From the Town Clerk

Happy July - Did you know that MASSACHUSETTS got its name from the Massachusetts tribe of Native Americans, who lived in the Great Blue Hill region, which is now South Boston. The Indian term means “at or about the Great Hill”. There are several interpretations of the exact meaning. A Jesuit missionary Father thought it came from the word Messatossec, “Great-Hills-Mouth”: “mess” (mass) meaning great; “atsco” (as chu or wad chu) meaning “hill”; and “sec” (sac or saco) meaning “mouth”. Just to make it more interesting the Reverend John Cotton used another variation: “mos” and “wetuset” meaning “Indian arrowhead”. Another explanation is the word comes from “massa” meaning “great” and “wachusett”, mountain place.

Special Town Election July 16, 2018
At the Annual Town Meeting May 14, 2018 the Town voted with a 2/3 majority to go to ballot to appropriate $1,379,902 for the purpose of paying the costs of the Aitken Elementary School Accelerated Repairs Project.

The date for the Special Town Election is July 16, 2018, 7am to 8pm at the Seekonk Senior High School 261 Arcade Ave. The last day to register to vote for this election was June 26.

The Ballot question will read:
"Shall the Town of Seekonk be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one-half, so-called, the amounts required to pay for the bonds to be issued in order to pay costs of the Accelerated Repair Project- Exterior Window, Door Replacements and Associated Work at the Mildred H. Aitken Elementary School, 165 Newman Avenue, Seekonk, MA 02771, including the payment of all costs incidental or related thereto?"

Update on the State Primary on September 4, 2018
The State Primary will be held on Sept 4, the day after Labor Day at the Seekonk High School Gymnasium 261 Arcade Ave. Seekonk. All precincts vote at the High School from 7AM -8PM.
For your information see below for the candidates running in the State Primary.
Please note the candidates are subject to change due to withdrawals or objections before the State Ballot Law Commission.

Attorney General
R Daniel L. Shores
R James R. McMahon, III
D Maura Healey
Auditor
L Daniel Fishman
R Helen Brady
D Suzanne M. Bump
Clerk of Courts
D Marc J. Santos
Councillor
D Robert L. Jubinville
County Commissioner
R D. Rosa
D Frank N. Durant
D John Thomas Saunders
District Attorney
D Thomas M. Quinn III
Governor
D Bob Massie
R Charles D. Baker
D Jay M. Gonzalez
R Scott D. Lively
Lt. Governor
D Jimmy Tingle
R Karyn E. Polito
D Quentin Palfrey
Register of Deeds
D Barry J. Amaral
Representative in Congress
D Gary J. Rucinski
D Joseph P. Kennedy, III
Representative in General Court
R Steven Howitt
Secretary of State
R Anthony M. Amore
D Josh Zakim
D William Francis Galvin
Senator in Congress
R Beth Joyce Lindstrom
D Elizabeth A. Warren
R Geoff Diehl
R John Kingston
Senator in General Court
R Jacob J. Ventura
D Paul R. Feeney
Treasurer
D Deborah B. Goldberg
R Keiko M. Orrall

Other News
One of the many jobs of the Town Clerk and Assistant Town Clerk is to keep up with new information from all sources particularly from the State. This helps us keep current so we can better serve the town. On June 14th we went to the Massachusetts Town Clerk’s Association Spring Conference in Plymouth, MA. The morning class we attended was: 2018 Primary & State Election Preparation, presented by Michelle Tassinari, Director/Legal, Counsel, Elections Division, SOC Office. This class covered preparation and administration for the upcoming 2018 State Primary and Election. Other topics discussed were early voting, inactive voters and absentee voting.

The afternoon class we attended was: Planning & Zoning, presented by Brian Currie, ACIP, retired Falmouth Town Planner, Citizen Planner Training Collaborative Instructor.

This class covered, Municipal Planning & Subdivision Control Laws. The filing of special permits, variances, site review plans, adopting and amending zoning bylaws and the role the town clerk has regarding such filings.

The Town Clerk’s office is constantly updating census data and will be sending out post cards to the residents in town who did not answer the census this past winter. If you receive this postcard please mail it back so we can update your information. Just a reminder that failure to respond to the census mailings for two consecutive years will result in the removal from the active voting list and may result in removal from the voter registration rolls per MGL Ch. 51 4c.
Thanks to everyone who got in under the wire registering their dogs before the May 31st deadline. There is now a $20.00 late fee per dog imposed on all license renewals. If the dog is new to town there are no late fees.

Just a reminder to those people who are thinking about having a yard sale be advised you need a yard sale permit. You can get them online on the town web site www.seekonk-ma.gov under the Town Clerk page. It is $5.00 a day with a total of 4 per year. There is a sign by-law in town concerning yard sale signage. Please be advised that it is not permitted to use telephone poles to post any type of sign. If you are going to have a yard sale please abide by the rules of the town. Thank you.

We get a lot of requests for birth records in this office, please note if your child was born in a Rhode Island Hospital we will not have the birth record here in Seekonk, even if you live in town. The birth record will be in the Rhode Island city/town your child was born in. For example if your child was born at Women & Infants Hospital you would request a copy of the birth record from Providence vital records. Rhode Island and Massachusetts at one time did reciprocate but that ended in the early 1970’s. If you are looking for an older birth record from before the early 1970’s we would have the birth record provided the parents lived in Seekonk at the time.

Hope everyone had a wonderful and safe 4th of July. Enjoy the summer weather and remember the Town Clerk’s office welcomes inquiries from all citizen seeking assistance, or information in relation to services provided by the Town of Seekonk.