Janet Renner, age 72 of Duxbury, died Friday, March 16 at Brigham and Women’s Medical Center after a long battle with cancer.  

Mrs. Renner was born and raised in New Jersey and had lived in Duxbury for 43 years. She was a member of the Newcomers Club, the Garden Club, and was President of the Duxbury Republican Women’s Club. She was also a member of the Duxbury Yacht Club, and active in the Duxbury Boosters.

Acting as Water Commissioners, Duxbury selectmen this week declared a voluntary outdoor watering ban, effective immediately.

The watering restrictions have been enacted a month or two earlier than usual. Last year, selectmen ordered the ban in July; in past years, it was in June.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) was America’s most popular poet of his day. He was born in Portland, Maine and was a descendant of John Alden through his eldest daughter, Elizabeth. He was the grandson of Gen. Peleg Wadsworth, who fought in the Revolutionary War with George Washington. It is said that Henry was quite proud of his Alden and Wadsworth Duxbury roots. He was a professor at Bowdoin College in Maine.

An active member of the Jordan Hospital Club, Duxbury resident Susan Warren devotes much of her time as co-chair of their annual Lawn Party, which takes place each June. Born and raised in Duxbury, Warren tells us how important this tradition is to both our town and Jordan Hospital’s fundraising efforts.

(Tucker Hannon, flanked by his mother Sheila, father Tom and attorney Jay Mullen, is swarmed by media following the hearing in Plymouth District Court.)

Plymouth District Court acting-Court Magistrate Philip McCue ruled last Friday that a crime did not take place when Duxbury High School junior Tucker Hannon was cross checked in a January hockey game against Scituate and suf-fered a concussion.

“There does not exist probable cause that a crime took place,” said McCue. “I deny the hearing.”

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(The Board of Selectmen met Monday and appointed a Special town Counsel, Arthur Kreiger. Picture l – r are Kreiger, Finance Director John Madde, Town Manager Richard MacDonald, and Selectmen Shawn Dahlen, Chair Ted Flynn, and David Madigan.)

The Duxbury Board of Selectmen appointed a special town counsel to oversee four civil suits following the board withdrawing the representation of longtime Town Counsel Robert Troy.

Arthur Kreiger, a partner in the law firm Anderson and Kreiger LLP, was designated special town counsel at Monday night’s meeting in an unanimous vote by the board. He will guide the board in four civil suits filed against the town, including one filed by Johnson Golf Management, Inc.

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It’s pupping season for harbor seals. On a recent visit to Duxbury Beach, photographer Barbara van Dingstee used a telephoto lens to capture one preening in the sun. The Harbormaster’s Office warns people that the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act forbids interacting with marine mammals. “People should keep 150 feet away,” said Mike Pforr, Harbormaster operations officer. “Don’t feed them, and keep children and pets away. It’s a wild animal and they do bite.”

The Duxbury Police have taken another report of an attempt to scam a Duxbury resident in the same manner that was the topic of a scam alert issued by the department in February. On Thursday night a resident received a purposefully confusing call in which the con artist suggested that a distant relative of the victim had been arrested in Peru and needed immediate bail money wired for his release from jail. In this case, the suspect identified himself as a great grandchild of the intended victim. The intended victim was immediately suspicious of the call and asked the suspect to call back while they called other relatives to check on the validity of the call. The intended victim quickly learned from relatives that this was a con. No money was wired and the suspect never called back. The intended victim prudently notified the Duxbury Police of the encounter. We ask all residents to notify us if they were the intended victim of a scam, whether or not money or personal information was exchanged.

Thursday, April 12

7:17 p.m.  Suspicious activity reported on West Street.

Friday, April 13

Konrad Gesner of Duxbury, died of Parkinson’s disease, Dec. 7, 2011.  His obituary appeared in the Dec. 14, 2011 edition of the Duxbury Clipper.  The Gesner family cordially invites friends to celebrate Mr. Gesner’s life on what would have been his 80th birthday, Saturday, May 5, 2012, at the Duxbury Bay Maritime School from 1 to 3 p.m.

Ronald “Ron” Ivanoff of Anchorage, Alaska died Oct. 8, 2011 of septic shock.  He was the son of the late Edward “Ted” Ivanoff and Dianne Richardson Ivanoff.

Mr. Ivanoff was born March 17, 1957 in Duxbury and attended Duxbury schools.  He was self employed and enjoyed spending time in Kodiak with his brothers and family.  He loved fishing, the Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots.

Edward M. Gillespie of Duxbury died on April 20 of metastatic melanoma surrounded by his family.  He was born April 15, 1944 in Southbridge and grew up in Charlton.  After studying at Clark University, he worked for Litton Industries in sales for approximately 10 years and then spent over 25 years in computer forms sales working for Shade Allied and as a consultant to other paper forms companies. During his time with Shade, Mr. Gillespie earned the top sales award, “The Diamond Crown Award” three times and with Jody, his wife of 28 years, enjoyed trips to Hawaii, the Dominican Republic and a cruise to the Caribbean.

She has been a competitive sailor, a college senior class president, a New York advertising woman, head stylist for photo shoots, an advertising copy writer, recreational pilot of small planes, antiques dealer, professional member of ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) and CID (Certified Interior Designer), Junior Leaguer, Garden Club of America member and Friend of FILOLI, lifelong volunteer, active church member, world traveler, wife, mother and grandmother.  She was born Anne Elizabeth Stewart, but here at The Village we know this accomplished woman as Nancy Dana.

The Board of Selectmen unanimously approved two club liquor licenses for the Duxbury Yacht Club this week; the application for a third license is pending due to problems advertising the related public hearing.

The first license is for the golf clubhouse at 70 Fairway Ln. The second is for 489 Washington St., a private home the yacht club bought last year to expand its facility at Mattakeeset Court.

To celebrate Duxbury’s 375th birthday, the committee in charge of the festivities is planning an old fashioned seaweed-style clambake on Duxbury beach for 500 people.

The Board of Selectmen granted the 375th committee a one-day liquor license to offer beer and wine during the clambake, which will take place on Saturday, June 9 from 6 - 11 p.m. at Duxbury Beach Park.