to implement
its recommendations with purpose and progress in the best interests of the town and its citizens. While a first-rate, comprehensive harbor plan is now complete and ready to be implemented, make no mistake. To be successful, implementing it will require leadership from the Select Board, setting clear expectations, a bias for action, accountability for all parties and requisite governance changes that will ensure we don’t slip back into business as usual. In a community like Marblehead, where the harbor defines so much of our history, quality of life and why we choose to live here, we have an obligation to protect, enhance and make sustainable our greatest resource for future generations. When we look back years from now, let it be said that this is the time when we committed ourselves to the future of Marblehead Harbor. Rob Howie is a member of the Marblehead Harbor Plan Working Group, Sailors for the Sea Skipper for Marblehead and a board member of Sustainable Marblehead.
Top 10 common misconceptions about computer use BY STEPHEN BACH 1: Macs are virus-proof. While it’s true that Macs are less vulnerable to viruses than PCs, they are not completely immune. It’s important to be cautious when downloading files or visiting websites and antivirus software is helpful. 2: Deleting files means they’re gone forever. Many people believe that once a file is deleted, it’s gone forever.
However, this is not true. In many cases, deleted files can be recovered using data recovery software. If you have accidentally deleted a file and then emptied the trash, don’t panic! Shut down your computer and bring it to a computer professional. There is a very good probability that your “deleted” file(s) can be recovered. However, if you do want to delete, it’s important to use secure file deletion methods if you want to ensure that your data is truly gone. 3: The more expensive the
Merrigan
to town five minutes ago, maybe I didn’t need to be yelling at kids to hustle? (Why don’t they, though?) Second, I thought Waylon could use a break from Coach Dad. But two other things are true, in Wyoming or Massachusetts or any other state: first, every youth organization takes volunteers. And second, I don’t do well on the sidelines. I like to jump in. Waylon and I loaded up the car for the short drive to Gatchell’s recently for the first game of the season. Both nervous and excited to be headed back out there, me probably more than
From P. A6
there from time to time, but it’s where the magic happens. So I’ve had half an eye cocked to the calendar ever since, waiting for baseball season to arrive. It did arrive, finally (not that you could tell from the cold weather). Waylon got selected to the Orioles, and I volunteered to help coach. Now, I’d told myself prior to coming to Marblehead that this season I would just be a spectator. For one thing, I felt like I’d gotten
computer, the better it is. Not really a misconception, but I’ve added it here anyway. There are many factors that go into determining the quality of a
computer, including hardware components, software and support, but as a general rule, a more expensive computer has better quality components, a faster processor and/or more memory or hard drive size. 4: Closing apps doesn’t make a difference. Many people believe that not closing apps (applications/programs) will not matter in terms of performance. This is not always the case. Closing some apps may free up system resources on computers with less RAM memory or a slower hard drive.
5: All online information is trustworthy. With the abundance of information available online, it’s easy to assume that everything you read is trustworthy. This is not the case. It’s important to verify the credibility of sources before using information found online, as there are many nefarious operators out there. 6: Pop-up ads indicate a virus. Pop-up ads are a common annoyance when browsing the
him. An hour prior to game time, it was perfect sunny baseball weather. I felt about as good as you legally can stepping with a mouthful of sunflower seeds and a pitch counter in my hand. The field was in lovely condition, a credit to all the volunteers with Marblehead Youth Baseball, and all was ready. But then a very Marblehead thing happened: five minutes before first pitch, a sea fog rolled in to blanket the whole park. I’d never been in such conditions for baseball before. Could you even see a pop fly up there in all that mist? (Yes – the Oriole outfielders handled
it well.) Then someone flipped on the stadium lights. The green grass shimmered and the chalk lines fairly glowed. Mist rolled across the outfield. The boys in their bright uniforms trotted like sprites across the grass. Baseball sure does lend itself to poetry. That evening there in Gatchell’s, it wrote itself. You just have to take it in. The Orioles won in a nailbiter over the Yankees, 4-3. Waylon played a decent game, snagged a couple hits, tossed a couple good innings from the mound. I got to coach third. It was glorious
and pure and all baseball ought ever be. I’ve been involved in maybe a couple hundred youth baseball games now. So while it wasn’t exactly a first time, it was my first time here, and in the fog, and with a new group of kids, on the cusp of a new season. Still, the same game we played back in Wyoming is the same game we played in Marblehead. And I’m happy just to be out on the field. As always, if you’ve got an idea upon which I can embark for a Marblehead First Time, drop me a line at court.merrigan@gmail.com.
COMPUTERS, P. A8