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Q!Casino Property Remains Unclear PAGE 10

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Mashpee Poet Has Momentum

MHS Theater Show Opens Next Weekend

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OBITUARY Q!Violet Larkin, Leading Volunteer, Dies At Age 74 PAGE 2 !"#$%&'()''*$%+&,'-.

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Teachers Decline Concessions As Budget Deadline Nears

DON PARKINSON/ENTERPRISE

SolarBee employees pull the first of six water circulators out to Santuit Pond on Wednesday morning. The installation was scheduled to be complete by the end of the day yesterday.

By ELSA H. PARTAN The Mashpee School Department budget for the next fiscal year is coming into clearer focus with the announcement by the Mashpee Teachers Association that it will not accept a wage freeze. The union’s letter sent last week to Superintendent Ann M. Bradshaw says that the MTA is “committed to working cooperatively with the Mashpee School Committee and town officials to close the deficit” but will not support a wage reduction or elimination right now. “The 2 percent wage increase was negotiated in good faith during the collective bargaining process in 2010,” the letter states. “Additionally, Cape Cod

Municipal Healthcare has recently voted to implement a new health care plan effective July 1 which will significantly impact earnings. Teachers will be facing substantial increases in outof-pocket expenses that in some cases could add up to 20 percent of one’s wages. For these reasons, we stand firm in our resolve that placing higher financial burdens on teachers should not be part of the budget solution.” The union’s decision was not mentioned during Wednesday’s school committee meeting. Instead, Ms. Bradshaw thanked both the MTA and Mashpee Finance Committee member George C. Schmidt for attending workshop-style meetings over the last two weeks and for suggesting

additional places to save money in the budget. Those suggestions included reducing the number of buses for the middle school and high school, a savings of $7,500; doubling the student parking fee to $100, an increase of $3,000; charging athletic fees, either per athlete or per sport, an increase of $30,000 or $65,000; and reducing the number of meetings for the school committee recording secretary, a savings of $2,000. On March 7, the school committee accepted a first draft of proposed cuts. On Wednesday Ms. Bradshaw revised that list, including some of the suggestions from the Mashpee Teachers AsContinued on Page 8

Town Expects To See Quick Results From Newly Installed SolarBees By GEOFF SPILLANE After three years of debate, analysis, and relentless advocacy by the Friends of Santuit Pond, six solar-powered water circulators have finally begun their work to help clean the toxic, algae-laden pond in the northeast corner of town. The expenditure of $357,200 to fund the purchase of the circulators, manufactured by North Dakota-based SolarBee Inc., was approved by Town Meeting in October. On Wednesday morning, an unseasonably warm and muggy March morning for Cape Cod, a

small army of SolarBee employees and several vehicles with North Dakota license plates gathered at the town landing off Timberland Drive to assemble the machines for launch. Bradley Caffyn, son of the late state representative Nancy Caffyn, watched the assembly, as did nearby homeowners Steven and Kathy Marshak. “My mother worked on the cleanup of Ashumet and Mashpee ponds. In her memory, I am happy that I had the chance to work on a third pond,” Mr. Caffyn said. The installation was scheduled to be complete by the end of the

day yesterday. Resembling small spaceships from a low-budget science movie while on dry land, the SolarBees could pay big dividends to the town and environment if they perform as advertised when placed in the pond. According to Richard H. York Jr., Mashpee shellfish warden, water quality monitoring will be conducted on a monthly basis through a collaborative program with the town, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Continued on Page 8

School Race Is On, Without Ms. Stanley By GEOFF SPILLANE With the entry of another candidate in the final week before nomination papers are due, the race for two open positions on the Mashpee School Committee may be the main competitive election on this year’s ballot. That race will not include Kathy G. Stanley, current chairman of the school committee. Ms. Stanley told the Enterprise yesterday afternoon that she will not run for reelection, her first statement on the matter in the more than six weeks since nomination papers became available. “I need to devote more time to my family and my business,” she said. Joan N. Oliver, 59, obtained nomination papers for school committee earlier this week.

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Ms. Oliver, a former schoolteacher in Canton, moved to Mashpee full time three years ago, although she said she has been a frequent visitor to town during the years her parents lived here. Ms. Oliver, who is still certified to teach, said that she was encouraged to run for the position by a group of friends and neighbors in the community. “I love kids, so why not try to help?” she said. Ms. Oliver said she has been reading weekly updates regarding the friction between the school department and town hall. “It is too bad. Kids and the community come first and their needs should be met first. As a teacher, I understand the needs of children. It is not the greatest economy, so we need to be resourceful and do what we need to do to make this

IRS: Food Pantry Not A Nonprofit By GEOFF SPILLANE When local food pantry founder Lynda A. Carroll was a no-show at three consecutive meetings of the Mashpee Board of Health in which she was on the agenda, board members began to wonder if she was avoiding them. Of particular concern was the $100 permit fee payment the board had received for operation of her food pantry, now known as Upper Cape Helping Hands Inc. Ordinarily, a fee payment would not attract much attention, except that Ms. Carroll has long requested the fees be waived because she claimed the organization was a nonprofit. As of last Wednesday, Ms. Carroll had still not provided documentation to the board that the organization was indeed a nonprofit in the eyes of the state. The request to see the documentation was first made to Ms. Carroll more than a year ago. Since 2010, Ms. Carroll has run afoul of the board on at least two occasions, having meat confiscated from what was considered Continued on Page 8

a great school system,” Ms. Oliver said. Phyllis A. Sprout, 61, co-owner of Sprout Farm on Quinaquisset Avenue and president of the Mashpee Republican Town Committee, submitted completed nomination forms last week. Ms. Sprout, who has had three children pass through the Mashpee school system, said she had thought about running for the office about 15 years ago to fill a position on the committee to complete the remainder of a term. Interest in literacy issues, as well as a belief that the school committee needs to work more closely and cooperatively with the town, drove her to run this time around, she said. Continued on Page 7

ELSA H. PARTAN/ENTERPRISE

Cinderella, Come Get Your Dress: Dorothy Schrumpf (left) and Ruth Ellen Johnson have collected more than 50 gently used prom dresses for high school students to buy for $10 on April 1.

‘These Are Dresses The Girls Can Be Proud To Wear’ By ELSA H. PARTAN High school girls who want to go to the prom without breaking the bank are welcome at the fourth annual Cinderella’s Night at the Prom on Sunday, April 1, in Mashpee Commons. More than 50 dresses will be sold for $10 to high school students from 1 to 4 PM. Students may also bring a gently used prom dress as a swap and walk away with a different dress for free. All proceeds benefit the Mashpee

High School post-prom party. The event, which will be held in a store space next to the Mashpee Post Office, is organized by Dorothy S. Schrumpf of Common Threads and Ruth Ellen Johnson of Signatures Studios Spa with help from Deborah F. Dami. Ms. Schrumpf has been accepting prom dress donations at her shop in Mashpee Commons and is offering free dress alterations to any Cinderellas who pick up a dress on April 1.

“These are dresses the girls can be proud to wear,” said Ms. Schrumpf. Ms. Johnson will demonstrate makeup techniques at the event and a representative from Verde Floral Design will demonstrate how to make a corsage. “Your prom is your rite of passage and it should be accessible for everybody,” said Ms. Schrumpf. For more information, call Common Threads at 508-477-0371.

Small Turbines Producing Less Energy Than Expected

GENE M. MARCHAND/ENTERPRISE

The two Windspire turbines at Heritage Park, next to the Mashpee Chamber of Commerce, have been producing far less energy than projected, in part because they are not high enough above nearby obstructions.

By BRIAN H. KEHRL They do not make much noise. They do not seem to bother people. They have actually been a point of interest for many people driving on Route 130. But the two vertical turbines at Heritage Park have not produced much energy, either. According to information provided by the town, the two Windspire wind energy machines next to the Mashpee Chamber of Commerce Welcome Center on Route 130 have produced less than one-seventh of the output projected when they were installed in August 2010. The energy production amounts to about 6 percent of the average monthly energy used by the chamber of commerce, to which they are connected, according to a January update provided by the town to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. The 30-foot-tall machines, which spin along a vertical axis and look similar to egg beaters sticking out of the ground, were funded with $17,525 from a state renewable energy program, at Continued on Page 8

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IRS: Food Pantry Not A Nonprofit Continued from Page One unsanitary storage facilities when the pantry was located at Mashpee Village, and being reprimanded for not completing a mandated food handling class. Ms. Carroll and the food pantry were involved in a contentious disagreement with town officials in late 2010, during which Ms. Carroll demanded the town provide public space for the operation. Town officials refused and repeatedly questioned the organization’s legal status as a nonprofit. Upper Cape Helping Hands is registered as a nonprofit corporation with the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, effective as of December 7, 2010, according to a public database maintained on the secretary’s website. However, the organization is not considered a nonprofit by the federal Internal Revenue Service, according to a public registry and interviews with an IRS spokesman. In a telephone interview yes-

terday, Ms. Carroll attributed her absence at the health board recent meetings to ongoing recovery from serious injuries sustained in an automobile accident in December. When asked why she paid the fee, Ms. Carroll said that it was “just easier to pay the fee” during her recuperation period. Upper Cape Helping Hands Inc., formerly known as the Mashpee Food Pantry, operates non-perishable food distribution centers in Mashpee and Sandwich. The Mashpee facility is located on Bowdoin Road, off Route 28. Ms. Carroll said that the pantries have been very busy of late, and have been seeing an increase in military families and the elderly. The organization’s website states, “Tax Deductible Financial Donations are gladly accepted,” with Ms. Carroll’s home address listed below. Ms. Carroll said that the organization is “all set with IRS” and is awaiting some paperwork changes. She also said that the donation

request on the website was for non-perishable food, not for cash or checks. At one point, a check was received and was used toward providing children with coats, she said. Kathleen A. Wilbur of East Falmouth, listed on state documents as the organization’s treasurer, did not return a call made by the Enterprise earlier this week. Peggy Riley, spokesman for the IRS in the New England region, said that donations made to Upper Cape Helping Hands Inc., would be disallowed as tax deductions. “This does not mean that people should not donate, but if the charity is not showing up on the IRS database, then you can’t take a deduction,” Ms. Riley said. Roche Bros. supermarket of Mashpee is one of the many local businesses that donate to Upper Cape Helping Hands on a regular basis. Artie Kroese, manager of the Mashpee store, declined to comment on the matter.

Teachers Decline Concessions Continued from Page One sociation and Mr. Schmidt. That resulted in a total of $1,331,038 of cuts, which was $132,807 more than what was needed to close the current gap. Ms. Bradshaw said the committee will decide what items will be restored. Despite the collegial tone, Ms. Bradshaw and the school committee rejected the largest cuts suggested by Mr. Schmidt. He suggested cutting $300,000 from a retirement account, $200,000 slated for special education transportation and $300,000 for out-of-district tuition. “These three [cuts] can’t happen,” Ms. Bradshaw said. “It

would mean the world if we could.” Ms. Bradshaw explained that some expenses have been offset in the prior fiscal year by onetime grant payments, which can make the current budget request appear to represent a larger increase than actually exists. Reached after the meeting, Mr. Schmidt said he also suggested a cut of $26,000 in athletic expenses; saving $17,500 by not filling a vacant paraprofessional position; cutting $15,000 in money for paying the business manager; and cutting tuition to out-of-district private schools by $115,000. Mr. Schmidt also hoped that the school committee would cut some of the $435,000 budgeted for

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0RINCIPAL -ASHPEE (IGH 3CHOOL “Beginnings,” the Cape-wide high school student exhibit hosted by the Cape Cod Art Association, features the artwork of Emily Ryan, Samantha Edwards, Jared Taylor, Christa Belouin, Gioia Sabatinelli, Keturah Peters, Mikayla Newbrey, Dan Micklos, Hillary Barrows, and Ben McCarthy. Winners from this group are Keturah Peters in first place, winning a $100 cash prize; Dan Micklos in second place, winning $50; and an honorable mention and $25 cash prize for Gioia Sabatinelli. The show runs through March 26 in the CCAA main gallery on Route 6A in Barnstable. Thanks to Kristen Deschamps and Deb Troyanos for guiding these students and getting their efforts noticed. The Key Club has heard a report on the outcome of their fall book drive efforts. An official of the Il Polei Secondary School in Kenya writes, “Today was a very exciting day for me. I delivered a consignment of books to one of the local schools, jubilations and ululations filled the air when the books were off-loaded from my pick-up truck. The students were more than happy. Il Polei Secondary School is 3 years old, it offers education to children from the local Maasai villages, these children are from very humble backgrounds, they did not have enough text books in the school. The pioneer class will [sit] for their national examinations at the end of this year. The books have filled a huge gap.” The Key Club collected and sent more than 40 boxes of books to Kenya to help this organization. The photographs that the club received from this deserving school were proof that the gift of education is very much appreciated at the Il Polei School. Thanks to Cheryl Belanger for organizing this effort and to all the Key Club members for working to make the world better for others. The Flamingo Flock is returning to Mashpee on April 1 to benefit the Post-Prom Party. For a $20 donation, residents of Mashpee can send a flock of 10 pink flamingos to a Mashpee home or business. The flock will rest on their lawn for 1 to 2 days before they take flight to another address in town. Suggested donation to move the flock is $20, but it is not required. Residents may also purchase “flamingo insurance” for $40. This guarantees the flock will not pay them a visit. This “fun”draiser will run for three weeks starting April 1. All proceeds will benefit the Mashpee High School Post-Prom Party which offers our students a safe place to continue the celebration once Prom has ended. Anyone interested in flocking someone or who would like more information should e-mail Carol Mitchell at cmit0571@gmail. com. The first Falcon Freeze will take place at South Cape Beach in Mashpee on April 7 at 2 PM. The work of Jessica Dacus, this senior project will draw attention to the beach environment and garner support and funds for further beach cleanups. If you wish to take a dip in the ocean at this early date, you can see Jessica in school for a registration form. You may also e-mail her for a form at Jdacus17@gmail. com. Registration is $2 per person. Join with your friends and make this a fun afternoon.

substitute teachers since very little of that money has been used this year. “Let’s say we can save $100,000 out of that,” he said. “That’s a teacher.” Another meeting between Ms. Bradshaw and Mr. Schmidt had been scheduled for yesterday after press time. A finance committee meeting was scheduled soon after that meeting concluded, at 7 PM. Mr. Schmidt said it is the last finance committee meeting before the deadline to print committee recommendations for Town Meeting. Because of that, he expected the finance committee to vote on the school budget at the meeting.

DON PARKINSON/ENTERPRISE

SolarBee employee Jason Gronvold shows Friends of Santuit Pond leader Allen Waxman how the new machines work.

Newly Installed SolarBees Continued from Page One Mr. York said a detailed report on the pond by a consulting engineer should provide a baseline from which to measure improvements. “In the 2010 report on Santuit Pond, AECOM conservatively estimated that the water circulators should cut the algae to half of the current levels by keeping the bottom water oxygenated thus decreasing the release of phosphorous from the sediments compared to anoxic conditions that develop without circulators,” Mr. York wrote in an e-mail. “At that level, swimming and other recreational activities would be allowed, and fish kills from depletion of dissolved oxygen are not likely. Reduction of other sources of phosphorous such as lawn fertilizers would reduce the algae densities further.” Members of the Friends group traded e-mails this week discussing further efforts to reduce the use of lawn fertilizers on properties around the pond, or perhaps all over town. The SolarBee circulators consist of a set of solar panels above water, propped up by a set of plastic floats, and an underwater turbine intended to mix water from the surface with low-oxygen water along the pond bottom. The metal turbine blade, about a foot across, is protected by a cylinder. A separate, flexible cylinder stretches down almost to the pond bottom. While walking toward the town landing on Wednesday morning, camera in hand, a smiling Allen Waxman, the leader of the Friends of Santuit Pond and the SolarBee’s biggest cheerleader, confidently raised a fist and said, “Let’s do it!” It seemed an exclamatory statement he has been waiting three years to make.

The six machines will be distributed around the pond.

Small Turbines Producing Less Energy Than Expected Continued from Page One no direct cost to the town. However, the below-expected output is not a significant disappointment, said Assistant Town Manager Thomas J. Mayo, who helped oversee the project. The town was aware that the location was not going to be ideal for energy production, but chose it instead for its prominence, with the intention of using it as a sort of educational installation, Mr. Mayo said in a recent interview. “Given that the building’s use has increased significantly since that time, thereby lowering our anticipated percentage of energy used, we feel that the turbines have accomplished what we had ultimately hoped. As the first municipally-owned renewable energy project in Town, the installation of the turbines got people talking. Since the completion of the wind turbine project, Mashpee has enjoyed 4 successful installations of large solar projects with the largest scheduled for construction in Spring of 2012,” Mr. Mayo wrote in a January report to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. The importance of location and the type of machine for wind energy generation were emphasized at a forum on small wind installations sponsored by the Cape and Islands Renewable Energy Collaborative this week. Peter McPhee, project manager at the state renewable energy agency, said the rule of thumb is wind energy machines must be 30 feet above obstructions within a 500foot radius. The two windspires at Heritage Park face obstructions on three sides. Mr. McPhee said that the state will not consider providing rebates for projects that have not undergone detailed studies of the expected production based on the

location and the type of machine. He said a few bad experiences with manufacturers and installers have highlighted the need to be wary of projections not backed up with data, pointing to a former state representative from Lakeville who was found by the state attorney general to have cheated customers and provided misleading production estimates. Highly publicized incidents like that have given small wind turbines a bad name, he said. “We don’t want to see a project that is not going to pay itself back,” Mr. McPhee said. “We don’t want to spend ratepayer dollars on a project that is not going to produce energy.” If the site and the machine is right, he said, small wind can be a valuable renewable energy resource. A good payback period for a well-designed project is between eight and 12 years, he said. Megan C. Amsler, executive director of Cape & Islands Self-Reliance, who also spoke at the small turbine forum, said in an interview yesterday that only two machines have been approved by the Small Wind Certification Council. The council is a nonprofit that provides third-party certification of the production and quality of turbines. She said the Internet includes countless statements about the wonders of different machines, but very few actually produce what they claim. Even if the blades of ill-sited turbines do spin, as is the case with the Heritage Park Windspires, they still may not produce much electricity. The energy produced by wind turbines increases by a cubic function of higher wind speeds, so just one more mile an hour of wind speed can have a substantial difference in energy production, she said. “If there is anything to impart

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The projected annual output from both machines was 4,000 kilowatt hours, according to information from the town. Since installation, they have produced about 32 kilowatt hours per month, or 384 kilowatt hours per year. Mark Robinson, of the Eastonbased firm New Day Energy, which installed the Heritage Park machines, said the machines would need to be considerably higher up to generate more power. The machines could be retrofitted with a five-foot extension, for a cost of $1,800 per unit, but he said it would be unlikely to boost the production enough to make it worthwhile. The machines start producing at 200 rotations per minute, and they need sustained winds, not just intermittent gusts, in order to be more effective. “Perhaps a better location would be far out in the middle of that field. You need open areas,” he said. He said the town had decided on the location before he was contacted by Windspire for the installation. Mr. Robinson said he has installed 25 of the Windspire machines in the region. He said he has received about one call per month from customers intrigued by the Heritage Park turbines, but none has yet to result in a sale. “It serves the purpose of getting people thinking about it,” he said. “But you have to be realistic about it.” Windspire, the Nevada-based manufacturer of the machines, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January of this year. According to news reports, revenue at the company dropped from $11 million in 2010 down to $2.7 million in 2011. At the time of the court filing, the company owed nearly $6 million.

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from this, it is that turbines that are down on the ground in a turbulent area just do not generate electricity,” Ms. Amsler said. She said she is wary of the argument that putting machines in prominent but unproductive locations is good for educating the public. “We have put these things out there to make it look like we are doing something green, but people are going to ask about them, and find out the data, and say that small wind doesn’t work,” she said. “We would much rather have fewer really good installations so we can say, look at that, that is how it should be done, and they are exceeding our expectations.” The Heritage Park Windspires have generated interest from passersby, according to Mary Lou Palumbo, executive director of the Mashpee Chamber of Commerce. People regularly stop by the chamber office to inquire about the machines, she said. The town has provided the chamber with an informational brochure to hand out. “They are definitely a showstopper; it is amazing, the people they have attracted,” Ms. Palumbo said. “They are very quiet. You can’t really hear them from the inside. When it gets extremely windy sometimes, there may be some vibration in the building, but that is rare.” But the two machines make little more than a dent in the town’s electricity bill at the chamber building. The 32 kilowatt hours per month generated equates to approximately 6 percent of the energy used at the building. At about 6,400 kilowatt hours per year, the building uses considerably less than an average residential home. According to the federal Energy Information Administration, the average annual electricity consumption for an American home is 11,500 kilowatt hours.

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