June News Notes

Voters Approve Budget for Fiscal Year 2019 and Request Prop 2 ½ Override Election for Additional School Funding
Voters at town meeting (which ran for two nights, May 15 & 21) approved approximately $9.7 million for the budget for town government, which represents an increase of approx. $590,000 over last year. Voters also approved a budget of $15.8 million for the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School District. The school department had requested a budget of $19.5 million. After much discussion, a motion was also approved to appropriate an additional $2,115,992 for the schools, contingent upon passage of a Proposition 2 ½ override. (The difference between the school committee’s request and the Finance Committee’s recommendation is $2.1 million.) The override election is scheduled for Tuesday, July 17 with polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. If the override passes, the schools will receive $15.8 million, plus the $2.1 million. If the override fails, the schools will receive $15.8 million and the school committee will then decide whether to accept the $15.8 million or vote a revised assessment.

Town Meeting Approves Purchase of Dorrance Land
Voters approved $819,000 for the purchase of three parcels of land, known as the Dorrance land, totaling approx. 15 acres, off Anawan Street for building a public safety, municipal office and/or animal shelter. The purchase will be funded through the Solar Revenue Capital Account and will not require a tax increase. For a list of other articles approved at town meeting, see Town Clerk Laura Schwall’s column in this issue.

D-R High School Student Wins Trinity Rep Playwright Competition
Emma Paulhus, a junior at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School was one of four winners of Trinity Repertory Theater’s 7th annual student playwright competition. Paulhus was the only winner from a Massachusetts school (Trinity Rep is in Providence) and the only winner from a public school. Paulhus’ play, “Grandma and Technology” focused on teaching older generations how to use technology. The winners’ ten-minute plays were performed by professional actors at Trinity Rep on May 7.

Rehoboth Business Named Mass. Home-Based Business of the Year
Rehoboth’s Gilded Tomato, owned by Julia Sweet, was named the 2018 Home-Based Business of the Year for Massachusetts by the Small Business Administration, according to an article on Rehoboth Now. Gilded Tomato sells wood-fired artisan pizza cooked on site in mobile copper-clad clay ovens at farmer’s markets, festivals and other events throughout New England while also offering catering for private and corporate events.

More Residents are Using Ride-Sharing Services
A recent report by the Mass. Dept. of Public Utilities indicated that approximately 64.8 million rideshare trips started in Massachusetts in 2017. The data shows consumers are using companies such as Uber and Lyft, more often. Nearly 2,500 rideshare trips originated in Rehoboth last year, according to the report. Massachusetts is the first state in the country to launch a website (tnc.sites.digital.mass.gov) on the operations of ride-sharing companies.

D-R High Names Valedictorian & Salutatorian
The top students in the Class of 2018 at D-R Regional High School are valedictorian Megan Kelley and salutatorian Peyton Maccarone, both from Dighton. Kelley, daughter of John and Paige Kelley, will be attending Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh in the fall to study business analytics. Maccarone, daughter of Michael and Melissa Maccarone, will attend the University of Rochester to study cell and developmental biology on a pre-med track.