Retired teacher with roots in Hull chosen from field of seven to fill vacant HRA seat

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By Carol Britton Meyer

After interviewing seven candidates who applied for a seat on the Hull Redevelopment Authority, the members of the HRA and select board chose a retired teacher with strong roots in Hull to fill the position.

Charles J. Richardson, Jr. was appointed this week in a joint meeting to fill the vacancy created by Dennis Zaia’s resignation in July. Richardson will serve at least until the 2026 annual town election, when he will have to face voters in order to keep the seat.

Richardson, who said he has a “vast interest in Hull” and no particular agenda except to abide by the HRA’s mission, said his school experience in Hull taught him the importance of “celebrating similarities and honoring differences.”

Richardson graduated from Hull High and taught history and coached football and baseball at his alma mater from 1985-1991. His career in education took him outside of town, but he returned to Hull in retirement.

Newly appointed HRA member Charles Richardson…

Noting that there seems to be “a bit of an impasse” among HRA members, he said that the words he so often heard in education are a “gentle reminder that we can get there again, and I would be super-excited to be part of it. I see so much potential here.”

Richardson also noted that growing up in Hull, he knew some of the families who were displaced when the property was taken by eminent domain many years ago.

“This is a mission-driven process, and I would love to have that mission realized,” he said

As he sees it, the HRA “is closer [to agreement] than it thinks. Everyone wants to do what’s best for the town.”

Other candidates who interviewed for the position were Raymond Delmonico, C. Anne Murray, Valerio Romano, Sara Venteuolo (remotely), and Judeth Van Hamm. Chris Niland withdrew prior to the interviews, and Chair Irwin Nesoff read James Pitrolo’s letter of interest since he was unable to attend the meeting.

Click here for the candidates’ letters of interest and resumes

After the interviews, select board member Jason McCann nominated Murray; Jerry Taverna, Richardson; and Nesoff, Romano, with Romano winning three of the combined boards’ votes, followed by Richardson winning five of the combined votes, which constituted a majority. A vote was not taken on Murray’s candidacy since Richardson had already won enough votes to be appointed.

In other business

John Struzziery, director of the Hull wastewater treatment facility, reported that a $98,771 Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection grant awarded to the town was instrumental in improving the pumping capacity and efficiency of Hull’s sewer treatment plant – with an estimated energy savings of $113,610 over 30 years. There will also be a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Quarterly progress updates to the state, a public meeting, website updates, and a final report were part of the process, which included installing a pump that works when under water, for greater resiliency. The state is currently reviewing the report, which once approved, will be posted on the town’s website.

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Public invited to wreath-laying ceremony honoring Gold Star families and those lost at sea

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The public is invited to a wreath-laying ceremony honoring those lost at sea and local Gold Star families on Sunday morning, September 28.

LAST YEAR’s WREATH CEREMONY INCLUDED PARTICIPANTS ON LAND AND SEA.

The wreaths will be laid on the water from the Sgt. Joseph Bazinet Bridge between Spinnaker Island and the mainland, and from boats on west side of the bridge.

Boat passengers should arrive at the town pier at Mariners Park by 10 a.m.  There is free parking and passengers should check in with Sheila Fleck. Boats should monitor VHF channel 69.

By 10:30 a.m., participants will travel to the bridge by boat or by car. There is parking at Hull Village Cemetery by the Gold Star memorial at Duck Lane and Spring Street, at the foot of the bridge.

The ceremony begins at 11 a.m. with the national anthem, followed by a prayer, and a conch shell salute by Susan Bryant.

The names of those lost at sea and Gold Star families will be read next, followed by the placing of wreaths in the water from boats and the bridge. An honor guard will fire a salute and “Taps” will be played and all horns will sound six blasts as the flags wave.

A lunch will follow at noon at the Nantasket Beach Salt Water Club, 3 Fitzpatrick Way. RSVP to Craig Wolfe, 781-771-6416 or 89edge@comcast.net.

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Following contentious debate, board agrees to pursue light plant management changes

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By Carol Britton Meyer

In a long-awaited joint meeting with the light board, the select board voted 4-1 Wednesday night, following a lengthy and often-contentious discussion, to direct Town Counsel Brian Winner to file a home-rule petition with the state Legislature that would change the governance of the light plant in accordance with the passage of Article 37 at the spring annual town meeting.

The motion was made by select board member Jason McCann, who said that while he supports taking this step, he is disappointed in how long the process is taking and is concerned about whether a change in the governance would prove beneficial. Winner said he has a certified copy of the town meeting vote to include with the home-rule petition filing. Greg Grey was the only “nay” vote on the motion.

If the petition wins approval in the Legislature, the town manager would no longer serve as light plant manager.

The process is a long one, and the Legislature will make the final decision.

In the meantime, nothing will change with the light plant management, Select Board Chair Irwin Nesoff said.

Attorney Nicholas Scobbo, who represents the light plant, participated remotely, in part speaking about procedural issues.

The purpose of the meeting was to continue earlier discussions about the town meeting vote.

In May, voters approved by a 116-83 vote Article 37, which proposed returning to the independent management setup that was eliminated in 1993 when town meeting requested that a home-rule petition be filed on Beacon Hill. Although this year’s proposal was approved, Town Manager Jennifer Constable told the light board and select board earlier that legal counsel had deemed Article 37 as “not actionable” because it did not include provisions about filing special legislation.

‘We’re here for as long as it takes’

At the beginning of this week’s discussion, Nesoff told the board and the citizens in the audience, “We’re here for as long as it takes. There’s no time limit.” True to his word, the discussion lasted for one-and-a-half hours.

Nesoff also said that he was “looking forward to a civil and respectful discussion,” although the comments made by a few light board and select board members became heated at times.

As part of the discussion, Light Board Chair Thomas Burns – after reading the wording of Article 37 – said the light board “would like the select board to support it,” referring to the select board’s ability to file a home-rule petition.

Light Board member Patrick Cannon questioned the amount of time that has been spent on this issue, which he said is “sidelining” the board “when we have far bigger fish to fry to be sure the lights stay on.”

Light board member Dan Ciccariello – noting that town meeting voters supported changing the light plant governance – said “it’s really difficult to accept the fact that the select board would throw up road blocks to accomplish that goal. We are here tonight to urge the select board to vote to adopt this article and proceed to the State House.”

Grey voted against taking that route because of a number of as-yet-unanswered questions, including how residents would benefit from such a change.

“We still have no idea about how such a change would affect our citizens,” he said. “We have to make decisions in the best interests of the entire town.”

In response, light board member Jacob Vaillancourt, who filed the Article 37 citizens’ petition, said the board “is legally obligated to look out for the ratepayers and to keep the lights on.”

Member Brian McCarthy said he initially voted against Article 37 because he was not fully informed at the time, so took his cue from the advisory board’s unanimous vote to not support it.

However, following the town meeting vote and doing further research, he came to the conclusion that “the people voted, and the majority rules. I’ll end it there.”

While Nesoff voted in support of filing the home-rule petition, he said there are still issues that need to be addressed.

“I am disappointed that there was no attempt before town meeting to educate the people, but at this point, I think we should move forward [with the petition], and whatever happens in the Legislature happens, and the town will abide by that,” he said.

Select board member Jerry Taverna applauded the majority of the board for its decision.

“This is a big deal, following an open and honest debate tonight,” he said, especially since the advisory board did not support Article 37.

At the end of the discussion, Vaillancourt noted that “this is only a step in a long process that no one can predict. In the meantime, the light board has critical work to do, and we don’t want to lose the focus on that.”

A replay of this week’s meeting will be available on demand on Hull Community Television’s website, www.hulltv.net.

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Light board hears proposal for battery-based ‘microgrid’ to supplement aging feeder lines

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By Carol Britton Meyer 

Near the end of Monday’s three-and-a-half-hour light board meeting, member Jake Vaillancourt presented a report as a member of the newly created electric capacity planning task force with recommendations for near-term reliability and capacity mitigation as the town faces increased risk of outages and brownouts by or before 2027.

Member Patrick Cannon is the other task force member.

LIGHTS OUT: Hull Light Operations Manager Panos Tokadjian, who has worked for the plant since 2014, will retire at the end of the month.

“Our supply lines are about 90 years old, and current operations are beyond best practices,” he said. “Hotter summers and load growth increase these risks without mitigation.”

To help address this issue, the task force is recommending exploring the possibility of installing a battery-backed “microgrid” at the former landfill to “shave peaks and hold to under 17.5 MW until feeder upgrades are made, and to provide enhanced storm resilience with safe, staged load pickup and clean re-sync.” Hull is served by two National Grid feeder lines (10 megawatts and 7.5 megawatts).

Past failures of the feeder lines, which pass through remote areas of Hingham, led the light plant to rent the townwide generators to supply electricity during an outage caused by failure of the National Grid lines.

Click here to download the complete presentation

Vaillancourt’s presentation will be forwarded to the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company to prime them to assist the board in accomplishing this goal and to explore the availability of funding. The board expects to meet with MMWEC in early October.

MMWEC assists Massachusetts municipal light departments such as Hull’s with their needs to contract for energy.

In other business…

Light Plant Operations Manager Panos Tokadjian is retiring at the end of September. He began working at Hull Light in 2014 as assistant manager.

Resident David Irwin, who attended Monday’s meeting, asked the board if they had considered hiring him as a consultant.

“He knows our system, what’s good and bad,” he said.

 “We’ve already talked with him, and he’s taking it under consideration,” Light Board Chair Tom Burns responded. 

While noting that the light plant manager would make that decision, “several on the board think it’s a good idea,” he said.

The next light board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 16.

A replay of this week’s meeting will be available on demand on Hull Community Television’s website, www.hulltv.net.

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Light plant to study changes to ‘net billing’ policy after feedback from solar advocates

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By Carol Britton Meyer 

The Hull Municipal Light Board created a task force this week after a ratepayer expressed frustration with the utility’s recent switch from net metering to net billing for customers with solar panels on their homes.

On Monday, Denise Fisher told the board why she and other residents with solar arrays are frustrated about the recent switch from net metering to net billing and the negative impacts of this change for “residents and the local economy.”

The idea behind net metering is for customers with solar to earn “credits” on their Hull Light bill for the energy their solar panels produce, to reduce the amount they are charged monthly. A recently instituted fee structure based on a solar system’s capacity changes that premise.

Click here to download the complete presentation

Fisher provided an overview of Hull Municipal Light Plant’s net metering and net billing policies and the background to this policy change, which went into effect May 1.

The change increased the array charge from $2.00 per kW installed per month to $4.05 per installed kW per month and no longer allows customers to use banked credits.

Concerns include that this change penalizes solar users, making it impossible to recover the cost of installing their solar arrays, while at the same time discouraging others from investing in solar power.

Customer concerns

Fisher’s presentation outlined customer concerns and community feedback she has heard in response to the change related to fairness and transparency of ongoing policies, and that increased costs negatively impact solar owners financially, as well as potentially causing a setback to Hull’s clean energy goals.

“Instead of penalizing solar customers with extra fees, solar advocates propose policies like a ‘value of solar’ tariff, which would compensate solar owners for the total benefits they provide to the grid. This approach aims to provide a more accurate valuation that considers all the positive impacts, not just the financial effects on the utility’s bottom line,” Fisher said.

Supported by “concerned solar owners and citizens,” Fisher asked the board to roll back the May 1 policy change and to research what neighboring communities are doing.

Task force will report back

The task force, consisting of light board chair Tom Burns, who has a solar array, and light board member Dan Ciccariello, who doesn’t, will examine the solar rate structure and address the concerns aired by Fisher and other solar users on Monday, along with written comments and concerns shared with either Burns or light plant manager/town manager Jennifer Constable.

The task force will report its findings during a public meeting – after notifying the town’s solar users – within the next two to three months.

“We’re trying to deal with everyone’s concerns – including mine – and come up with a more transparent policy that better reflects our commitment [to solar energy],” Burns said. “We want to encourage the use of solar energy, and I [recognize] that this revised policy makes it very difficult for people who want solar to get onto the solar bandwagon, which is not my intention… You’ve got a good advocate right here [referring to himself].”

The task force will also research how other communities are dealing with this issue.

During the meeting, Fisher noted that there is no mention in the April light board minutes about approving the solar billing change.

In response, Constable explained that the motion adopted by the board that night concerned an Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company presentation that included the policy change.

‘Minutes can be extremely short’

Burns said that minutes can be “extremely short and just mention a motion and a vote. They’re not intended to reflect the entire meeting.” The task force will also reach out to MMWEC to put some numbers together.

Following more discussion about this issue, board member Patrick Cannon – noting, “We’ve made some good headway with [the establishment of a] task force” – said, “We’ve discussed this issue before, so let’s run with it.”

The next light board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 16.

A replay of this week’s meeting will be available on demand on Hull Community Television’s website, www.hulltv.net.

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In the Sport-light: Roundup of news from Hull's wide world of sports

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JUST DUCKY: About 100 boats hit the course during last Saturday’s beautiful weather for the Hull Yacht Club’s Great Chase Race. Bill Bradford, Race Committee, left, and Captain Peter Mahoney of the Windemere supervise the placement of the large inflatable duck in the bay as part of the race course. [Photos courtesy of Marianne Buckley Curran]

Compiled by Matt Haraden

• Boys 5/6 Soccer won their first away game of the season in Plymouth with a final score of 7-1. Jordan Dunn scored four goals, three of which with assists from Zachary Shea, Gibran Succar, and Harrison Jones. Andy Michaelides, Cody Calabria, and Zachary Shea also scored one goal each. Braedyn O’Hare and Silas Van Slyke were great at defensive positions, and Ryder Lankas came out strong in his first game as goalie. Now 1-1 on the season, the team’s next game is this Saturday, September 20 in Scituate at 1:10 p.m.

• Girls 5/6 Soccer had an impressive 3-1 win at home against Plymouth on Saturday, September 13, thanks to a timely goal by Magnolia Harbin with an assist from Scarlett Reilly. Defender Leah Dibley, and newcomer to the net Ada McMullen, provided shut-down defense to secure the win.

•  Hull Youth Soccer’s in-town fall programs are under way. Games are on Saturdays at the Dust Bowl field in Hull Village and teams have the same schedule each week for convenient planning – Guppies (coed): 9-10 a.m.; Kindergarten (coed) and Girls Grades 1 & 2: 10-11 a.m.; Boys Grades 1 & 2: 11 a.m. to noon.

To round out a great day of soccer, some of Hull’s travel teams will play at the high school in the afternoon: Boys 3/4 (Duran) vs. Kingston at 12:30 p.m.; Girls 3/4 vs. Sacred Heart at 2 p.m.; and Boys 7/8 vs. Cohasset at 3:30 p.m.

• The Hull High Pirates Varsity Football team was defeated by South Shore Technical High School last Friday on the road, 30-0. This Friday, the Pirates return home to play Monomoy on Friday, September 19 at 7 p.m. under the lights. This game is extra-special, as it will incorporate Alumni Night and recognition of National POW/MIA Recognition Day.

As part of Recognition Day, Hull veterans are invited to participate in honoring all POW/MIAs, especially Joseph Dunn and James Sullivan, both members of Hull High’s Class of 1960. Veterans interested in participated are asked to muster at Finlayson Field at 6:45 p.m.

Former students, athletes, and members of the Hull Marching Pirates are invited to Alumni Night as the football team takes on Monomoy. Following the game, alumni can head over to the Nantasket Beach Salt Water Club at Mariners Park to continue the celebration.

• Hull High’s girls varsity soccer squad’s next three games are on the road – at Pembroke on Friday, September 19 at 4 p.m., Middleborough on Monday at 4 p.m., and Norwell on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

• Boys varsity soccer lost at home to Abington, 4-1 on Wednesday, to bring the Pirates’ record to 1-3. Up next are three home games, vs. Holbrook on Friday at 4 p.m., Middleborough on Monday at 5:30 p.m., and Norwell on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

• Coaches, league organizers, and superfans – We need your help to report the scores and results of the latest events in Hull’s sports world! Please send local sports news and photos to sports@hulltimes.com. Deadline is Wednesday at noon. When providing details of the games or races, please be sure to include the sport/team, the players’ full names, and the final scores. When sending photos, names of those pictured are greatly appreciated, as well as who should get credit for taking the photo.

Thank you for your help!

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Hull’s Lindsey Buck to release debut album ‘The Laundry & The Ecstasy’

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Hull’s Lindsey Buck, well known to local audiences as the powerhouse frontwoman of the high-octane rhythm and blues band The Pitfalls, steps into the spotlight with her debut album of original songs, “The Laundry & The Ecstasy,” out September 19 on Newvelle Records.

[Photo by Maura Wayman]

At 40, while raising her two children here in Hull, Buck lost a loved one and, in her grief, signed herself up for piano lessons with jazz pianist Elan Mehler. What started as a quiet hope for solace through music quickly grew into songwriting and, eventually, recording with a full 10-piece band. From her first open mic at the Hull Yacht Club’s coffee house to performing at Hull’s inaugural PorchFest to singing with local bands like Seawitch and The Alloys – including a longtime collaboration with Hull guitarist Danny Coyle (also of The Pitfalls) – Buck has been encouraged at every step by neighbors, friends, and local supporters. That support, from a successful Kickstarter campaign to a grant from the Levitate Foundation, helped bring to life “The Laundry & The Ecstasy.” The album blends original soul, blues, and jazz-infused music and stands as a heartfelt tribute to both personal resilience and the community that carried her forward.

“The Laundry & The Ecstasy” will be released September 19 by Newvelle Records. The album features Buck’s powerful vocals, heartfelt lyrics, and the vibrant energy of an all-star group of jazz musicians.

“This music was born right here in my kitchen in Hull,” Buck said. “I’m so grateful for the community support that helped me bring it to life, and I can’t wait to share it with the people who made it possible.”

The album will be available on vinyl, streaming on all major platforms, and at www.lindseybuckmusic.com.

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HRA charges parking vendor with violating contract; seeks bids for property-use survey

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By Carol Britton Meyer

During what Chair Bartley Kelly referred to as “the quickest meeting we’ve had in a long time” – 20 minutes – the Hull Redevelopment Authority on Monday heard a brief update on a townwide survey on uses of the HRA property and released minutes outlining the alleged default of its parking contractor.

The HRA voted to release minutes from executive sessions on July 28, August 4, and August 18 regarding the lease of the authority’s parking lots. During these closed-door meetings, the legality of which The Hull Times challenged through an Open Meeting Law complaint, the authority declared Dunn Rite Parking in default of its lease agreement. The authority charged that the vendor was “not abiding by the contract” by taking cash payments, not reporting sales data to the HRA, and failing to make the lease payment due on August 1.

The Times questioned the propriety of the executive sessions under the Open Meeting Law, which allows for private discussions of contracts and legal issues if “an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the negotiating position of the public body.”

The Times contended that by allowing parking vendor Henry Dunn to attend at least one of the executive sessions, the HRA had disqualified itself from using this provision of the law, as public discussion of the contract could not have a “detrimental effect” because all parties to the agreement were in the same room. The Times’ complaint requested that the HRA immediately release the minutes of executive sessions about the parking issue.

Click each date for the minutes from July 28 | August 4 | August 18

According to the July 28 minutes, Dunn “admits to taking cash and will not commit to stop taking cash” and “has been purposefully not sending parking data (numbers).” On August 4, the HRA voted unanimously to send Dunn a letter informing him that he was in default under the contract.

HENRY DUNN OF DUNN RITE PARKING

On Monday, Kelly said the letter was sent to Dunn by FedEx on August 18 and apparently was delivered to a neighbor's house by mistake. Kelly said he hand-delivered the letter last Thursday afternoon to Dunn and “hopefully he complies with his contractual obligations and we won't have to go further legally” – but if that doesn't happen before the next meeting, “that would be the next step.”

Regarding the survey, the specifications for the questionnaire design and analysis is posted on the HRA website at hra02045.com. The goal is to encourage as many people as possible to respond.

The company hired to perform this service will also analyze public responses to the survey questions, which will help in the creation of the HRA’s Urban Renewal Plan.

Requested services include working with HRA members on the design of effective survey questions and the submission of a survey report that will integrate the survey results and findings.

Applicants are required to document that they have completed at least three survey projects in the past five years similar to what is being requested in this solicitation.

The board authorized HRA Technical Operations Manager Mark Hamin to reach out to potential bidders and to post the solicitation of services on various listservs, and other outreach. Applications are due Tuesday, October 14, at 5 p.m. Bids for services must be less than $50,000 to qualify.
The HRA is expected to make a selection at its Monday, October 27 meeting.

In the meantime, Kelly said he will find an earlier HRA survey from 2001 and email it to the other board members to give them ideas for questions to ask on the new survey.

In other business at the meeting, Kelly reminded board members about a joint select board/HRA meeting scheduled for September 17 “to look at letters of interest and resumes” from candidates interested in filling the seat formerly occupied by Dennis Zaia, who unexpectedly resigned in July.

Kelly will forward the letters and resumes to board members to help them prepare for the meeting – but not to discuss before September 17 – and to have their questions ready for the candidates that night.

The next HRA meeting after the September 17 session with the select board is Wednesday, October 15.

Christopher Haraden contributed to this report.

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Article 37 proponents press their case prior to Wednesday’s meeting with select board

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By Christopher Haraden

With Wednesday’s joint light board/select board meeting slated to discuss the management structure of the utility, proponents of removing the town manager as light plant manager are pressing the issue on multiple fronts, including asking Town Manager Jennifer Constable to recuse herself from the discussion and gathering signatures to call a special town meeting this fall.

In May, voters approved annual town meeting Article 37 by a 116-83 vote. The article proposed returning to the independent management setup that was eliminated in 1993 when town meeting requested that a home-rule petition be filed on Beacon Hill. Although this year’s proposal was approved, Constable told the light board and select board that legal counsel had deemed Article 37 as “not actionable” because it did not include provisions about filing special legislation.

At Wednesday’s meeting, light commissioner Jacob Vaillancourt, who sponsored the town meeting article through a citizens’ petition, plans to ask the select board to request that Hull’s state legislators file the home-rule petition to enact the management change.

If the board declines to pursue the matter, other supporters are circulating petitions to call a special town meeting to vote on a new version of Article 37 that contains the required wording. The effort, led by Leslie Taylor, needs the signatures of at least 200 registered voters.

Vaillancourt also has asked the select board to direct Constable to recuse herself “from any participation in Article 37 matters,” a follow-up to a formal complaint he filed in July with the State Ethics Commission, alleging that Constable “has engaged in a pattern of conduct constituting multiple, serious violations of the Massachusetts Conflict of Interest Law.” Among other allegations, Vaillancourt charged that Constable has a “direct financial interest” in the outcome of Article 37 as the head of both departments. He also alleged that because of “the pattern of treatment I have experienced, which has included retaliatory actions from the town manager since filing Article 37, the Commission indicated that I likely fall under whistleblower protections.”

On Wednesday, Constable said an Ethics Commission attorney provided her with a guidance letter on August 5, advising that “nothing shows that your financial interests would be affected by your participation in discussions, meetings, etc., or matters associated with Article 37/special legislation” because her contract is not expressly linked to the light plant’s finances.

The letter, signed by Assistant General Counsel Christoper N. Popov, also said that state law regulating public officials’ participation in matters in which they may have a financial interest excludes “enactment of general legislation by the General Court and petitions of cities, towns, counties and districts for special laws related to their governmental organizations, powers, duties, finances, and property.”

In an email sent Wednesday to the select board, Vaillancourt requested that if a special town meeting is called, Constable recuse herself from involvement in “all STM preparation, warrant drafting, briefings, and meeting administration.” He termed the “stalled implementation of Article 37” as resulting from the select board’s “dereliction of duty.”

Select board Chair Irwin Nesoff disagreed.

“Mr. Vaillancourt, the proponent of Article 37, was informed before, during, and after annual town meeting that his citizens’ petition was legally defective because it does not comply with home-rule requirements, prescribed by law, to effectuate a charter amendment,” Nesoff said Wednesday. “If there is a special town meeting it will be due to the proponent’s unwillingness to allow the deliberative and legal processes to play out, and not due to any supposed ‘dereliction of duty’ on the part of the select board as charged by Mr. Vaillancourt. Spending $35,000 on a special town meeting, when there is no emergency, is a waste of hard-earned tax dollars.”

The agenda for Wednesday’s select board meeting has not yet been posted. The board also plans to hold joint meetings with the redevelopment authority and school committee to interview applicants for open positions on those boards.

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In the Sport-light: Roundup of news from Hull's wide world of sports

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Compiled by Matt Haraden

• Boys 5/6 Soccer lost its first game of the season at home to Carver, 7-4. The boys came out strong in the first half, but Carver prevailed in the second half. Jordan Dunn had three goals, two of which connected with assists from Andy Michaelides. Liam Palermo also scored a goal. Zachary Shea and Enki Mundo did a great job at midfield. The next game is Saturday, September 13 in Plymouth at 2:30 p.m. 7/8 Boys started off the season very strong, beating Marshfield, 5-0, on the road. Amazing all-around performance by the full team. Special mention to the defense line with Tamas and Slava and the forward line Tristen, Henry and Eathan.

STANDING TALL: With the fall athletic season under way, Hull High’s cheerleading squad is hard at work, perfecting their routines during practice on Monday in the school’s gym.

• Girls 5/6 Soccer opened its season in impressive form on Saturday with a 4-1 win against Pembroke. The team welcomed strong debuts from newcomers Emma Medina and Evelyn Lombardo, while Olivia Veissid made a confident first start as goalkeeper. Willa Britton and Frankie Rockett each netted two goals for the Lady Pirates.

• Hull Youth Soccer’s in-town fall programs begin on Saturday, September 13. Games are on Saturdays at the Dust Bowl field in Hull Village and teams have the same schedule each week for convenient planning – Guppies (coed): 9-10 a.m.; Kindergarten (coed) and Girls Grades 1 & 2: 10-11 a.m.; Boys Grades 1 & 2: 11 a.m. to noon.

To round out a great day of soccer, some of Hull’s travel teams will play at the high school in the afternoon: Boys 3/4 (Duran) vs. Carver at 12:30 p.m.; Boys 3/4 (Bilodeau) vs. Kingston at 2 p.m.; Girls 5/6 vs. Plymouth at 3:30 p.m.; and Boys 7/8 vs. Hanover at 5 p.m.

• Hull Youth Football’s A Team Midgets hit the road this past Sunday. September 7, with 14 players to face the larger, higher-division Sandwich Bulldogs. The OCYFL has introduced cross-play, allowing lower-division teams to compete against higher-division teams throughout the season. The Pirates played in challenging weather conditions, with pouring rain and strong winds on the Cape. New Head Coach Jeff Lundrigan achieved his first victory, as all 14 players made significant contributions to the team’s 22-0 win. Hull will play at home next Sunday, September 14 against the higher-division Hanson team.

• Hull High’s girls varsity soccer squad’s next two games are on the road – at Abington on Wednesday, September 17 at 4 p.m. and at Pembroke on Friday, September 19 at 4 p.m.

• Boys varsity soccer fell to Cohasset at home on Monday, 5-0, to even up the Pirates’ record to 1-1. Up next are Randolph (on the road) on Monday, September 15 at 4 p.m. and then Abington back home on Wednesday, September 17 at 5:30 p.m. (JV at 4 p.m.)

• Hull High Pirates Varsity Football lost its first game under the home lights on Friday, September 5, as Wareham came out on top, 22-7. This Friday, the Pirates travel to Hanover to play the South Shore Vo-Tech Vikings at 7 p.m., then return home to play Monomoy on Friday, September 19 at 7 p.m.

• Coaches, league organizers, and superfans – We need your help to report the scores and results of the latest events in Hull’s sports world! Please send local sports news and photos to sports@hulltimes.com. Deadline is Wednesday at noon. When providing details of the games or races, please be sure to include the sport/team, the players’ full names, and the final scores. When sending photos, names of those pictured are greatly appreciated, as well as who should get credit for taking the photo.

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