Business and Technology Education teacher Lydia Nelson knows what coaches go through when the seniors on their teams graduate.  She has seen members of her AARP/Tax Aide program graduate before,  but this year, she will lose three out of four volunteers who have mastered the annual 60-hour training course and passed a certification exam to qualify as tax preparation assistants with the national program which helps low-income and elderly clients. But for now, the program is back in full swing.

Stepping out on the floor to begin her twirling routine is the most invigorating component of competition for Whitman Hanson majorette Shannon Winslow of Hanson, current Miss Majorette Royalty of Massachusetts.

Hanson’s Wage and Personnel Board – comprised of the Board of Selectmen – approved a recommendation from the Collins Center of Government Management at UMass, Boston to reorganize the Town Planner and Conservation Agent to a single position for now, and agreed to an additional floating holiday for department heads and non-union employees.

While the state’s education reform law has changed school committees’ role in personnel investigations and actions, there are some cases where the line blurs and school commmittees seek more information. They no longer have an automatic right to it and in most cases, it becomes a don’t ask, don’t tell scenario.

Whitman Selectmen Tuesday night joined the effort to block plans by the Patrick Administration to close Taunton State Hospital.

Members of the School Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 15 were scheduled to be briefed by legal counsel James Toomey on the panel’s role involving district personnel issues. They will also conduct a detailed discussion on the fiscal 2013 budget.

Construction site waste from a Hanover High School building project dumped at the former Meadowbrook Nursery site at routes 14 and 27 does not contain asbestos and is being removed, state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) officials say.

While the winter weather has cooperated with the W-H school budget in fiscal 2012, the substitute line item continues to be strained by the number of teachers on maternity or family leave, according to Business Services Director Sharon Andrew.

With 5,242 hits and counting, 10-year-old Elizabeth Merrick of Hanson is hoping her YouTube duet with dad Joe on the Beatles’ “Let It Be” is a foot in the door to her future as an actress/singer.

 It's time again for the Year in Photos. This special supplement is a compilation of many of our favorite photos from the past year. There were many opportunities in 2011 to capture special moments with the camera's lens. From the high school sports fields to outdoor festivals, parades, Scouting milestones, cultural events and the occasional freak weather phenomenon — it's all here.