SKATING RINKS: Two months ago we told you about a plan to erect two ice skating rinks behind United Rentals kinda adjacent to Goodrich Lumber. We went to the Planning Board meeting of November 24 where landowner Freeman Boynton had an appointment to talk about it. He was a no show. No advanced contact, nowhere to be found, just the old fashioned no show. Boards assign times to these meetings and when people just don’t show up it screws up a meeting schedule. One would think that if he does it again he runs the risk of skating on thin ice.

EARTH REMOVAL: Speaking of Boynton, he has yet to submit an application for an earth removal permit for the materials that ConsCom has told us has come out of the rink site. We did learn that right after our story published last month, he came by the Selectmen’s office and picked up an application for a permit. To date he has yet to submit it however. Now, think about this: The guy digs out sand and gravel, has no permit to do so, gets a visit from the Zoning Enforcement Officer to cease and desist, picks up paperwork to file, and does nothing and sees no consequence for his actions. If the guy is in violation of the Earth Removal Bylaw, why not haul his butt in before the Selectmen for a hearing? If he never files will we never deal with it. No wonder we see so many by-law abuses, there’s no will to enforce them.

L. KNIFE HEARING: You don’t want to miss the L. Knife expansion hearing before the Planning Board on January 12. They want to put in a bottle recycling plant. Knife claims that it will reduce traffic. We rather doubt that. We go back a long way with watching Knife operations. Back when the land was rezoned by Town Meeting they promised Kingston the moon. They have, for all intent and purposes destroyed the quality of life for people in that small number of roads off 3-A (Spring Street, Elder Avenue and Bradford Avenue). Part of the proposal is to make Brewster Avenue (currently a paper street) into a functional roadway; certainly not for the good of the neighborhood. More likely it is being proposed to take more of the truck traffic. With all that Knife owner Jerry Sheehan has gleaned over the years for that zoning change, what has he really done for the community?

CONGRATS JIM: We would like to welcome new face Jim Connolly to the Regional School Committee. We hope his presence makes a difference.

COPPER BEECH: You remember, that road off Cushman Drive off Hilltop Avenue? That road that used to run into Marian Drive in the Industrial Park before it was dead-ended? That road that some people keep trying to re-open? Well, whatever happened to its disposition? Whenever the issue of the road comes, it results in paper shuffling, political speeches, and side stepping, but never a definitive answer. The residents up there deserve a solid response so the matter can end once and for all

DEP LAKEVILLE: The Southeastern branch of the DEP looks like it is closing. Now there is a real shame. What’s left of the dwindling staff will be transferred to Boston or end up losing their jobs. That office is one of the last lines of checks and balances between developers and municipal agencies like health boards and conservation commissions. They are an invaluable resource that once gone will result in a field day for the moneyed interests and their lawyers. Have you ever tried to reach a state agency in Boston and got through within a day? Big, big mistake.

DOUBLE PAVING: To those callers that asked why Main Street was paved only to be dug up again for spot repairs in about fi-8 places…it was a Water Department project. We spoke with Fred Svenson who said the contractor had a few connection problems and was forced to dig up several spots…at their own expense. That is the key thought here. It did not cost taxpayer dollars. We are pleased that the H2O boys were vigilant and that the contractor fixed the problem without a beef.

HABITAT GIFT: After we wrote about the West Street lot being offered to Habitat For Humanity, we actually found a picture of the house that actually stood at the sight 25 years ago. It took another several years before the house was demolished and the cellar hole filled in. If anyone thinks that Habitat could place a house up there, ask yourself: Why is the house pictured here, not there?

BUTT OUT: The Kingston Board of Health was recently advised by Jim Wells, Tobacco Control honcho for the South Shore Boards of Health Collaborative, that it will soon be curtains for smoking in restaurants. Governor Mitt Romney said he will sign the statewide smoking ban “when presented to him hopefully in January. The state senate voted (favorably) just before adjourning for the holidays, following the lead of the House of Representatives earlier this Fall.” At this point minor differences between the house and senate need to be reconciled prior to signing. Massachusetts will become the 6th state to go smoke free joining California, Delaware, New York, Connecticut and Maine. We suspect the reason restaurants did not wage strong lobby efforts is because it levels the playing field, giving no one town an advantage over another.

HERITAGE BANK: several people who are upset with Friends of Kingston Heritage contacted us. It seems that several years ago the Sampson Fund awarded the group about $20,000 in order to make badly needed repairs to the old library. You may recall published reports of rapid deterioration of a structure, which is listed, on the National Register of Historic Places. We are told that the repairs were never made and instead the money was placed into a bank account to collect interest. We hear that even members of the Friends are grousing. If these allegations are with foundation, we would consider it inappropriate to bank money for services that were considered to be immediate. Since this information came deep into our deadline we didn’t have the proper time to contact and receive a response to these criticisms. We will ask for a written response from an officer of the Friends.

FAREWELL BENNY: We were certainly saddened by the death of Benny MacFarlane at age 91. Benny was among the last of the oldies but goodies here in Kingston. People like John Hamilton, Arthur Forcier, and June Ballinger. These were people that could bring down the house and not even realize they were funny, witty, disarming and charming all at once. Benny served many years as a public servant and was known to be a dedicated husband, father, grandfather and town resource.

JUDGING JIM: One guy that always draws a steady stream of Ringside Chatter is Big Kahuna Assessor Jim Judge. First we got a call that said Judge pre-stamps and signs his notary seal when he is expected to be out of the office for any period of time. We know he can’t be doing that because that could cost him the privilege. Then we get these calls asking us how come Jim is sitting behind a desk at a Duxbury real estate office completing his required “up time”? Callers have even provided us with copies of the monthly up-time lists and it appears that Jim puts in between 12-15 hours a month at his second home, and that time does not include nights or weekends. Now that can’t be true, somebody must have made up those sheets to make Jim look bad. After all, he is a full-time officer of the town and must realize that the daytime is the period when you’re needed. Next, we receive complaints that the Assessor’s office is in lockdown once a week in order for the staff to play catch-up. We know that can’t be true. First of all, they have a full time staff working full shifts. You would only have to play catch-up if someone was sand-bagging. Anyhow, lock-down wouldn’t be tolerated -- because if it were, every other department would be doing the same thing. We even got a call asking why we’ve been picking on Judge, King and Cravenho. Suggested that this trio all play poker together on Friday nights. Had the audacity to suggest we have a vendetta on card players. Golly, we didn’t know that these three all have Friday nights in common. They say that if you spend enough years playing cards with the same guys, that they even begin to look alike and act alike. We think that’s nonsense; we see no similarities with these boys. Why are all these people picking on Jim anyway? It’s that kind of thing that discourages people from running for office.

SHIP AHOY! Have you missed seeing the copper ship that was affixed to the Town Hall cupola during the dedication service several weeks ago? One of our readers pointed out the fact that it was gone. We contacted Town Administrator Kevin Donovan who said the company who constructed and erected it took it down when we were expecting high winds. Now that’s odd. Shouldn’t the thing be constructed in such a way as to be permanent?

KINGDOM GONE: Remember Kingston Kingdom? Not too many years ago a group of community minded Kingstonians raised the money for the playground and constructed it up at the Elementary School. It all got dismantled during the construction of the new Intermediate School and sat out in the elements for some time. The School Committee eventually ordered it removed because it represented some liability issues and Olly DeMacedo moved it to the Pottle Street Ballfield Complex. It has sat there for about a year and at this point even Jack Hurley who worked with his wife Sue on the project has raised his arms in surrender. Somehow the Ballfield Committee has embraced this skeleton and is going through the Town Administrator to get rid of it. Too bad it’s not gravel, they’d be lining up for a piece.

SNOW JOB: When Carl Atwood was Highway Superintendent we always had the best-cleared roads in the area. While Duxbury and Plymouth roads were still snow covered, Kingston’s were down to visible pavement. We all said that nobody could replace Carl. Well, we must say that Paul Basler, as young and as comparatively green as he may be, did a terrific job during the recent blizzard. Our hats go off to Paul and the entire staff down at the highway barn, water department and the sub-contracts that kept Kingston moving.

NEWS BLACKOUT: A member of the Master Plan Implementation Committee (MPIC) tipped us to the fact that the group is looking to get assistance from the local media for press release coverage. Our source explained that the Committee is currently involved in very critical planning issues that they believe the public should be apprised of. Here’s where it gets good: Member George Cravenho told the group that the releases should go to the four “legitimate” newspapers in town. The Enterprise, Ledger, Reporter and Mariner were named. Just so we understand George completely; we circulate 4,500 copies of the Observer each month and reach thousands more via our award-winning website which updates many times each week. So why would George be so hostile? Because he goes pathological every time we are critical of his leadership or lack thereof. Translation: “I have a personal beef with the paper, therefore I want to limit the exposure of the important work the MPIC is involved in.” How’s that for priorities?

DAVIS SAVE US: One thing you can be sure of. The Pottle Street Ballfield Committee does not want to kickoff the opening of the complex this Spring with the charred barn still sitting there or the Davis property all dug out. That banner that sits amid the burned out barn rubble could still be straightened for better viewing of its message: “Was One Field Worth This?” You can bet your bippy that there will be an outpouring of benevolence in order to backfill the mess the Committee created on the Davis land. They will probably offer to landscape the property, seed it, put up some shrubs and even remove the barn rubble at their expense or find another friendly “volunteer” to do it. “We’ll spiff up that property real fine” will be the anthem of the day. They could be so good at the charade that a few people will even laud their sincerity. But don’t be fooled. It will happen, but for all the wrong reasons. They won’t want the embarrassment of the general public pointing and asking questions that still beg for answers. There may also be a discreet cash settlement for Sharon Davis who has to live with the knowledge that an arsonist stole her piece of mind and her property. Hardly a proper setting for the unveiling of Kingston’s new Opachinski Emporium.

AIN’T SO: There is no second apartment in the appurtenance building on Olly DeMacedo’s Parks Street residence. The ZBA gave him permission to construct the building on an old pre-existing footprint. They allowed an apartment. Olly has an office on the second floor. During the days leading up to the Plymouth Parade an organizer slept on an air cushion up there to avoid driving back to their own residence. We accept DeMacedo’s explanation. We hope that satisfies our caller.

CLAMS DIE: For the second time this season, Gray’s Beach renovation gaffs has caused the death of clams in the flats. The beds were re-seeded in October after the first debacle, erosion has once again taken its toll. Shellfish Constable Reggie Macamaux told the Conservation Commission this week that each re-seed costs over $2,000. The problem is that the beach was not “buttoned up” properly for the winter according to ConCom chair Gary Langenbach, who, along with his Commission were visibly angry with the lack of protections now that the beach project is basically over for the season. The renovation, under the direction of the Recreation Commission, will be entering its third year of construction. The Beach has been closed for two seasons.

J