USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Fairhaven > Town annual report of the offices of Fairhaven, Massachusetts 1955 > Part 5
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190
25
215
101
OFFENSES IN ARRESTS FOR OUT-OF-TOWN POLICE
Males Females Totals
82
6
88
TOTAL OFFENSES
272
31
303
DISPOSITION OF CASES
Fined
31
3
34
Dismissed
22
9
31
Filed
43
4
47
Continued
30
2
32
House of Correction
7
0
7
Youth Service Board
2
0
2
Youth Service Board Suspended
3
0
3
Fined - Suspended
14
2
16
Probation
2
3
Nolle Prossed
3
0
4
Released Without Arraignment
10
2
12
Appealed
5
0
5
Not Guilty
8
1 0
3
Probation and Fined
2
0
2
Framingham Reformatory
0
1
1
Defaulted
1
0
1
190
25
215
ARRESTS BY MONTHS
January
6
0
6
February
6
1
7
March
15
2
17
April
6
0
6
May
8
0
8
June
10
2
12
July
6
4
10
August
20
1
21
September
6
1
7
October
15
5
20
November
2
2
4
December
13
1
14
TOTAL ARRESTS FOR LOCAL OFFENSES
113
19
132
9
State Prison
3
1 0
3
House of Correction Suspended
4
102
Males Females Totals
ARRESTS FOR OUT-OF-TOWN POLICE
68
5
73
TOTAL ARRESTS
181
24
205
ARRESTS BY AGES
11-15 years
12
1
13
16-20 years
26
2
28
21-25 years
24
2
26
26-30 years
14
3
17
31-35 years
8
3
11
36-40 years
7
2
9
41-45 years
10
0
10
46-50 years
6
3
9
51-55 years
3
0
3
56-60 years
1
0
1
61-65 years
1
2
3
66-70 years
1
1
2
TOTAL ARRESTS FOR LOCAL OFFENSES
113
19
132
ARRESTS FOR OUT-OF-TOWN POLICE
68
5
73
TOTAL ARRESTS
181
24
205
POLICE DEPARTMENT EXPENDITURES
Chief
$3,839.97
Regular Men
30,475.86
Intermittent Men
13,313.76
Flashlight Batteries and Bulbs
42.25
Telephones
553.37
Auto Maintenance Gas and Oil Repairs
846.86
Printing
71.05
Office Supplies
77.31
Physicians and Hospitals
24.00
Traveling Expense
37.10
First Aid Supplies
1.10
Supplies
111.51
Office Expense
97.96
Equipment for Men
79.10
Street Directory
43.75
103
1,913.90
23.03
Photography Auto Hire
448.86
Membership Fees
13.00
Out-of-State Travel
48.30
Radio Maintenance
41.80
Ambulance Maintenance
217.98
Furniture and Fixtures
23.25
Police Boat
23.76
Motor Hire
5.00
TOTAL EXPENDED
$52,373.83
Unexpended 112.79
APPROPRIATION ANNUAL TOWN MEETING $52,486.62
Fines imposed in Fairhaven cases
$1,810.00
Fine money received by the town
72.00
Telephone calls, etc. January 1-December 31, 1955
33,187
Complaints
2,521
Reports
2,566
Resident arrests
47
Non-resident arrests
85
Stolen property reported to the value of $12,483.34
Stolen property reported recovered to the value of $5,507.01 Number of Motor Vehicle Injury accidents reports filed with the police department in 1955 94
Number of non-injury accident reports filed under Section 1, Article IX, as amended, Traffic Rules and Regulations 54
Number of dead bodies found
7
Number of persons injured in motor vehicle accidents 143
Number of persons killed in motor vehicle accidents 2
Number of doors found unlocked or open 12
Number of windows found unlocked or open
2
Number of street lights reported out
369
Number of occasions when sections of the town were without lights 2
Number of ambulance cases
282
Number of Motor Vehicle Sales and Transfers filed with the police department in 1955 :
Class 1
578 797
Class 2
None
Individual
823
Class 3
2,198
104
Mileage covered by ambulance in 1955 3,200 Number of children lost and returned to their homes 5 Number of traffic checkups 541
Number of above checkups which resulted in op- erators' licenses or rights being recommended suspended or revoked 77
Number of operators' licenses and rights sus- pended or revoked 130
Number of motor vehicle registrations suspend- ed or revoked 9
105
Civil Defense
Semi-monthly meetings have been held during the past year, and members of the Advisory Committee have been advised of meetings when the Director has needed the assistance of these 8 men in matters of Civil Defense Finan- ces.
Members of the Advisory Committee :
Louis Rogissart, 399 Main St.
Wm. Brennan, 74 Raymond St.
John A. Gage, Jr., 79 Pilgrim Ave. Jose Urquiola, 39 Wilding St.
Walter Silveira, 248 Green St.
Albert E. Stanton, 141 New Boston Rd.
Charles W. Knowlton, 30 Elm Ave.
Michael J. O'Leary, 89 Laurel St.
APPROPRIATIONS
In addition to the operating budget for Civil De- fense a special appropriation for the purchase of an emergency generator was made by the Finance Committee.
A 10 K.W. Onan generator was purchased on July 21, 1955 and installed in the boiler-room of the Town Hall which, in an emergency, if the electric power supply fails in the building will cut on to automatically supply power to run the Town Hall, including Police, Civil De- fense, and the Administrative offices as well as the hall itself.
In the year 1955 I feel that the Civil Defense organ- ization has made advances that indicates good progress. Our enrolled membership has risen from 557 as of June 1, 1954 to 848 on January 1, 1956. This brings us within 50% of our goal of enrollment for the first time.
We have continued to conduct 1st Aid classes through- out the year: we have continued to show Civil Defense Educational movies to local Civic Organizations as well as to our schools.
106
Our Staff has attended Regional, State and Area Civil Defense meetings throughout the year.
We have maintained a stand-by staff during the hurri- cane season to offer assistance and advice whenever we've been called on to do so: and as a public service maintain a list of people living in low water areas of the town who have asked us to always notify them of special weather hazards.
A new department on Evacuation, which you will be hearing more of, has been initiated and we are awaiting co-operation from the State in order to present to you a possible program in EVACUATION.
Your Director was honored by being invited to partici- pate in "Operation Que" at the Atomic Proving Site at Las Vagas, Nev. where an intensive program in Civil Defense under survival conditions was undertaken as a training program in connection with the tests being run.
In closing my report, may I repeat, my personal
thanks to all of those now serving in Civil Defense for your splendid cooperation, and a special invitation to those who are not now members of our Civil Defense organization to join with us as each in his own way has a very special place, and all of us required some training for the job we are now doing.
Special talent is not necessary, call 8-5107 for more information as to what you can do to help create a fine Civil Defense. Our office is located in the basement of the Town Hall. Your cooperation will be greatly appre- ciated and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are contributing to your own safety and welfare.
Remember: CIVIL DEFENSE IS YOUR DEFENSE.
Respectfully submitted,
ARTHUR J. MULLEN,
Civil Defense Director
107
SCHOOL REPORT
OF THE
TOWN OF FAIRHAVEN
MASSACHUSETTS
FAIRH
TO
K
ASS.
INCORPOR
TOWN HALL
22-1812.
D
FEB
FOR THE
YEAR 1955
School Committee
Terms Expire 1956
Raymond G. Archambault, 72 Adams St.
Mrs. Edith M. Moore, 178 Adams St., Chairman Resigned September 6, 1955 John T. Morgan, 10 Coggeshall St. Elected October 17, 1955 1956
Albert M. Gonsalves, 145 Washington St. 1957
Waldo E. Haydon, 43 Hedge St., Vice Chairman 1957
Clarence E. MaGuire, 39 Wilding St. 1958
Cecil H. Whittier, 68 Laurel St. 1958
Regular meetings are held in the Town Hall on the sec- ond Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m.
SECRETARY AND SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
Flavel M. Gifford, 37 William St. Office 3-1241 Residence 2-1355
OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT TOWN HALL 3-1241
Beatrice M. DeCoffe, 212 Main St. Secretary
Grace M. Battistelli, 73 Main St. Clerk
The office of the Superintendent is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. except Saturdays when it is open in the forenoon only.
Personal appointments with the Superintendent may be made by calling the office.
SCHOOL PHYSICIAN
Charles E. P. Thompson, M. D., 65 Center St.
SCHOOL NURSE AND SUPERVISOR OF ATTENDANCE Mrs. Louise F. Dennie, R. N., Spring St., Marion.
110
School Calendar
1955-56
Weeks
Open
Close
Days
First Term
14
Mon., Sept.
9
Fri., Dec. 23
65
Second Term
7
Tues., Jan.
3
Fri., Feb. 17
34
Third Term
7
Mon., Feb.
27
Fri., Apr. 13
34
Fourth Term
9
Mon., Apr.
23
Wed., June
20 42
37
175
1956-57
Weeks
Open·
Close
Days
First Term
16
Wed., Sept.
5
Fri., Dec. 21
73
Second Term
7
Wed., Jan.
2
Fri., Feb. 15
33
Third Term
7
Mon., Feb.
25
Fri., Apr. 12
35
Fourth Term
9
Mon., Apr.
22
Wed., June 19
42
39
183
There will be no school on the following days which occur during the scheduled terms of 1956 :
Mar. 30
Good Friday
May 31
Memorial Day
Oct. 12
Columbus Day
Oct. 26
Teachers' Convention
Nov. 12
Veterans Day
Nov. 22-23
Thanksgiving Recess from noon Nov. 21
NO-SCHOOL SIGNAL 22
7:00 a.m. Indicates no school for all day.
12:30 p.m. Indicates no afternoon session for grades 1 to 7.
It is the policy of the School Committee to order the no-school signal only in the most severe weather con- ditions or when the transportation service is interrupted. When school is held in inclement weather, parents are ex- pected to use their own judgment in sending children to school.
111
Report of the School Committee
To the Citizens of Fairhaven :
The report of the School Committee for the year end- ing December 31, 1955 is submitted herewith.
MEETINGS
The School Committee has held 21 meetings during the year. It has had to deal not only with the usual problems of running a school system but with the special problems of increased enrollment, building needs, transportation contracts, teacher shortage, and revised salary schedules.
THE LAW REQUIRES
Much of the law under which the School Committee operates is found in Chapter 71 of the General Laws. A summary of the most important provisions may be of suf- ficient interest to warrant its inclusion here.
Towns are required to elect three, five, six, seven, or nine members of the School Committee for terms of three years. Fairhaven has chosen to elect six, the number most frequently found in towns throughout the commonwealth. Two members are elected annually and they serve with- out compensation.
The School Committee has general charge of the pub- lic schools and, subject to certain limitations, it determines the length of the school year, the hours during which the schools will be in session and the regulations concerning attendance therein. It elects and contracts with the teach- ers and may, under certain conditions, demote or dismiss them.
Among the various functions that come within the juris- diction of the school committee are physical education, vocational education, adult alien education, and the educa- tion of mentally retarded and physically handicapped chil- dren. There are also the items of transportation, medical examination, maintenance of buildings and grounds, and more recently the school lunch program which has ex- panded into what amounts to a chain of restaurants.
112
The law requires that the town shall maintain a suf- ficient number of schools, that such schools shall be taught by teachers of competent ability and good morals, and that instruction shall be given in a long list of subjects in addition to which is added "such other subjects as the school committee considers expedient."
Recognizing the fact that knowledge of subject matter alone is not a sufficient education the law further prescribes that all instructors of youth shall exert their best endeavors to impress on children's minds the principles of piety, jus- tice, industry and frugality, and the many other virtues which are declared to be "the ornament of human society and the basis upon which our republican constitution is founded." Teachers shall endeavor to lead their pupils into a clear understanding of the tendency of these vir- tues to protect our form of government, to secure the bless- ings of liberty, and to promote their future happiness.
To assist the School Committee in its responsibility a superintendent must be elected who shall have the care and supervision of the public schools, assist in keeping the rec- ords and accounts, make the necessary reports, and recom- mend teachers, textbooks and courses of study. He is the executive officer and professional adviser of the school committee and the general manager of the school system. In our case the superintendent is elected by the joint school committee of Fairhaven and Mattapoisett. The two towns share his services and that of the office staff on the basis of 80% for Fairhaven and 20% for Mattapoisett.
In carrying out our duties as members of the School Committee we are mindful of the mandates of the law and the discretionary powers with which we have been entrusted. We can be advised, but rarely instructed. Our purpose has been to carry out these duties in the best in- terest of the state, the town, and the children.
BUILDING NEEDS
The School Committee reaffirms its position that the present serious shortage of rooms should be met by the immediate construction of a junior high school for the seventh and eighth grades. Such a plan has already been supported by votes of 59% and 70% in town meeting and by 62% in a referendum.
113
The elementary schools have adequate room for grades one to six except at the Rogers School where we urge that four classrooms and other facilities be added im- mediately. The School Committee has endorsed the work of the Elementary School Building Committee and has ap- proved its plans for such an addition.
The present crowded conditions are obvious in the East Fairhaven School where the presence of the seventh grade requires the use of a room planned for other pur- poses. The Rogers School seventh grade is occupying a small room in the Boys' Club. The presence of the eighth grade at the High School is taxing the building beyond its proper capacity. It is not possible to offer the best edu- cational opportunities under such conditions and the situa- tion is becoming progressively worse. The trend can be reversed only by favorable action of the Town Meeting with regard to the two building projects.
TEACHERS' SALARIES
The only change in the salary schedule to become effective in 1955 was a raise of $150 in the maximum. The resulting Bachelor's Degree schedule of $2800 to $3850 is not adequate. A proposed schedule of $2800 to $4000 for 1956 is likewise not sufficient to attract and maintain a good teaching staff.
The Committee has met the situation by adopting a Bachelor's Degree schedule of $3000 to $4250 with a "no- degree" schedule $100 less and a Master's Degree $200 more. It has provided for the new plan to become partially effective in September 1956 with raises in the basic salary limited to $400.
SPECIAL APPROPRIATIONS, 1955
New stage curtains were installed for $1200.00 in the Larch Avenue Auditorium replacing the original installa- tion and improving the appearance of the hall.
The Committee expended the entire $1000.00 of the Blacktop appropriation for resurfacing a part of the An- thony School playground.
A half-ton truck was acquired in June and has been found most useful in the Maintenance Department.
114
SPECIAL TOWN MEETING ARTICLES, 1956
High School Heating System. The Committee would like to install thermostatic controls in rooms where the most difficulty is found.
Dishwashing Equipment. We are serving about 600 hot lunches in the High School daily with inadequate room and equipment for dishwashing. We propose to install new equipment in the small octagonal room adjoining the lunchroom areas.
Canvas. The canvas used at the Athletic Field is said to have been in use for twenty-five years. Profit from games is not sufficient to make the necessary replacement which would be approximately $1500.00.
Anthony School Roof. We are informed by competent contractors that further repairs to this roof are not prac- tical. The present shingles should be replaced with asbes- tos shingles and new copper valleys and flashings should be installed.
Articles Relative to Buildings. Building needs are re- ported in another section of this report. We urge favor- able action on articles which will promote the building of a junior high school and an addition to the Rogers School.
CONCLUSION
Your attention is called to the report of the Super- intendent and to other reports included herewith as the report of the School Committee.
Respectfully submitted,
WALDO E. HAYDON, Vice-Chairman RAYMOND G. ARCHAMBAULT ALBERT M. GONSALVES
CLARENCE E. MaGUIRE JOHN T. MORGAN CECIL H. WHITTIER
School Committee
115
Report of Superintendent of Schools
To the Fairhaven School Committee :
I submit herewith my seventeenth annual report as Superintendent of Schools.
ATTENDANCE AND MEMBERSHIP
1951-52
1952-53
1953-54
1954-55
Average Membership
1,916
1,972
1,967
2,103
Percent of Attendance
94.12
93.80
94.79
93.11
Further information concerning enrollment by school, grade and age may be found in the accompanying tables.
TEACHER CHANGES
Name
Began
Left
Memo
Mary I. Cook
Sept. 1944
June 1954
To Mansfield
Donald K. Marvin
Sept.
1948
June 1955
To Dartmouth
Elsie-Lee McCarthy
Sept.
1949
June
1955
To Dartmouth
Bradford I. Pierce
Sept. 1951
June
1955
To Dartmouth
Edward J. McDermott
Sept. 1951
June
1955
To New York
Therese J. Vanasse
Sept.
1952
Jan.
1955
Leave of Absence
Christine M. Hodgson
Sept.
1952
June
1955
Resigned
Francis R. Lussier
Sept.
1952
June
1955
To Dighton
Patricia E. Murray
Sept.
1953
June
1955
Marriage
Joan C. Nelson
Sept.
1954
April
1955
Resigned
Barbara A. Barba
Sept.
1954
June
1955
Leave of Absence
Joan M. Halligan
Sept.
1954
June
1955
Marriage
Jean E. Parkinson
Sept.
1954
June
1955
Marriage
Carlos R. Ventura
Sept.
1954
June
1955
To New Bedford
Elizabeth L. Mandell
Sept.
1954
June
1955
To New Bedford
Florence W. Lincoln
Nov.
1954
June
1955
To New Bedford
Albert Aurecchia
Jan. 1955
June
1955
To Study
Elizabeth R. Skolfield
Sept. 1955
Dec.
1955
Resigned
This list of 18 teachers who left during 1955 includes Miss Cook who did not return from the leave of absence granted in 1954. Nine left to teach elsewhere and nine for other reasons. The eighteen replacements were secured
116
as follows: 4 from other teaching positions, 6 after mar- riage and absence from teaching, 2 from state teachers' colleges, and 6 from other colleges.
ORGANIZATION
All elementary school rooms are organized for the current school year with a single grade to a room except three, the Rogers School has a combination first and sec- and and a third and fourth, and East Fairhaven has a sixth and seventh. We have no room to organize otherwise without using the platoon or half-day system. Classes of 35 are now considered as large as we should have, but we have six classes that are larger.
When the Rogers School third floor was closed by order of the state building inspector last spring we put the Rogers sixth and seventh grades on the platoon sys- tem with the seventh attending school in the morning and the sixth in the same room in the afternoon. To avoid such a plan this fall we made arrangements for the seventh grade to use a small room in the Boys' Club. The state building inspector has limited such use to 40 persons and on a temporary basis.
A large increase in eighth grade enrollment has re- quired increasing the rooms and teachers for that grade from five to six with the consequent further crowding of high school pupils. The situation is calling more and more urgently for more rooms as recommended previously by the Superintendent, the School Committee and the Build- ing Committees.
READING
Reading is the most important single subject of the school curriculum because it is so closely related to the others and one of the principal means of acquiring knowl- edge. Reading handicaps are frequently complicated and difficult to diagnose. Reading methods have been debated from coast to coast and individual teachers vary consid- erably in their results in this subject.
We have 49 teachers of reading in grades one to seven and some in higher grades who could be benefited by a reading specialist, a teacher who has had special train- ing in the diagnosis and treatment of reading difficulties. I should like to have the School Committee authorize the
117
employment of a special teacher who might be called a reading consultant or a supervisor of reading.
MAINTENANCE.
Repairs, upkeep, and replacements have required an expenditure of $14,875.12 during the year. Our Mainten- ance Department under the direction of Lawrence V. Rob- inson has done the usual multitude of small jobs that have to be done. The largest paint projects were the East Fair- haven exterior and auditorium, the Anthony interior, the Oxford tower and the High School bleachers.
A new ceiling was installed in the Anthony School, playgrounds were graded, and many chalkboards and desks were refinished. The men also served as substitute janitors for a time equivalent to one man's work for nine weeks. The new half-ton truck purchased in June has proved a very useful acquisition.
In addition to the work of the maintenance men we have had to call on plumbers, steamfitters, electricians, and specialized mechanics for the usual emergencies. Oil burners in the Oxford, Rogers and East Fairhaven schools have all required immediate and expert service.
The new budget should provide for a continuance of the regular maintenance program and for the usual mis- cellaneous items. It should also include an allowance for the replacement of a lawn mower and two business ma- chines for the High School and new shades in various classrooms.
LUNCH PROGRAM
The hot lunch program includes the High School cafe- teria, the East Fairhaven cafeteria and, since December 5, the Oxford cafeteria. About 1,000 hot plates are serv- ed daily in this part of the program and about 350 half pints of milk daily in the Anthony, Rogers and Tripp schools. There can be very little extra cost to parents of children who participate in this program when we consider that milk is sold at less than cost, income from cafeteria sales is roughly equivalent to the cost of food, government reimbursement balances the labor, and the town carries the overhead.
118
All money received is deposited in the Town Treas- urer's Account and is paid out on orders of the School Committee. Receipts for 1955 were as follows:
Milk and Cafeteria Sales
$39,744.45
State and Federal Reimbursement 15,429.93
Mothers' Club Tag Day 249.93
Total Cash Income $55,424.31
In addition to the cash assistance from state and federal funds we receive "surplus commodities" including butter, peanut butter, honey, orange juice, rice, beans, cheese, meat and shortening. Items and quantities vary with the condition of the market. With fluctuation in costs, in sales, and in available surplus goods, the successful op- eration of the cafeterias is a considerable responsibility.
GENERAL CONTROL
The budget item of General Control includes the sup- erintendent's salary and all expenses of his office. The average per pupil expenditure for this item throughout the state for the last school year was $8.41, in towns of over 5,000 it was $7.51 and in Fairhaven $5.08. It is reason- able to suspect that you cannot have thé proper manage- ment here for a third less than the average expenditure elsewhere.
There are many responsibilities which could and should be delegated to others under the supervision of the super- intendent. Help is needed particularly in accounting, pur- chasing, business administration and supervision of build- ings. Neighboring towns are attempting to solve the same problem in various ways. Dartmouth, North Attleboro, and Foxboro have elementary supervisors, Middleboro and Barn- stable assistant superintendents, Falmouth a director of curriculums, and Plymouth an administrative assistant. Some provision should be made to permit the superintend- ent to make better use of his time.
CONCLUSION
I am including herewith the reports of the High School Principal and the School Nurse and a number of statistical reports which will be of interest to the public.
Respectfully submitted,
FLAVEL M. GIFFORD,
Superintendent of Schools
119
Report of the High School Principal
To the Superintendent of Schools:
I present my eighteenth annual report as Principal of the Fairhaven High School.
CLASS OF 1955
In June 1955, Mrs. Edith M. Moore presented diplomas to 132 seniors. The address to the graduates was given by Dr. Martin F. O'Connor, President of Framingham Teachers College. Awards were made as follows:
Class of 1954 Award and Reader's Digest Award to Patricia Higgins.
Key Club Scholarship to F. Eugene Rose.
F. H. S. Alumni Scholarships to Judith Taylor and Patricia Govoni.
Teachers Association Scholarships to Judith Taylor and Virginia Kowal.
American Legion Auxiliary Scholarship to Donald Brennan.
Fairhaven Mothers Club Scholarships to William Whitehead and Carole Hobson.
Mattapoisett Womans Club Scholarships to Margaret Montgomery and Joan Ellis.
Mattapoisett Parent-Teachers Club Scholarship to Mar- garet Montgomery.
East Fairhaven P-T-A Scholarship to Thomas Howes. D. A. R. Good Citizenship Award to Dorothy Govoni. The Lady Fairhaven Citizenship Award to Dorothy Govoni.
Anna B. Trowbridge Scholarship to Dorothy Govoni. New Bedford College Club Scholarship to Arnett Jen- kins.
Bausch and Lomb Science Medal to Peter Lagasse.
The Lady Fairhaven Cup to Dorothy Govoni and James Hubbard.
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