News Notes

Town Building Department Moves to Town Offices
The town’s building department has moved from Anawan Street to the town offices at 148 Peck Street. The reason for the move, according to news reports, is to make it more convenient for residents. Rehoboth TV, the town’s public access TV provider, had been sharing space at the Anawan Street building with the building department and will now occupy the building alone.

State Officials Are Investigating Death of Honeybees
Representatives from the State Dept. of Agricultural Resources are investigating a report of more than 50,000 bees that died in a hive last month. Beekeepers believe it may be tied to pesticide spraying for mosquitoes, according to an article in the Sun Chronicle. Inspectors were sent out to take samples to test for pesticides.

Opponents of the Access Northeast Gas Pipeline Project Warn that It May Not Be Over
Town officials and residents were happy at the news that Enbridge, Inc., one of the companies involved in the Access Northeast project, informed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last month that it is withdrawing its project application. But the project may not be totally dead. Town officials were notified that the project may be reintroduced at a later date. The project, planned by Spectra Energy (now Enbridge), Eversource Energy and National Grid, involved upgrading and expanding part of its existing gas pipeline through the Northeast. The project included construction of a compressor station in Rehoboth, near the Attleboro line, which was opposed by many residents. Selectmen sent a resolution to the state opposing the compressor station after residents overwhelmingly voted against the project in a non-binding ballot question in April.

Miss Bristol County Wins Miss Massachusetts Crown
Jillian Zucco, of Mattapoisett, was named Miss Massachusetts at the scholarship pageant held at the Hanover Theatre in Worcester last month. Zucco’s talent was a vocal performance. Zucco is a 2011 graduate of Old Rochester Regional High School and a 2016 magna cum laude graduate of UMass Dartmouth’s nursing program. She was awarded a $12,000 scholarship and will compete in the 97th annual Miss America pageant in Atlantic City in September.

Debris Found in Local Stream
Someone dumped debris into a stream on Perryville Road last month and police are asking for the public’s help in finding the person responsible. The Fire Department and Highway Department removed the debris, which included used automobile tires and several empty plastic jugs that had contained motor oil and anti-freeze, according to a Sun Chronicle report. The Fire Department determined that the material did not pose a threat to the environment. Anyone with information is asked to call the police at 508-252-3722.

Four Adults Rescued from Rehoboth Swamp
Public safety and emergency personnel rescued four adults one night last month from a swampy area off Anawan Street, according to news reports. The names of the four people, who had lost their way in the dark, were not released. One of the people notified police that they couldn’t find their way out. More than 25 emergency workers were involved in the search. They reportedly had a tough time because the mud was knee-deep. All four were found uninjured and were released after being checked by the EMTs.

Man Involved in Cumberland Farms Standoff Sentenced to Jail
A North Attleboro man who threatened to blow up the Cumberland Farms store at Routes 44 and 118 last September was sentenced to at least one year in jail, according to an article in the Sun Chronicle. Benjamin Kimball was sentenced in Fall River Superior Court to serve one year of a two-year jail sentence for resisting arrest and was given eight years of probation for the bomb threat. Kimball held police in a five-hour standoff which shut down the intersection. He reportedly has a long history of psychiatric treatment and was ordered to obtain mental health counseling.

EPA Delays Controversial Stormwater Permit
The Environmental Protection Agency has delayed for at least one year the effective date of its Clean Water Act permit for small municipal stormwater systems in Massachusetts due to ongoing litigation. The regulations were intended to protect rivers and ponds by controlling stormwater runoff. The Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems permit, or MS4, would require 260 Massachusetts cities and towns, including Rehoboth and Seekonk, to develop new stormwater management programs.