My Backyard

 

Attleboro, MA – January 7, 2009 - The Attleboro Police Department recognizes the need to monitor and educate all alcoholic beverage license holders regarding the dangers of underage drinking.

 

According to the Center for Disease Control, alcohol use is a principle factor in the three leading causes of death among youth, those being, unintentional injuries (including motor vehicle crashes and drownings), suicides and homicides.

 

Therefore, the Attleboro Police Department will conduct periodic alcohol sting operations utilizing operatives less than 21 years of age. The underage operatives will attempt purchase of alcoholic beverages from license holders within the City of Attleboro. Compliance checks will include off and on premise licensees.

 

Chief Richard Pierce said, “An effective underage drinking prevention strategy must consist of operations targeted at youth access to alcohol in the community.”

 

The Attleboro Police Department was awarded $10,000 in grant funding as part of the 2009 Underage Alcohol Enforcement Grant Program from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS). This program provides overtime funds for enforcement of underage alcohol laws through activities such as compliance checks, reverse stings, party patrols, surveillance patrols, and cops in shops. The EOPSS awarded 94 of these grants totaling over $600,000.

 

Through consistent enforcement and education, alcohol retailers will understand the importance of routinely and properly verifying age of those seeking purchase of alcoholic beverages. All alcoholic beverage license holders are reminded to be vigilant in verifying age with proper identification prior to selling alcoholic beverages.

 

Richard J. Pierce

Chief of Police

Grade Span Expectations. For group pricing & education programs, contact Rupa at 401-272-3540, x133. Directions and more information at www.savebay.org

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North Attleboro’s Richards Memorial Library has several special programs
planned for January, including two focusing on William Shakespeare. On
Wednesday, January 21 at 6:30 pm, audience members will participate in a
Reader’s Theater pastiche of modern shows with Shakespearean characters
as they munch on Elizabethan fare. Registration is required for this
event. Then on Thursday, January 29 at 7 pm, Richard Clark will perform
Shakespeare, the Lunatic, the Lover and the Poet, a dramatic look at
Shakespeare and his plays. This performance is sponsored by a grant from
the North Attleborough Cultural Council and the Friends of the Library.
Registration is encouraged for this performance as seating is limited.

Sunday, January 25 at 1:30 pm is the Winter Poetry and Acoustic Music
Open Mike. Local poets, poetry-enthusiasts, and acoustic musicians
(there is no piano) are welcome to come and share their works or
favorite pieces. Snacks are courtesy of the Friends of the Library.

Saturday, January 31 at 1:30 pm is the annual Book Pot Luck.
Participants come prepared to recommend a favorite book and go away with
a list of suggestions from other readers. Everyone is asked to bring a
snack to go along with the beverages. Registration is encouraged by
January 22 so that the recommended books can be ordered through the
system for check out that day. Please no current bestsellers since these
are hard to get.

Register by stopping by the library at 118 North Washington St, calling
508-699-0122 or emailing mholmes@sailsinc.org. Check the website
RMLonline.org for updates.

Strap on those snowshoes and join  Audubon naturalist for a winter adventure on the trails of Audubon’s Parker Woodland Wildlife Refuge. February 7, 2009.  Photo courtesy Audubon Society of Rhode Island.

Explore Prudence Island and witness seals at one of the best haul-out spots in Narragansett Bay! Audubon Society of Rhode Island. February 7, 21 and 25, 2009.

A complete listing of activities and programs are detailed in the winter Audubon Nature Tours and Programs, a free, 36-page guide to connecting with the natural world. To request your copy, please contact the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, (401)-949-5454 or visit www.asri.org. The winter guide will be available in early January 2009.

Principal Matthew Joseph and the Hill-Roberts third and fourth grade teachers did college courses for a day. The teachers, turned professors, built a list of course offerings. Students signed up for classes. They had to sign up for three courses but could only attend two. Some college classes get filled before you can get into them. That was a good life lesson to learn.

All the classes we visited were happening. All the students were fully engaged with their peers and their professors. There was a lot of collaborative work going on. Fourteen courses were offered. Want to know more about bugs? Entomology was offered. Want to sell, sell, sell? Sign up for Advertising. Want to figure the odds? Enroll in Probability: The Mathematics of Uncertainty.

Professor Campbell offered an Economic course. Students learned money denomination amounts, trading, and combining of funds to purchase. Have you ever purchased something and were short on money. This course will help with the economics of shopping.

Professor Nieratko offered a course in Financial Analysis and Investing. Students learned that in tough financial times you must make educated investment decisions. Students learned how to analyze companies, track performance, create a portfolio, and to trade stocks to make the most money. John Nieratko designed all the software and program content for the class to e-trade on their computers.

Professor Dunn offered Poetry Picture Writing. The students created resistance paintings about winter. They then wrote poems depicting the actions they experience when it snows. Students in this class were very reflective and eager to show you their work and ideas. This course tapped into creativity.

Professor Bassler offered Advertising. Students created ads for a product. The ads were for a video audience. The ads were geared toward the students peer age group. Targeting the audience and impact words and strong visual images were key components of each group’s ad. These kids were really into-it.

The staff put an immense effort into the college day. The students appreciated it. What is better than an engaged staff teaching engaged students? It does not get anymore My Backyard than that. Thank you for inviting us.

The Attleboro Arts Museum involves audiences of all ages and backgrounds in the visual arts through diverse educational programs and engaging arts experiences. We work to support the creative and artistic development of both promising and professional artists. The Museum is a privately supported, non-profit arts institution whose core commitment to Arts for Everyone guides the Museum’s programs and operations.

Plainville - Interested residents and property owners are encouraged and invited to attend and discuss proposed Zoning By-law changes which will affect properties located in the downtown area along South Street and East and West Bacon Streets. The Redevelopment Authority is seeking input from the public on its proposals which are designed to improve the appearance of “Downtown Plainville” and result in a vibrant and community friendly business and residential area. The highlights of the proposed Zoning By-law changes are:

• Increase allowable lot coverage by buildings
• Allow two and three story buildings
• Promote commercial and residential mixed uses
• Allow architectural control of new buildings
• Allow developer’s to contribute to a fund for municipal owned parking
• Allow developer’s to contribute to a fund for sidewalk beautification
• Promote a conservation/recreation path along the Ten Mile River
• Copies of proposed Zoning By-laws and map of the effected area are available upon request at Plainville Town Hall, 142 South Street, Plainville.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009 at 7:00 PM

Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 7:00 PM

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at 7:00 PM

Plainville Senior Center

9 School Street, Plainville

Leon Mathieu Senior Center 401-728-7582

To the Editor;

 Maybe it’s just me, but I think that people are getting tired of hearing about the infamous IBP (Attleboro Industrial Business Park) debacle and have also lost faith that our elected leaders even have the first idea of how to arrive at any kind of conclusion to it. There’s so much bickering back and forth that we need a team of NFL officials to mediate, at this point. Why can’t we all just get along, huh???

 I can’t even imagine that the city would consider pledging any kind of potential economic stimulus monies toward this sinking ship. Don’t expect the Obama Administration to bail us out. We created this mess, and it’s our responsibility to find a way out of it. That would be like the automobile manufacturer bailout plan, but on a much smaller scale. Without any kind of plan of restructuring or reorganizing, how can we just throw more funds down the laundry chute? Does the phrase “have an idea” come to mind, here? Maybe a quick refresher of Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First” would be more appropriate.

Attleboro is sorely in need of leadership that we’re not getting, at least up until now.

If I’m wrong about this and good things ARE happening, let’s get them out of the closed meeting rooms and out to the media. Since not all of us have the time to go to the meetings that our elected officials are paid to attend, let’s demand some accountability on ALL that goes on.

Please give me some reasons to be positive, and restore at least some of my faith in the inner workings of this city, PLEASE!!!

 Sincerely,

 Mark C. Ambrose

Attleboro, MA 02703

Staff Sergeant Anthony Bryner (formerly of Attleboro) and Private Louis Salazar (RI) recently visited Bishop Feehan High School’s Social Justice class as a part of a study by it’s “Peace Group” made up of four students who reported on Daily Life in Iraq. The students were offered the opportunity to ask questions regarding the soldiers’ experiences while serving in Iraq. When asked “What was the biggest act of bravery that you witnessed?” Sgt. Bryner recounted an amazing story of a soldier who went into a house under gun fire to rescue a fellow soldier who had been shot and had collapsed, risking his own life for that of another. To the question, “Do you feel like you’re making a difference?” Bryner replied, “Yes I do. Saddam Hussein needed to be taken out of power. We are definitely making a better environment for them such as giving them better water treatment so they don’t have to drink and bathe in the filthy Euphrates. You can see the little differences too, like noticing that the women are now not afraid to sit in such a way that their ankles show.” Bryner and Salazar answered other questions like “How have the Iraqis treated you?” “Why did you join the Marine Corps?” and “Is basic training like you see in the movies?”

PHOTO: Feehan senior Joe Sandoval (Cumberland) asks visiting Sergeant Anthony Bryner (left) and Private Louis Salazar about their experiences in Iraq as part of their “Peace Group’s” project on Daily Life in Iraq in a Social Justice class.