Archive - News Article
March 1st, 2013
WOONSOCKET – A city man was sentenced to five years in federal prison Thursday for possession of crack cocaine with the intent to distribute the drug.
Felix Reyes, 20, was also ordered to serve five years’ supervised release upon the completion of his prison.
He appeared for sentencing before U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mary Lisi in Providence after pleading guilty to one count of possession crack with the intent to distribute on Dec. 2, 2012.
LINCOLN – On the day the state learned that its adjusted unemployment rate for last December had dropped to 9.9 percent – the first time it fell below 10 percent in 47 months – an upbeat Gov. Lincoln Chafee told a roomful of businessmen and women that “better days are ahead.”
The governor told a Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce Eggs and Issues Breakfast Thursday that with sales and income tax revenues rising, and employment going down, all the metrics are headed in the right direction. That is an indication, Chafee said, “that we are managing the state well.”
February 28th
NORTH SMITHFIELD — Residents will get the opportunity on March 4 to offer input on the recommendations proposed in the long-awaited report by the School Buildings Task Force, which went to work three years ago to address school buildings needs, including options for the deteriorating Halliwell Memorial Elementary School.
The School Committe is hosting the special public meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. in the North Smithfield Middle School cafeteria, 1850 Providence Pike.
WOONSOCKET – A new plan designed to foster economic growth on Main Street recommends that the city do more of what it’s already doing well – arts and entertainment.
“It specifically builds off the existing businesses and strengths of Market and Monument squares by promoting the growth of additional restaurants and performance spaces,” the plan says. “The squares are already home to several restaurants and performance venues, which attract customers and visitors from Woonsocket and beyond.”
PROVIDENCE – The recent parole granted to convicted “thrill killer” Alfred Brissette Jr. of Woonsocket – which shocked the populace and angered law enforcement and correctional officers — is generating proposed legislation to shake up the membership of the state Parole Board and to prevent such early releases in the future.
February 27th
LINCOLN - Two elderly women who were reported missing since Tuesday afternoon were found safe and unharmed early Wednesday morning on Cape Cod, police said.
Police said 75-year-old Marie Bonin of North Smithfield, and her friend Ana Marchwicki, 89, who resides at The Holiday retirement home in Lincoln, were located in Truro, Mass., on the Cape in good condition.
Truro police said the two women got lost and confused and ended up in in that outer Cape town, which is about a two-hour drive from Lincoln.
WOONSOCKET – A local woman has been cleared of wrongdoing following her arrest on charges of pointing her fingers like a gun at an elementary school teacher and pretending to shoot her.
Vanice Armstrong, 26, of 170 Cumberland St., was arrested on Dec. 18, four days after the massacre of 20 schoolchildren and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
District Court Judge Christine Jabour found Armstrong not guilty of disorderly conduct after a one-day trial on Monday, court officials say.
WOONSOCKET – The Budget Commission unanimously approved a draft bill for state lawmakers Tuesday that would raise about $2.5 million in supplemental taxes drawn from two sources: single-family homes, including condos, and motor vehicles.
If the legislature goes along with the plan, $2 million would be raised by reducing the homestead exemption from 39 percent to about 29.9 percent, an adjustment that translates into a $437 supplemental tax bill on the average home, according to Tax Assessor Christopher Celeste.
BLACKSTONE – A fast-moving fire believed to have been caused by a woodstove destroyed a circa 1850s home at 163 and 165 Main St. Tuesday, leaving two families homeless.
No one was injured by the fire despite the residents having to flee their homes quickly when it was discovered just before 6 a.m.
The flames are believed to have spread from a woodstove on the first floor of one of two apartments in the two-and-a-half-story, wood-frame building up into the second floor, the attic and roof area.
February 25th
WOONSOCKET – Citing a “credible allegation of sexual misconduct” that occurred more than three decades ago, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence announced that it has placed the Rev. Monsignor John Allard on administrative leave and accepted his resignation as the spiritual leader of two city parishes.
The pastor of St. Agatha’s and Precious Blood parishes “has taken responsibility for his actions and expressed profound remorse for the harm he has caused,” the diocese said in a prepared statement Monday.
.jpg "Rev. Monsignor John Allard is pictured in this photo that appeared on NBC10.")
