Smithfield Times January 2018

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INSIDE TOWN GOVERNMENT

The Town Manager’s Office

By Ron Scopelliti

This is the first in a series of articles describing the inner workings of the Town of Smithfield’s various offices and departments.

The top floor of Smithfield Town Hall is well-known for its Council Chamber, where the Town Council and other boards and commissions hold their public meetings. But during the day, the chamber is quiet, and the center of attention becomes the room across the hall, where the focus is not on setting town policy, but dealing with the day-to-day running of the town – the Town Manager’s Office.

Since 1994, Smithfield has employed a full-time Town Manager, appointed by the Town Council. Current Town Manager Randy Rossi has held the position since August 2017, having previously served as Finance Manager for ten years.

The Town Manager, he explains, is the highest appointed official in town, and oversees all of the town’s departments including all of the hiring, and the budget submission to the Town Council.

“The Council is the policymaker,” he says. “But the dayto-day operations and overall management of the town is handled by the Town Manager.”

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The Town Manager also serves as a liaison between the Town Council and the public. While the public has direct access to the Council during their twicea-month meetings, the Town Manager’s office is open to the public five days a week.

“We’re the front line for them,” Rossi says. “The residents come in off the street; they’re coming into my office they’re calling; they’re e-mailing…”

In turn, Rossi keeps in close contact with the Town Council, offering them feedback from the residents.

When the residents and the Council do decide on a course of action, it’s Rossi’s responsibility to work with the town’s department managers and find a way to make it happen.

“Our biggest annual challenge,” he says, “is always trying to figure out our available resources for revenue, and to plan for the future year’s budget and the needs of the town.”

Rossi says the first step in this is asking, “What things do we want to continue to provide to the residents, and to what level do we want to provide them?” He says the standard is always to at least maintain the current level of services, and to look at new, innovative ways to enhance them.

The job requires a careful balance of long-term planning, and immediate action.

“You have to be ready on the short term and then you also want to make sure that you don’t downgrade the level of services that people are providing,” Rossi says.

The balance of long-term planning and seizing on immediate opportunities is illustrated in the planned renovation of the East Smithfield Neighborhood Center on Esmond Street.

The town is currently waiting for

architects to complete a plan outlining what’s needed to bring the historic building up to current code. When the report comes in, the subcommittee planning the renovation will get back together to weigh their options.

In the meantime, however, Rossi and interim Department of Public Works Director Gary Tikoian saw an opportunity to get a head start on the project using internal resources instead of outsourcing.

“As a precursor to that [renovation], we had the DPW guys out there to remove the fence that added nothing to the front of the building but making it an eyesore. Just that little bit of work has aesthetically improved that site,” Rossi says. DPW also got a jump on the planned renovation of the Anna McCabe School basketball courts, doing similar cleanup work there.

“Those projects really didn’t cost us anything,” he notes. “There was no overtime involved. It’s our normal guys doing operations, so that’s cutting back on project costs right there.”

The Town Manager is also the town’s liaison with state agencies that can be of service, whether it’s reaching out to the state’s Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission for grant money

to help with the Neighborhood Center, or to the Lieutenant Governor’s office to explore retraining opportunities for workers displaced by the Benny’s closing.

In the midst of this day-to-day juggling of resources, there are constant budgeting concerns, as well as plans for the town’s long-term economic growth. These include an infrastructure program to prepare for development along the Rte. 7 and Rte. 116 corridor, and looking to alleviate traffic issues both there and on Putnam Pike. There are also the ongoing goals of adding a new fire station, and improving the town’s elementary school system. And, having recently completed two bridge renovation projects, the town will be turning its attention to the bridge on Esmond Mill Drive, which provides a vital link to the wastewater treatment plant.

Looking even further down the road, Rossi is working to develop the town’s Strategic Plan.

“We’re hoping to really lay out the blueprint to move forward, and continue to make the town better,” he says. “It’s a great town now – with the group of directors we have, we can definitely make it even better.”

Despite the activity, the Town Manager’s Office remains a front door to Town Government that is available to the public every work day.

“We try to give everybody their time,” Rossi says. “The door’s always open, and we try to accommodate as much as we can.”

Located on the third floor of Smithfield Town Hall, the Town Manager’s Office is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Phone: 233-1010. E-mail: rrossi@smithfieldri.com

John J. Tassoni, Jr., Publisher - john@jtsentinelgroup.com Ann Marie Donahue, Executive Editor - amdonahue@smithfieldtimesri.net Camilla Spliid, Advertising and Sales - cspliid@smithfieldtimesri.net

www.smithfieldtimesri.net 4

Rick Laurito, Advertising and Sales - rick@smithfieldtimesri.net

January 2018

Dear Readers and Advertisers.

When I purchased The Smithfield Times magazine in 2014, and our first edition came out in January of 2015 my editorial mission was to bring informative, interesting, and unusual local stories to the readers, and provide merchants with a platform to present their goods and services.

This mission was quickly fulfilled as evidenced by the loyalty of our readers and the advertisers who have had a measurable impact on our community.

As 2017 ends, it is the ideal time to express my appreciation for your continued loyalty and support.

The year ahead promises to have an even bigger impact on our town, and we will be there with all the information that you will need to make informed decisions when buying local.

On behalf of the entire staff at The Smithfield Times, I want to wish our readers, advertisers and partners, a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year. Working together, we can continue to be your source for quality, local information and advertising.

Here’s to 2018!

Best Regards, John J. Tassoni, Jr., Publisher

The Smithfield Times, Inc.

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And furthermore It’s resolution time

By Laurence J. Sasso, Jr. It’s almost obligatory to make resolutions at this time of year. So, here goes: • Lose some weight.

(Why be obscure and esoteric? Doesn’t everyone put this one at the top of their list?)

• Eat at more gourmet restaurants.

(Wait a minute.)

• Reconcile one and two above.

• Get more sleep!

• Read more books!

• Stop reading in bed!

• Be nice to those with whom you disagree.

• Disagree with those who aren’t nice to you.

• Reflect more.

• Don’t think about things so much.

• Avoid caffeine.

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• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Get some energy drinks.

Shave off beard.

Remove all mirrors in the house.

Get more exercise.

Find new places for all the things stored on the treadmill.

Call friends more often.

Spend less time on the phone.

Travel more.

Save money on gas.

Watch less news on cable TV. Stay well informed on current affairs.

Dress more fashionably.

Check out Wal-Mart men’s department.

• • • •

Look into getting a dog.

Make an appointment with allergist.

Spend more time with family.

Join more community organizations.

• Get serious help with contradictory impulses!

January 2018

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New children’s book in the works for Smithfield author who ‘Loves RI’

By Brittni Henderson

Smithfield native Jill Austin turned a new phase in her life into a new project that evolved into a book loved by many throughout Rhode Island. As a way to commemorate her time as a stay at home mom, and as a special gift to her daughter Gwen, Austin decided to write and illustrate a book about the state where she had spent all of her life. RI Loves: The ABC’s of Rhode Island was a way for Austin to connect a place she knew and loved to others across the state and beyond.

Austin used the downtime she had while her daughter napped to work on the book. She wrote and illustrated the book herself, using her own memories and experiences to fill the pages. The book includes an A to Z look at what Rhode Island has to offer, but with heartfelt and sentimental associations sprinkled throughout. On the “Y is for You” page, for example, an illustration of Austin’s daughter Gwen can be seen.

Memories from her childhood, such as visits to Rocky Point and watching the PawSox play are a few more examples of what you will find in this “alphabetized rhyming tour” of Rhode Island.

Although this idea merely started as gift for her daughter, Austin’s husband Patrick thought that others around the state would enjoy it as well. This proved to be true when they enlisted the help of a crowd-funding website to see if there would be any interest beyond that of family and friends. The support was overwhelming.

“The community as a whole helped make this project come to life,” Austin says.

The book was first published in 2014 and is currently on its third cycle of print. During the initial stages of publication, Austin says that she received over 100 preorders of the book, allowing them the ability to print and ship the books in about a month’s time. From the first time she took pencil to paper, to the first time the book was in the hands of a reader was about six months, she says.

From this success, Austin has written and published many more books about the unique and interesting qualities of the Ocean State. Other titles include: Where Did All the R’s Go? The Curious Case of the Rhode Island Accent; The ABC’s of Storyland; Every Pumpkin Wants to be a Jack-O-Lantern; A Witch Can Switch; and Every Snowflake Wants to be a Snowball.

There are a few other children’s books in the works, as well, including one about Austin’s hometown called The ABC’s of Smithfield.

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Austin feels a strong connection to all of these books because Rhode Island is where her family is rooted. The books were written for her two daughters, Gwen, who is now 6 years old, and Hannah, 2.

“Creating RI Loves, and my other books, is a dream come true for me,” Austin says. “An amazing perk is the ability to share these stories with others through readings across the state. I’m so appreciative of all the support.”

Austin lives with her husband and two children in Smithfield, to where she recently returned after living in other places around Rhode Island.

The ABC’s of Rhode Island, and many of Austin’s other works, can be purchased at locations across Rhode Island including Barrington Books, Bellani Maternity, and Books on the Square.

For more details on where to find her books and what’s to come for Austin, visit her website at RILoves.com.

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January 2018

Children and Dog Safety Tips

By Alysa Danielson from Abandoned Dogs of RI

Stop the 77!

When thinking of dog bites, most people vision a big scary strange dog, growling and bearing teeth. 77% of the time, dog bites come from a family or friends dog. Since most bites come from dogs that your children know, how do we protect them? How do we keep our dogs and children safe? Education!

The one central theme is respect – teaching kids what dogs really like, what they don’t like, and when they just need a break! Although they’re amazing at dealing with what a family can throw their way, dogs still need your help. Kids can sometimes be scary to dogs because they are KIDS — more unpredictable, more unruly, more uncoordinated and way more likely to get in a dog’s face than most adults. To keep them safe, it’s your job to watch and listen. Dogs use their whole bodies to show you how they’re feeling. If families can learn to listen to what their dogs are communicating, we can better understand their wants and needs.

Make sure the dogs around your kids are ALWAYS comfortable. Be a hero and at the first sign that they’re not — give them a break! Move your child far enough away so

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that the dog can relax again. After all, if no one is there to protect dogs, they’re left with no choice but to protect themselves — and that’s something no one wants!

Child & Dog Safety Tips • Dogs don’t like kisses and hugs! Instead, have your child pet from collar bone to base of tail.

• When the pets are eating or sleeping- give them space!

• Kids should always be the “good guys”. Taking things away from a dog is a job for adults.

• Dogs are not toys. They should never be part of “dress up”, ridden like a horse, tugged, or pulled. Respect their bodies and their space.

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Veteran film and TV actor is on first theater tour in ‘The Bodyguard’ Judson Mills appearing at PPAC January 9-14

By Laurence J. Sasso, Jr. Judson Mills who has appeared in some 20 feature films, was a series regular appearing with Chuck Norris on TV in Walker, Texas Ranger, and has had more than 35 guest starring roles on TV, but when he arrives in Providence with The Bodyguard this month he will be taking part in his first touring production of a Broadway show. It will be on stage at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) from January 9th through the 14th. Mills spoke with The Smithfield Times from Salt Lake City, Utah.

Born in Washington, D.C., he grew up in Northern Virginia in a little stone house in the woods built

by George Washington (before he was president). Mills spent a good part of his high school years hunting and fishing and living a “small town life.”

“I miss it,” he confides. “It teaches you self-reliance. “It sets you up to be grateful.”

It also provided him with some of the tools he needed to succeed as an actor, he believes.

“You develop confidence and accept challenges,” he says.

His first foray into acting began at High Mowing, a private secondary school he attended in Wilton, New Hampshire.

From there he studied at Barry University in Miami, Florida

and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.

His first professional job, a role on the soap opera As the World Turns, proved to be a three year gig, and he got it right out of school.

Now nearing age 50, Mills has compiled a substantial list of credits that mark him as a seasoned and experienced veteran performer, however, he hasn’t been involved with stage work since his early days as an actor.

He explains how he came to be cast as Frank Farmer, the male lead in the musical that was based on The Bodyguard, the 1992 Oscarnominated film starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston.

“My first theater buddy and college roommate Alex(ander) Dinelaris wrote the book for the show,” Mills mentions. “They were having some difficulties with casting the part. We spoke. I auditioned, and here I am.”

Interestingly enough, his role in the musical doesn’t require him to sing, except for an intentionally shaky, inept rendition of “I’ll Always Love You” in a scene at a karaoke bar.

“I sing it poorly . . . on purpose,” he relates with a

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laugh, noting that he does include singing in his on-going preparation in case he might ever be called upon to do it seriously in some future endeavor.

Canadian-born Deborah Cox, who plays songstress Rachel Marron in the show, does plenty of singing for everyone. Grammy-nominated, the multi-platinum R&B/ pop recording artist and film and TV actress made her debut in Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida. She also starred on Broadway in Jekyll & Hyde and as Josephine Baker in Josephine at The Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida in 2016.

She has collaborated with Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, the Isley Brothers, Cyndi Lauper, Sarah McLachlan, and notably with Whitney Houston herself.

“She’s fantastic,” says Miller. “I hadn’t met her before, but we have very good chemistry. We have a very similar work ethic and a similar spiritual outlook. She’s a great mom, a great person, and we just have excellent communication. We confer by text after almost every show and discuss how we can improve a scene or a moment.”

For those who aren’t familiar with the story line in The Bodyguard, Frank Farmer, a former Secret Service agent, is hired to protect Rachel, who is being threatened by a stalker.

However, they get off to a rocky start when she doesn’t take Farmer or the danger seriously. By the time it becomes apparent that there is good reason for concern they have developed strong, but ambivalent feelings for each other, and the relationship is complicated by Frank’s professional responsibility and, in a departure from the movie, by Rachel’s sister Nicki’s own feelings for Frank. The drama which ensues has operatic intensity and a poignant resolution, but it provides a fine platform for the outstanding musical score and the heartbreaking romance that ensures the audience’s compassion and emotional response.

For Mills, the challenge is to play the role of a one-time Secret Service agent convincingly, which means he must remain understated, professional, and correct while at the same time not seeming to fade into the background.

“After all, that’s what a successful and proper bodyguard does, act alert but unobtrusive, but that’s boring,” he observes.

“The challenge – and it’s very challenging - is to keep the audience engaged.

“You can’t overact to convey the intensity, the inner effect that the interactions have. It’s all about less, all about focus.

The difference for a film actor is that on camera it’s easier to show the internal qualities. The close-up shot can capture the eyes, the expression. On stage the first five rows can see that, but for everyone else you come across only as subdued.

“It’s a real challenge, an artistic challenge, but it’s a good kind of problem to have. It keeps you focused. We work at it every performance, and we work hard to get it right.”

You can see the results for yourself by calling the PPAC box office at 401-421-2787.

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Payne’s Picks

January 2018

By Sarah Payne MOVIES COMING OUT The Post – January 12th - Unfortunately for movie lovers, January is a slow month for new releases. The studios typically release all of their Oscar contenders by the end of December; hopefully you made it to see some of those! This month I’m highlighting The Post, directed by Steven Spielberg, because it’s getting a ton of advertising play right now and it’s starring two of Hollywood’s most well-known actors—Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. Based on a true story, Streep plays the first ever female publisher of a major American newspaper who is racing to expose a major government cover-up. It sounds exciting, doesn’t it? I’m skeptical, though. I can’t remember the last Hanks or Streep movie I really enjoyed, and the same goes for Spielberg. In fact, the last Hanks movie I attempted to watch was 2016’s Sully, which was so painful that I walked out of the film halfway through. The two actors I loved for their earlier work have been disappointing me lately. Either they’ve peaked, or they are choosing projects that are predictable and bland. I hope I’m wrong, but my gut says The Post will be underwhelming.

MOVIE REVIEW The Disaster Artist - Every once in a while, Hollywood likes to poke fun at itself a bit (think Tropic Thunder). In The Disaster Artist, the Franco brothers take us on a silly, yet ultimately uplifting journey about the making of The Room,

which is known as one of the worst and most costly movies ever made. James Franco (also the film’s director) plays Tommy Wiseau, The Room’s producer, lead actor, director, and writer – a quirky and mysterious man who refuses to reveal his age, his origin, or where he earns his money. Dave Franco plays his younger friend who travels to Los Angeles with him to try to make it in the movie business. The bulk of the movie documents Wiseau’s antics on set and cringe-worthy acting.

While it’s hilarious to watch someone so unaware of himself, I’m impressed with Franco’s ability to make the audience empathize and root for Wiseau in the end. Be sure to watch the closing credits, too, where you’ll see just how precisely the actors in The Disaster Artist nailed exact scenes from The Room.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - This film didn’t get nearly the attention or press it deserved, but it’s definitely one of my favorite films of 2017. It was written and directed by Martin McDonagh, the brilliant writer and director behind dark comedies like 2008’s In Bruges and 2012’s Seven Psychopaths. It also stars three of my favorite actors who can always be counted on to pick interesting and quirky projects – Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, and Sam Rockwell. Without giving away too much, I will say that the storytelling and acting are top notch. From the mysterious opening scene to the unexpected character twist, nothing in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is predictable, but all of it is incredibly satisfying for the viewer. I especially love how none of the characters are black and white, good or evil.

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Just like in real life, there are shades of gray. This is a difficult feat to pull off as a writer and requires extremely nuanced acting – some of the best I’ve seen in quite a while!

Lady Bird - Perhaps it’s time we stopped relying so heavily on Rotten Tomatoes. Remember that awful film I mentioned earlier – Sully? The one in which I walked out of the theater halfway through? That got an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. Lady Bird, at the time of this writing, got a 99% (but was at 100% for quite some time), and is known as the best reviewed movie of all time on that site. I’d love for someone to explain to me why there is such a frenzy surrounding this movie. It’s about an ungrateful high school student, Christine, who obnoxiously insists everyone call her Lady Bird. She lies and cheats for better grades. Halfway through the film she forgets about her best friend to be a part of the in-crowd, only to apologize to her friend at the very end when she realizes how empty her relationships are with the cool kids. At no point do I really care if Lady Bird gets into her dream East Coast college because she is so melodramatic and self-centered. Am I just a grumpy 29-year-old who forgot what it’s like to be in high school? Perhaps. But there are movies that do a much better job of portraying the high school experience – like Edge of Seventeen or 21 Jump Street – without being as contrived as Lady Bird.

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Inside the Brown Bag

The Winter

By Peg Brown “Snow flurries began to fall and they swirled around people’s legs like house cats. It was magical, the snow globe world.”

— Sarah Addison Allen, The Sugar Queen Well, maybe in hindsight!

They weren’t really endless—they just seemed that way.

Winter in the North Country was always a challenge—and fickle. There could be 10-foot snow drifts, often reaching the roof of your front porch, or you could be helping Dad rake leaves in late December. Stories of earlier years reported ice on the St. Lawrence so thick you could drive your car across to Canada—and, according to legend there were one or two vehicles that tried that feat, only to become beasts of the deep.

Snow removal was less sophisticated in those days—snow blowers, for example, were just an answer to a silent prayer as you shoveled the driveway for the fourth time after the plows went through.

Young entrepreneurs roamed the streets, shovels slung over their shoulders, offering to clear your sidewalk for just $1.00. (I think those days are over!)

Hats and mittens were mostly homemade. As children we always had a piece of yarn threaded through the sleeves of our jackets connecting both mittens so we wouldn’t lose one. It was also very convenient to have your mitten dangling just in reach, ready to be pulled back on with your teeth after you picked up the elusive rope to your sled.

And sled, we did. Using the traditional PF Flexible Flyers with their distinctive red runners that you could hand steer (now for sale on EBay as vintage), and nearly immobilized by snow pants, jackets, scarves, hats and heavy boots, we searched out the best hills for sledding—almost always in the immediate neighborhood. When a hill was not available, I am ashamed to say we used the street. I happened to live on a corner which hosted one of the better roads for sledding.

That is, until my sister ruined it for everyone. One night,

14

as dusk rolled in, Mother called us in to dinner—probably about 5 o’clock or so. My 5-year- old sister yelled, “Just one more run!” Within minutes, she was flying head first down the center of the road when a car drove directly over her, snagged her jacket on the undercarriage and dragged her for the rest of the block. A small article in The Journal reported that she escaped miraculously with a small scar near her eye—but that was the end of street sledding for the neighborhood.

It was not the end of using the streets for winter recreational activities, however. One of the favorite pastimes of the boys in our neighborhood was to “hitch a ride.” This involved running after a passing car, grabbing the bumper, and using your boots as skis, spraying slush in all directions, be pulled down the street until the driver either stopped or—more likely—hit the accelerator.

A safer (almost always) winter pastime was ice skating. While there were many places in town that provided a skating surface, including the edges of the St. Lawrence and some backyards where industrious parents cleared a space and flooded a patch, the most popular skating rink was outdoors at the local high school.

Located in the track oval was the town rink, lighted and open for skating well into the evening. I never knew if it was the school department that provided this facility each winter, but I do know that the school must have been involved as the main attraction of the rink was the equipment barn, located at the far back corner of the rink. With skates on, (white figure skates for girls, black hockey skates for boys), we could trudge up the wooden ramp and spend time recovering on long rows of scarred wooden benches. For those who didn’t receive skates under the tree for Christmas, there were many used pairs available for rental. Someone also provided a skate-sharpening service (25 cents), to put the edge back on your blade periodically.

Warmed by a wood stove, we were often reluctant to venture back into the cold—especially after we had a cup or two of hot

January 2018

chocolate and a Milky Way or two for energy. There were more than one or two romances sparked at the rink, learning to skate backwards was a real accomplishment, being at the end of the occasional impromptu whip was a thrill, and hockey play was relegated to one corner.

Skiing was less popular when I was growing up, not only because of the expense involved, but because the closest big ski area was a hike (as is everything in the North Country!) Few students had cars (and certainly most of our parents were not able to take a day to sit in a ski lodge). The “ski area”—and I use the term loosely—where most of us were introduced to the sport was a hill that ran beside a restaurant in Black Lake. I don’t remember any lessons being offered, but I do remember that the only way back up the hill was a rope tow—a convenience I never seemed to quite master. I usually managed to get up the hill a few feet at a time, falling off the tow frequently. One of the stories that circulated about the tow is that you had to be really careful or your long hair or scarf would become entangled in the rope and you might be scalped or strangled before anyone noticed. My first pair of skis, now hanging on my office wall, was natural wood, with no edges, and cable bindings (Google cable bindings!). The only ski boots we had were our regular snow boots, clamped tightly by the metal cable—no quick release mechanisms in sight! Even though I spent the rest of my life in New England, I never did become a good skier—oh, I had better equipment and bigger mountains—but I never got over the fear that unfortunately plagued those of us who began the sport after age 5.

Warning—hockey moms and dads, read no further. There was no hockey—except at colleges and across the river in Canada. There was no enclosed rinks in town. There were no interscholastic hockey teams, and parents actually got to sleep past 4:30 am on the weekends. However, if my great-nephews are any indication, Ogdensburg might just be considered a “hockey town” today. And that’s not all that’s changed. I’ve abandoned the misty recollection of a snow globe winter and replaced it with Carl Reiner’s view: “A lot of people like snow.

I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water!”

Author’s notes: Snowboarding today is considered the number one most popular outdoor winter sport—nonexistent in the 1960s.

The other top winter sports are curling (no doubt an indication of an aging population), cross country skiing, ice skating and sledding.

For those interested in the fitness value—ice skating burns up 310 calories in 45 minutes—allowing an extra donut on the drive to hockey practice!

The Smithfield Times, Inc.

15

Al Bruno’s Smithfield remembered – Esmond Street and the East Smithfield Neighborhood Center

By Laurence J. Sasso, Jr. This is the eleventh article in an occasional series about Smithfield locations that have either been forgotten by time or are no longer remembered for what they once represented. The locations are selected from a list compiled by former Smithfield Building Official Al Bruno. A profile of Mr. Bruno, now 86, was originally featured in the January, 2017 edition of The Smithfield Times.

The first installment of this series ran in February 2017.

This month’s installment is a little different. It centers on Mr. Bruno’s recollections of an entire street in the area where he grew up, and includes the East Smithfield Neighborhood Center, which he knew as The Esmond Community Hall.

Built by the Esmond Mills, the site served a variety of purposes for the neighborhood.

“As a small boy I remember the building as a library, a dance hall, a table tennis place, a club where we played cards, and a four lane bowling all at the same time,” he says. “It was a meeting hall for many organizations too,” he adds.

Mr. Bruno attended Boy Scout meetings there for more than 10 years, and he notes that the facility hosted the Esmond Canteen on Tuesday and Saturday nights. Mr. Bruno was the DJ “spinning records” for the dances.

He recounts how, as a youth, he would stick his head out the door of the place before leaving to see if he could smell his father’s cigar smoke as he walked home. He said if he did, he would race to beat him home lest he get a scolding for being out too late.

“As a teenager I set pins for many leagues there. Also, in the rear yard was the Esmond Pond with a diving board where we swam for years. We waved at the engineers of the steam locomotive who passed by daily on the railroad tracks of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad. They would toot the steam horn and wave back to us kids as they passed by.”

Today the Center is closed for a number of safety deficiencies which are being evaluated.

When Mr. Bruno was a youth, Esmond Street, where the Center is located, ran only from Waterman Avenue to Dean Avenue. Today it goes all the way through to Route 44. Back then it was necessary to use Sebille Road to get to Route 44. It joined up where the off ramp from Route 295 is now situated.

“Beginning at Dean Avenue, the first building was the George McDonald Market,” Mr. Bruno explains. “Across the street was the Dorothy T.P. Dame School, now the East Smithfield Public Library. The first house at the corner of Esmond Street and Hill Avenue was the home of Robert

16

Tobin, the personnel director of the Esmond Mills, the largest employer in town in those days. It manufactured the famous Esmond Bunny Blankets.”

Proceeding toward Waterman Avenue, Mr. Bruno recalls the Earl Latham appliance repair shop, Sweeney’s Liquor Store, and to its rear the Esmond Bottling Works, which made Manhattan beverages.

“I spent a great deal of my teens there bottling soda,” he remarks, adding “directly across the street from the store was the kindergarten I attended as a toddler.”

Chapman’s Dairy was next door and then Leone’s Variety Store, which was later demolished, he mentions.

“Then came ‘Joe the Barber,’ and in the same building was Rocheford’s Market at Elm Court. Next was the main gate to the Esmond Mill, complete with an attendant,” he continues.

“A short way down the road was the Esmond Community Hall.”

At the junction of Esmond Street and Waterman Avenue Mr. Bruno points out that there was a large World War I memorial with the names of those from the area who served.

“Across the street on the opposite corner was a World war II honor roll listing all who served who were employed by the mill,” he adds. “Last was Haskins’ Fish and Chips, which was in the building which had Leveille’s Esmond Shop, our local hangout where we met our friends. That is the Esmond Street I remember.”

Interestingly enough, none of the businesses he describes still exist.

January 2018

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IMHO

Let me be perfectly clear

By Ron Scopelliti So I was online trying to identify an action figure I had as a kid. He was some sort of evil mastermind, and the top of his head was a clear plastic dome, so you could see his brain.

I can’t recall his name, and I can’t recall what color he was, though I remember the color being something decidedly nonhuman; maybe magenta.

I Googled to see whether I was thinking of the original, pre-Austin-Powers Dr. Evil, who was the nemesis of Captain Action. But it turns out his brain had no transparent cover – he was simply missing the top of his skull, with his brain completely exposed to the elements. I never found an explanation for this deformity, but I suppose it was either an experiment to improve cooling, or some type of horrible Flowbee accident.

I’m not sure why I found that transparent brain cover so fascinating, and why it still sticks in my memory today.

But the more I think about it, the more I’m intrigued by the concept of transparency.

It’s amazing when you consider that there can be a solid substance which you can’t pass through, but which you can look through just like it wasn’t there. It’s one of those miracles of physics that we take for granted, but that would change our lives forever if it ceased to be. Like ice being lighter than liquid water, making it float on the surface of a pond in the winter, rather than sinking down and crushing all the fish beneath it.

I remember visiting the American Museum of Natural History in New York when I was about eight years old, and the display cases were so clear that I kept leaning in to see items more closely and banging my face into the glass. Imagine being an alien from a planet with no transparent substances, then wandering into that museum and trying to figure out what the mysterious barrier is that’s preventing you from leaning in and taking a bite out of that delicious-looking coelacanth specimen.

As baffled as that alien would be, we’d be in even worse shape if we were forced to exist on a world with no transparency.

Think how annoying it would be living in houses with no windows, and not even having lightbulbs to make up for the lack of sunlight.

Not having transparency means there would be no traditional glass mirrors, so we’d have to resort to other reflective surfaces.

On the one hand, I can imagine myself carving my face into a bloody mess while trying to shave using my convex reflection

18

on a spoon. On the other hand, it would be a good excuse not to shave.

We’d have to get used to driving without windshields, and we couldn’t even compensate by wearing goggles, because they’d have no lenses. When it came to sunglasses, we’d be reduced to wearing those novelty louvered-plastic glasses that cheesy new-wave bands wore.

I’m not sure how you’d make a computer display without transparency, so all our computer output would probably have to be printed. And if that were the case, our smart phones would have to be equipped with tiny little printers. I can picture people walking around with paper-tape streamers of tweets and text messages trailing behind their phones. But now that I think of it, no transparency means there’d be no lenses in our eyes, so the paper tapes would probably have to be in braille.

I suppose I can’t talk about literal transparency without talking about figurative transparency. We’re always looking for transparency in government and journalism, and both seem to be letting us down lately.

Oddly, despite Donald Trump’s opaqueness when it comes to Russian collusion and obstruction of justice, I have to admit that in a certain way he’s offered Americans a level of transparency that’s rare among presidents.

We know he’s at his most transparent when he’s far away from a teleprompter, sending out tweets about “liddle Bob Corker” and the “little rocket man,” and other people who don’t meet his apparent height requirements. In the interest of journalistic transparency, I have to state that I’m sure to be in that category.

And based on one of his tweets, we know that he “had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI.” Oh wait – he says that was his lawyer’s tweet. Now we’re back to opaque Trump.

Despite obfuscating his actions, Trump’s tweets give us a clear view inside his mindset. Sometimes the insults that people hurl reveal their worst fears about themselves. “Fake,” “failing,” “crooked,” “bad ratings.” It’s hard to ignore the irony when he uses those terms to describe others.

So when I go back to searching the web to find the identity of an exotically-colored villain with a transparent brain-case, I probably shouldn’t be surprised if his first name turns out to be “Donald.”

January 2018

Damon Giustini of North Scituate carved this sculpture from a tree at the home of Jason and Jennifer Hurst located on Smith Avenue.

Photos by Albert Tavakalov/The Smithfield Times.

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19

Former Greenville Hardware Owner Carves Out a New Path at Douglas Lumber

By Paul Lonardo Smithfield’s Ron Depault and his family are well known in the area for owning and operating two hardware stores in Cumberland and Smithfield for many years. Ron established Greenville Ace Hardware on Putnam Pike in 1985, which he ran very successfully until he sold the business in 2015 to Rocky’s Ace Hardware, a Springfield, Massachusetts based, family-owned business that has many neighborhood stores across five states.

store, “for me, what I did was to help people through the process of their home repair.”

Ron was also private contractor throughout the 1990’s, and still was up until recently, when a great opportunity presented itself to him. Shortly after he sold his hardware store to Rocky’s, Douglas Lumber, Kitchens & Home Center offered a position to him, and he took it. And he couldn’t have been happier. It was a way to get back to

One thing that made Ron’s business take off was his ability to fix nearly anything. His product knowledge and the more than competitive prices they offered is what helped make the business a big success for Ron and his family. They maintained their high customer service level even as the big box stores began to open up, and chains like Home Depot and Lowes expanded.

“While we sold everything under the sun,” Ron says of his former hardware

working with people again, both homeowners and developers, and doing something he is very familiar with and which he has always enjoyed.

“It’s something you don’t think you’re going to miss until you’re out of it a little while,” Ron says. “But you’d be surprised how quickly you miss doing what you know.”

Ron has known the owners of Douglas Lumber for years, and has done business with them for a long time

20

before they asked him to join their staff.

They knew that Ron’s management skills, as well as his ability and experience working with contractors, would be a big asset to them.

“They are just a wonderful company to work for,” Ron says. “And there are such wonderful people there.”

As the Inside Sales Manager, Ron sells everything from paint and lumber to doors and windows.

“We pretty much sell everything you need for your homeowner project or contractor work if you’re a builder.”

Douglas Lumber, in operation since 1976, is family-owned and is one of the largest independent contractor lumberyards in New England, with a 100,000 square foot facility sitting on a 15-acre lot on Douglas Pike in Smithfield. They are able to compete with national chain stores on the strength of quality products, top notch service and through their membership in a multi-billion dollar buying group, which allows them to buy products at lower prices than their competitors.

Their state-of-the-art kitchen design center features 18 fully assembled kitchen displays as well as a free estimating and design service which utilizes a CAD program that will allow you to see a computerized layout of the kitchen of your dreams.

With their own large fleet of delivery trucks, they can deliver material throughout New England.

Ron’s strength is paint, but has vast knowledge and experiences, and he can help you with whatever you’re looking for in and around your home.

Feel free to call Ron at Douglas Lumber 401-231-6800 Ext 271 or email rdepault@douglaslumber.com.

January 2018

Smithfield Resident Brendan Carroll Promoted To Lieutenant Colonel

“Your Local Tree Professional Since 1986”

By Jim Ignasher December 2, 2017, was a proud day for Smithfield resident Brendan Carroll who was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Rhode Island National Guard.

LTC Carroll has been serving his country for the past sixteen years, and he still enjoys what he does.

He grew up in the neighboring town of Glocester, and after graduating from Ponaganset High School, was accepted to the prestigious West Point Military Academy.

There he completed his studies in 2001, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Army. When asked why he chose West Point for his college degree he said it was because he liked the structure of the academic program, and that the military academy “stood out as something unique.”

From West Point he went for further officer training in Missouri before being assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He’s also attended Army Ranger School.

Carroll has been deployed to Afghanistan three times, one time serving as a company commander whose unit worked to clear roadways of explosive devices. Besides the normal campaign medals he’s earned, he’s also been awarded two Bronze Stars, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal.

After ten years of active duty, Carroll transferred to the National Guard, where he continues his military service.

However, LTC Carroll isn’t the only member of his family to serve his country. His younger brother Kevin is also an officer in the United States Army.

LTC Carroll lives in Smithfield with his wife, Liberty, and two children, a son, Tegan, 6, and a daughter, Quinn, 2.

We at the Smithfield Times thank him for his service.

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The Scituate National Bank Robbery of 1868

By Jim Ignasher

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At about 1 a.m., on the morning of Wednesday, March 25, 1868, Albert Hubbard and his wife awoke to find four armed men standing around their bed.

How they got in is unknown, but in the mid 19th century people living in rural towns like Scituate generally didn’t have to lock their doors. Perhaps at first the Hubbards wondered if they were dreaming.

Then one of the intruders warned. “If either of you moves, or makes a sound, you’ll be dead!” This man was the apparent leader, whom the others called “Captain”.

The couple was quickly bound and gagged, as was their young son who was sleeping in another room. The incident wasn’t random. Hubbard had been targeted because he was the cashier of the Scituate National Bank, and the men intended to use him in their effort to rob it.

The intruders had already broken into the bank a little more than an hour earlier, but had failed in their attempts to get the vault open. Kidnapping Mr. Hubbard and terrorizing his family was their alternate plan.

While two men stayed with their hostages, Hubbard was led by the other two to the bank to which he had the keys and the combination to the vault. But the combination wasn’t enough. There was a secret way to open it, and Hubbard was one of only three people who knew that secret.

There were no regular police patrols in Scituate in 1868, so there was little worry of encountering a constable as they made their way a short distance through the darkened streets.

On the way one of the men asked Hubbard how much money was in the bank, to which Hubbard replied, “Not much.”

Then the other stated they believed the bank held $50,000, and wouldn’t have bothered Hubbard if they’d thought otherwise.

After forcing Hubbard to open the vault, the two thugs removed its entire contents without taking the time to examine what they were looting. They then brought Hubbard back to his house and secured he and his family to give themselves time to get away. Not long after the men had left. Mr. Hubbard managed to free himself, and after making sure his family was safe, he ran to the home of the bank president and informed him of the robbery. Together they immediately sought out someone to send a telegraph to Providence alerting authorities to be on the lookout for the thieves. Of course it was

January 2018

possible that the men could have headed westward towards the rural towns of Connecticut, but Providence was the nearest large populated area at the time where someone on the run might obtain passage on a train or a steamship.

The robbers had escaped with $10,000 in bonds, $5,500 in bills of various banks, $1,000 in bills of the Scituate National Bank, and $3,000 in bills belonging to the former Citizens Union Bank. (It should be explained here that in the 1800s many banks issued their own currency with their bank’s name on it.)

Other items taken in the robbery included savings and bank books being held by the bank for security, as well as wills, deeds, mortgages, and other valuable personal papers of bank customers.

The only money left behind was a satchel containing $1,000 in cash which it was believed was accidentally dropped by the robbers as they made their getaway from the bank.

However, some of the money taken was virtually worthless to the robbers. Those bills marked Citizens Union Bank for example. The Citizen’s Union Bank was incorporated in 1833, and in 1864 changed its name to the Scituate National Bank when the bank became part of the national system. The new bank had been accepting the old bills, but with word of the robbery spreading, anyone wishing to cash them would need to prove they were not some of the bills stolen in the robbery.

Authorities didn’t have much to go on in the way of clues.

The men had covered their faces thus making identification difficult. One was said to have spoken in a German accent.

A standard crowbar was found in the bank, but “dusting” for fingerprints, or collecting possible forensic evidence was unknown in 1868.

The bank was located in a two story wooden building with an apartment on the second floor. Tenants residing upstairs told investigators that they hadn’t seen or heard anything unusual all night.

A nearby tavern keeper stated he’d heard a wagon leave his stable around 3:00 a.m. but didn’t think anything of it.

It was later ascertained that the men had gone to Providence and boarded a Boston bound train at 4:50 a.m.

Investigators traced the team of horses used by the bandits to a stable on Dorrance Street. The owner said the four had rented it around 9:00 p.m. the night before, and had returned it sometime after 4:00 a.m.

It was further learned that the same men had visited the Granite National Bank in Pascoag a week earlier, but decided to rob the one in Scituate instead.

Yet despite the menacing behavior of the robbers towards the Hubbard family, apparently the men felt some remorse for their actions. Sixteen days after the robbery, it was reported in the Woonsocket Patriot that some of the items taken during the commission of the crime had been returned. A package

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that arrived via express mail from Philadelphia contained a large number of important papers, wills, valuables, jewelry, etc. which belonged to private citizens who had entrusted their safety with the bank.

To this the Woonsocket Patriot reported in part; “This act of the robbers seems a little odd, but is one of the characteristics of the professional gentlemen who take your money, and then return the empty wallet. Sending the returned documents from Philadelphia is probably “a blind”; and no one need look for the robbers, or their plunder, in that city.”

The men responsible for robbing the Scituate National Bank were never apprehended.

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Tech Review: How to beat the high cost of software

By Ron Scopelliti I think most of us are familiar with those “Don’t Eat That – Eat This” articles that you see on websites, teaching you how to replace high-calorie, cholesterol-laden foods with healthier alternatives. My goal this month is to offer two “Don’t Buy This – Download That” options to beat the high cost of software by using open-source freeware.

Freeware, as the name implies, is available to users at no cost, though developers will often ask for donations. Open-source means that the source code for the software is available for modification and redistribution for anyone with the technical skills and ambition to do so.

Both of the alternatives listed below have undergone long development periods, and have a proven track record of safety and reliability. They’re both available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

An Alternative to Microsoft Office A single-user version of Microsoft Office will cost you between $69.99 and $83.88 per year using the Office 365 Cloud service, depending on which plan you choose. If you’re willing to live without a database program and other conveniences, you can locally install a single copy or Office Home & Student on a single PC for $149.99. To me, either option seems like a lot to pay for an office suite that has become increasingly user-unfriendly since 2003.

While there are online services that offer office suites, I often work in places that have unreliable Wi-Fi, so I don’t want to rely on a cloud-based office suite. While Google’s office suite offers the ability to work offline, there are too many caveats and potential sync problems involved for me to feel comfortable doing so.

For years, the go-to alternative was Open Office suite which was free to download and install on as many computers as users liked. When the developers stopped updating the suite, a number of other developers took the source code and went down different paths or “forks” developing their own updated versions.

One of the most popular and highly-rated versions is Libre Office. It comes with applications to create word processing NETWORKING

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documents, spreadsheets, slideshow presentations, drawings, and databases. Download time for the 243 MB file from www. libreoffice.org took under a minute, and installation was quick and easy.

Though it’s strictly a personal preference, I like Libre Office’s user interface better than the newest Microsoft Office interface.

The controls are more similar to those in Office 2003, offering simple drop-down menus, and large, easy to recognize icons, as opposed to Microsoft’s newer “ribbon” setup, which I find to be poorly organized and difficult to use.

The default in each application is to save files using Libre Office’s formats and extensions. But since all the people I work with use Microsoft Office, I changed the save defaults to Microsoft formats (.docx, .xlsx, etc.). I’ve had no problems going back and forth to work on the same files using Microsoft applications and Libre Office applications.

An Alternative to Photoshop When it comes to photo processing, photographers and visual artists are faced with a dilemma. Now that Adobe only makes the full version of Photoshop available through its online Creative Cloud service, they can either buy the watered-down Photoshop Elements for $69.99, or pay $9.99 per month for Adobe’s Creative Cloud Photography annual plan.

That’s where GIMP comes in. GIMP is an acronym for “GNU Image Manipulation Program.” The download size and time is very close to that of Libre Office, as is the setup time. The download is available at www.gimp.org.

The GIMP installer is about 100 MB. It contains both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the program, and will automatically use the right one for your operating system.

While the controls aren’t drastically different in their functions from Photoshop, they’re somewhat different in their names and layout. Transitioning from Photoshop to GIMP isn’t quite as easy as transitioning from Microsoft Office to Libre Office. The toolbar is a little less intuitive than Photoshop, but that could be based on the fact that I’ve been using various versions of Photoshop for about 20 years, and have used GIMP for about two weeks.

The program only “saves” in its own proprietary format. In order to save a file in a more conventional format like JPG or GIF, you have to use the “export” or “export as” commands. Exporting to a Photoshop PSD format allows you to open the photo in Photoshop and work on it normally. Similarly, opening a PSD file in GIMP hasn’t presented me with any problems so far.

Both Libre Office and GIMP have plenty of online forums and tutorials available if you run into problems, and for those who want to spend actual money, there are a number of books, magazines, and “bookazines” in local bookstores.

January 2018

SMITHFIELD’S ALL-LIT-UP

would like to thank the following for their support and hard work to make the 2nd Annual Parade a huge success! ­— Committee — Chief Robert Seltzer, SFD Kate McAdam-Prickett, Co-chair Ann Marie Donahue Dorothy Swain Karen Armstrong Ryan Whitten

Bob Caine Charlie Walsh Sergeant Corey Carpenter, SPD Captain Ken Brown, SPD Representative Thomas Winfield, Chair

­— GENERAL — The Greenville Baptist Church Randy Rossi, Smithfield Town Manager Chief Robert Seltzer and the men and woman of the Smithfield Fire Department Chief Richard St. Sauveur and the men and woman of the Smithfield Police Department Todd Manni, Smithfield EMA and C.E.R.T team Smithfield Department of Public Works RI Special Olympics Dr. Judith Paolucci The Cavanaugh Company United Rentals of Smithfield St. Thomas Episcopal Church Rev. Pamela L. Corcoran Bruce Beaumier The Smithfield Times Gary and David Tikoian Representative Steve Ucci

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Valley Breeze Observer Paul Harrison Michael Branch Brandon England Julie Foley The Smithfield Sentinels Boy’s Hockey Team The Providence Canteen RI Antique Fire Apparatus Society Deidre Donavan Nannette Corcoran Max Carpenter Sarah Seltzer Charlene Winfield Capuano Rebecca Winfield Mary Capuano Graphic Innovations 2nd Time Around Sports And All of our Parade Participants

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The Saint Philip School Chorus traveled to Providence to participate in the 2017 Holiday Concerts at the Rhode Island State House.

Under the direction of Mrs. Melissa Roberts, students performed several Christmas selections. Rep Thomas Winfield of Smithfield and his friend Buddy, a therapy dog who brings comfort to many, welcomed the students and thanked them for their performance.

Chorus Members: Alyssa Adams, Kaitlyn Archambault, Gia Conti, Kyla Desormier, Ava Graham, Ella Graham, Jordan Hendricks, Arianna Howell, Mikayla Imondi, Joshua Kline, Jack Lamoureux, Lauren Langelier, Chace Lawton, Madison Lawton, Kelsey L’heureux, Avery Lough, Robert Mancini, Pamela Mendez, Megan Napon, Madison Narducci, Maeve Parrish, John Pierce, Brenna Riccitelli, Renee Rheaume, Gabrielle Shyllon, Isabella Stanzione, and Anna Vredenburg. Photo submitted by Saint Philip School

Children and live animals participate in the live Nativity scene at the Our Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Photo by Albert Tavakalov/The Smithfield Times

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January 2018

SMITHFIELD’S ALL-LIT-UP

Photos by Albert Tavakalov/The Smithfield Times

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TOP DOGS AND COOL CATS Submitted By Jules Martins of Village Paws Pet Salon

The cold nose under the Christmas tree!

The bond you have with your new puppy begins the moment he comes into your life and never stops growing. You can nurture this bond through affection, training, grooming, playtime, general exercise and participation in various activities. Below are some tips on helping you create a relationship with your pup to last a lifetime.

soil their sleeping space. If it’s too big, your puppy will learn to relieve himself on one side of the crate and sleep on the other. Too small and he may feel cramped. A great way to introduce your pup to it’s crate is to toss in a few cookies. This will help your pup to associate the crate with rewards. Once your dog views the crate as his “special space”, leave the door open. Don’t be surprised if you see your pup sacked out in it.

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Social skills 101: The first 16 weeks of your dog’s life is the most important learning period. This is the time to get your puppy used to people of all shapes and sizes as well as other animals, such as cats and dogs.

Carry treats around with you to give to people so they can give them to your puppy. This helps to associate good things with all kinds of individuals and avoids your dog from becoming aggressive.

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Get a crate: The use of a crate is beneficial for several reasons. Your puppy’s crate is a place of security, comfort and quiet. The crate should never be used for time outs, rather it’s a place of solitude and safety. The crate will also help to keep your home safe from puppy-created mayhem.

Puppies younger than six months old should not be crated for more than two or three hours, except at night. Crates help with house training. Even young puppies don’t like to

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Expose your pup to different situations. This not only gets him used to people and places, but will create a trusting bond between you. Many of the big pet supply stores welcome your dog through their doors. The staff will eagerly shower your pup with hugs and kind words. This will certainly create a positive experience for your pup.

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A tired dog = a happy owner: The more exercise you give your pup the happier you will both be. Boredom breeds mischievous behavior in dogs of all ages. By spending quality time with your dog, you can avoid many of

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the pitfalls associated with lack of exercise: chewing, incessant barking, biting and acting out of control.

Taking your dog to doggie day care a few times a week is often a good idea if you work a lot. This is great for allowing your pup to play with other dogs, thus increasing his social skills while wearing him out. There is one local daycare that has a Sunday social event where owners can stay and play and watch their dog enjoy their canine crew. There is nothing like the company of other dog lovers while you watch your pup play with his pack.

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Hands on: Spend time handling and touching your pup. While he is on your lap as you watch tv gently play with his paws and nails. Rub behind his ears & stroke his head. As a groomer, there is nothing better than working on a dog that has been handled early on. It is very important to introduce your pup to the vet and groomer as soon as you can. This will save both you and your dog lots of stress further down the road. Even if you just stop in for a quick nail trim, we promise to fuss all over him and make it a good experience.

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They will love you unconditionally, with no questions or concerns, for their entire life.

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50 Years Ago

January, 1968

By Jim Ignasher Fifteen ladies from Smithfield were named as captains in the 1968 March of Dimes fundraising campaign. The March of Dimes is an organization dedicated to preventing birth defects. Those named were: Mrs. Albert A. Apshaga, Mrs. Francis R. Beaudry, Mrs. John K. Boyle, Mrs. George J. Chasse, Mrs. Charles V. Day, Mrs. John J. Dolan, Mrs. Bernard J. Ferro, Mrs. Norman W. Hawkins, Mrs. Henry N. McCutcheon, Mrs. Robert E. Reall, Mrs. Roland Robenhymer, Mrs. Robert O, Sparling, Mrs. Allen B. Schwartz, Mrs. William J. Walker, Mrs. Frank N. Zangari. ­— On January 7, the price of mailing a let-

ter went from five cents to six cents. ­— Some of the newest citizen-volunteer government groups in town included the Township Preservation and Development Council, dedicated to improving the appearance of Smithfield and preserving its heritage.

A group calling themselves The Citizens for the Preservation of Smithfield was formed to fight a zoning change which would allow an apartment complex to be constructed on Rt. 44 near Maplecrest Drive.

The Smithfield Tax League consisted of citizens concerned about the town’s

rapid growth rate, and future need for more services which would equate to higher taxes. ­— On January 12, the American Telephone and Telegraph Co., (AT&T), announced plans to begin instituting what we’ve come to know as the 9-1-1 emergency call system. It was estimated that the cost would be 50 million dollars, and the installation of routing equipment around the country would take several years. ­— On January 13, a thick column of black smoke visible for miles was seen ris-

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ing from the Sparling Mills on Austin Ave. The Greenville Fire Department responded and discovered the cause to be the intentional burning of spools and other debris. ­— Army Staff Sergeant Clifford W. Silvia died in Vietnam on July 17, 1967 from combat wounds received a few days earlier. In January of 1968 he was awarded the following medals posthumously: the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and the Honorable Service Award. The medals were presented to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Silvia, at a special ceremony.

Airman 1/C Terrance M. McCaffrey of Greenville participated in an emergency airlift operation to drop bales of hay to sheep and cows stranded in heavy snow on the Hopi Indian Reservation in Arizona. His Air Force unit flew 161 sorties and dropped 858 tons of hay.

Marine Corps Corporal Hawkins W. Hibbs Jr. of Greenville reported for duty at the Marine Aerial Refueling Transport Squadron 252 at Cherry Point, N. C. Walter G. Bouchard, U.S. Navy, was promoted to Chief Petty Officer. He

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was serving aboard the U.S.S. White Plains, AFS-4. ­— Boy Scout Troop 1 of Esmond, under the leadership of Scout Master Roland Robenhymer, participated in “Operation Freeze Out”, and spent a weekend camping at Camp Yawgoog.

Participating scouts included: Mark Kocon, Paul St. Jean, John Bateman, Alan and Kenneth Lemieux, Joe Robenhymer, Brian Millard, and Paul Lambarde. ­— The Mothers of Twins Club held a meeting on January 18. ­— A “Snowflake Dance”, sponsored by the Smithfield Recreation Department, was held on the 19th at Anna McCabe School. ­— Speaking of schools, how many remember the “Bombardier”? It was a mini tractor-bulldozer that the town used to clear sidewalks of snow within a onemile radius of the schools so kids didn’t have to walk in the streets.

­— A contest was held by the Greenville Library to see which student(s) could read the most books between October 1st and December 30th. The winners were announced in January. First place went to Priscilla Albrechit, who read 156 books. Other winners included: Linda Sachuk, 102 books; Lori Pagnozzi, 101; Paula Mackinlay, 90; and Mark Adams, 69. ­— Specifications for a new post office building in Greenville were approved.

The new building would be twice as large as the old one, but a site had yet to be chosen. ­— In January of 1968 a proposal was put forth to build a large ski resort in the Buck Hill Management Area of Burrillville. Smithfield Senator F. Monroe Allen announced he was in favor of the plan, for even though it wouldn’t be in Smithfield, it would certainly benefit local residents who enjoyed winter activities. Unfortunately, the resort was never built.

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By John LaFauci I had made my daily morning walk out to the Providence Journal box at the end of the driveway to pick up my paper. You know the paper I’m speaking of. It used to be delivered in the morning, and again in the afternoon, and it was a whole lot heavier when I had to deliver it as a boy.

The first article that struck my eye was the closing of the Benny’s chain. I was saddened, but accepted it as an economic trend that seems to be taking over our country. The Benny’s closing only piggybacked on to the closing of Sears stores, Radio Shack, Toys R Us and malls all over the United States. As is the case with change, both social and economic, we seem to find new ways to accomplish the same results and move along without much fanfare. This one seems to trouble me a bit more than other changes that we have gone through but not for the reasons you might think.

With the recent acquisition of Whole Foods by Amazon, the increase in Walmart’s online delivery service and other new ways of purchasing goods (Pea Pod from Stop & Shop, ready-made meal deliveries to the home, 90day prescription deliveries), we have become a country where it is very easy for anyone to sit at their computer, order anything that they need, get it delivered the next day, pay for it with their credit card and never have any contact, either verbal or physical, with another human being. I think this is what upsets me more than the actual method of purchasing products.

Slowly but surely, we are getting away from having any contact with those around us. Our ability to converse with others in any situation is escaping us at an alarming rate.

Verbal communication is being replaced with blogs, Facebook rants, cyberbullying and tweets. No one speaks with anyone face to face about their concerns. All communication is done via the computer, which leaves little in the form of human contact. We don’t know or want to know the people whom we are dealing with either in business or in life. More and more young professionals are now working from home two, three or even five days a week.

They seldom go to the office and have faceto-face meetings. Everything is handled with Skype or FaceTime. What kind of interpersonal

skills can they possibly be developing when there is little or no physical contact with the world outside the home office? When even the President of the United States tweets on a daily basis, what does this say about the inability of the human race to converse with others to solve the ills of the world?

I am not sure if we are becoming a country where everyone fears and distrusts others, but it seems that any human contact with our neighbors and associates is becoming a thing of the past. People are comfortable staying in their houses, home schooling their children, having meals delivered to the door by a FedEx or UPS truck and never having to go out and deal with others face to face.

I recall as a child when people who owned two cars were considered wealthy and must have been somehow related to the Rockefellers, JP Morgan, or Getty. Now, it almost makes sense to get rid of that second car since there is no real need to pay the insurance, gas and maintenance of a vehicle that is going to sit in the garage while all business is being conducted on a seat in front of the computer in the study.

Are we heading towards a way of life where no one knows their neighbors and helps them in times of need? Does a hurricane or other natural disaster need to be the binding force that brings people out of their private lifestyles?

Buying goods online is nothing more than an economic change in history along with many of the other changes brought about by the power of the computer. It does not mean that we need to lose the ability to verbally communicate with each other on a regular basis. That is what separates us from the animals and allows us to be the great civilization that we are. If we lose that ability, we can no longer call ourselves the United States of America. We become nothing more than random people living in the same geographic area.

Anyway, I guess I’ve now fallen prey to my own computer writing this article. Right after I order my next book for my Kindle on Amazon, I’m going to take the dog for a walk, get some fresh air and see if my neighbors really do exist.

Maybe if they are outside, I’ll even talk with them. Wow, what a novel idea!!

January 2018

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Ask an Expert

By Tom Lopatosky My name is Tom Lopatosky. I’m the President of LOPCO Contracting (www.

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snow piling up quickly, as evidenced by experiences fresh in our memory, is VERY real.

As home and business owners, what can we do to help better prepare ourselves in advance of the snow and when we do have snow that begins to add up?

Here are some hints that are hopefully helpful: In advance of snow: • Make sure your snowblower(s) are working properly • Make sure your shovels & roof-rakes are in an easy to find place and are in good condition • Make sure your snowmelt is properly stocked After a good-sized snow/as the snow piles up:

Preparing for Snow Around these parts, it is a 4-letter word if there ever was one – S-N-O-W… The last three years, Rhode Islanders have lucked out very well through December and most of January as winter has seemingly taken its sweet time to get here – this year has already been a bit different!

Hardly anybody probably will forget what happened though in late January of 2015 and the several weeks that followed anytime soon (I would not be surprised if we still had snow somewhere melting from that winter!!).

This past winter, we had nowhere near the piling up of snow that we did a couple of winters before, but we certainly had our share of it.

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• Make sure snow is removed from walkways & driveways soon after it falls to prevent icing up • Make sure dryer/exhaust vents & the bottom of your downspouts do not stay buried in snow and remove snow from laying up against the foundation wherever you are able to • If snow begins to pile up to a great degree, if possible, make sure it does not pile up too high on your roof Although these all may seem very obvious, I believe they are beyond important in order to help navigate through the snowiest days of winter.

Trying to live everyday life while snow is throwing curveballs at it is challenging enough, a simple gameplan to aid in battling these winter days can go a long way! I personally cannot wait for Spring to get here!

January 2018

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Self-motivated Patient, Now Nutrition Expert, Determines Secret Ingredients to Family’s Health

By Paul Lonardo In 2007, Kathleen DiChiara was a married mother of two working for a Fortune 500 company in Boston. She and her husband Stephen were very active and physically fit, with Kathleen training and competing in triathlons, so when she suddenly developed low back pain she simply put some pain relief cream on the problem area and took an Advil, attributing the pain to overuse, stress and working long hours. When the problem began to get worse—progressing to nerve pain in one of her legs and eventually preventing her from bearing any weight on the leg—she went to see a doctor. She was immediately diagnosed with sudden onset neuropathy—essentially a trapped nerve in her lower back, and not all that uncommon. She began physical therapy and spinal injections, but nothing helped. She began to lose the ability to control her foot and leg, so her doctor suggested surgery to prevent permanent damage and loss of movement. Kathleen reluctantly agreed; after the procedure she awoke in the hospital, unable to move her lower body.

The paralysis was frightening to Kathleen and her husband, even after tests confirmed that no nerves in her back had been damaged during the surgery. The only explanation given was the post-op label “poor response to surgery,” so Kathleen was eventually sent home, where she was expected to slowly regain motion and feeling in her legs.

“That was the beginning a very long and unexpected journey because it ended up cascading into a whole host of very complex

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autoimmune responses in my body,” Kathleen says. “I ended up developing chronic pain syndrome, fibromyalgia, and neurological symptoms. So I never actually recovered. I got much, much sicker.”

Her doctors were perplexed, with few suggestions outside of additional surgeries and medication.

At that point, Kathleen says, “It really becomes the patient’s responsibility to seek other ways, and I tried everything. I went to Boston, I went to sports clinics, I sought out forward-thinking doctors who work with athletes, figuring they might have an answer because maybe they see these kinds of unique injuries.”

Unable to work, with no prognosis of recovery, she was put on permanent disability. It was a struggle on so many levels—not only going from being active and healthy, working twelve hours in a day in a career she loved, to being bedridden—but also having two young children, a three-year old and an eighteenmonth old, who she could not care for the way she wanted to.

“It was quite shocking to us,” Kathleen says. “People often ask me, ‘what was that like?’ but it’s one of those things that you never anticipate. I was a spouse and a mother, but I was also a patient. My husband had to go to work and we had to have help with the kids.

It was a very difficult period for all of us.”

Complicating their family life was concern for their oldest son, who had developmental disabilities and autism.

“Initially, we were proceeding with all the traditional therapies, for me as well as my son,” Kathleen says. “He was going to speech

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therapy, I was going to physical therapy. It was a full-time job, doing everything we could to ‘manage’ our symptoms. I was prescribed a lot of pharmaceutical medication for my pain, and then at one point I realized that if I continue down this road, I would probably not survive. The drugs I’m taking are just too strong, and my liver will never hold up. I was on a lot of morphine, a lot of codeine, which are the interventions offered for chronic pain syndrome.”

When Kathleen showed signs of vision loss, her doctors found small lesions on her brain and said that she may be in the early stages of multiple sclerosis. Not at all satisfied, Kathleen began to do her own research. The medical community was quick to dismiss her inquiries, indicating that her condition had nothing to do with diet, nutrition or lifestyle.

“I kept thinking, there has to be something,” Kathleen says. “It doesn’t make sense to me. So I just made a commitment to myself that I was going to literally dedicate every waking hour I had, if it wasn’t with my children or in therapy, to research. And that’s what I did. I researched everything I possibly could about food as medicine and tried to find answers to questions like: What are the specific compounds in food that heal the body and brain? What triggers inflammation when someone has chronic pain? And where

are those messages coming from and can we turn them off?”

Among the things she studied were biochemical pathways to determine why some people have inflammatory diseases, and in her case trying to determine why a healthy woman in her thirties would develop sudden onset neuropathy.

“Where were those signals coming from?”

Kathleen wanted to know. “I was fascinated by these questions.”

To her astonishment and great satisfaction, she found all the answers that her doctors said didn’t exist—and then some. The DiChiara family changed not only their diet but their way of thinking about health, and the incredible story of Kathleen’s full recovery, as well her son’s recovery from autism, is the subject of a new documentary film, Secret Ingredients. To view the trailer and find out more about the film’s release dates and locations, visit: http:// secretingredientsmovie.com After recovering from her physical ordeal, Kathleen and her husband Stephen welcomed a third son, and in 2015 she wrote her first book about her successful personal mission to save herself and her family from chronic health problems. The Hidden Connection: Discover What’s Keeping You From Feeling Happy, Healthy and Symptom-Free is available online and wherever books are sold.

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CROSSWORD PUZZLE CLUES ACROSS 1. Make ale 5. Residue 8. Female parent 12. Succulent plants 14. OJ’s judge 15. Czech river 16. Embarrassing predicament 18. NHL legend Bobby 19. Sunfish 20. One who acclaims 21. On the __: running away 22. Oklahoma’s “Wheat Capital”

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23. The Golden State 26. Merrymake 30. Siberian nomads 31. Pock-marked 32. Baleen whale 33. Leaf-footed bug genus 34. Treasure 39. Tanzanian shilling 42. Changed 44. Intestinal pouches 46. Walked in a celebratory way 47. South American mountain chain

49. Jai __, sport 50. Consumed 51. Firm 56. Pubs 57. Leafy drink 58. Cured 59. Northern wind of France 60. Tax collector 61. Respite from the sun 62. American spy Aldrich 63. Central Standard Time 64. Myanmar ethnic group

CLUES DOWN 1. Crush 2. Razorbill genus 3. “Full House” actress Loughlin 4. Bluish green 5. Garlic mayonnaise 6. Attacks repeatedly 7. Secretion 8. Special instance 9. A handsome youth loved by Aphrodite 10. Tree genus in the mahogany family 11. Israeli city 13. Formed a theory 17. Remove 24. Type of light 25. Repeats 26. Certified public accountant 27. River in eastern France 28. Returned material authorization (abbr.)

29. Special __: military group 35. Ribonucleic acid 36. Not even 37. Power transmission belt 38. Doctor of Education 40. Type of nerve 41. Types of tops 42. Large primate 43. Flooded, low-lying land 44. Gritty 45. Gets up 47. Stake 48. Not the most 49. Swedish rock group 52. Expresses pleasure 53. Expression of boredom 54. Queen of Sparta 55. Where Adam and Eve were placed at the Creation

January 2018

sudoku

FUREVER HOMES needed Wiggles,

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To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box.

Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box.

You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes.

The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!

who lives up to her name, is such a loving and happy dog who will greet anyone (human and canine alike) with a wiggly bum and lots of kisses. She is playful, affectionate, and downright adorable.

Unfortunately, this poor girl has medical issues that require immediate treatment or she will lose her sight and hearing.

The estimate of these costs come to $5,000. With your help, we can give Wiggles a chance at a wonderful life. Please visit /www.gofundme.com/ wishesforwiggles for more information or to make a donation towards Wiggles medical bills.

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loves to snuggle, give kisses, and receive belly rubs. She’s playful and fun but also enjoys a little “Netflix and Chill”. Felicity is a very loyal companion dog but would prefer to be the only pet in the home.

Felicity has this crooked smile that just melts your heart. She’s house trained, crate trained, and knows her commands! She’s been waiting over 2 years for a family. If you are interested in giving Felicity the home she’s waited so long for, please contact us atabandoneddogsofri@gmail.com.

39

Stargazing

Astronomical Highlights for 2018

By David Huestis, Historian, Skyscrapers, Inc. Last year on January 1 we were anxiously awaiting the Great American Total Solar Eclipse of August 21, then just 233 days away. It now seems so long ago, but I can still close my eyes and vividly recall the incredible view of two minutes and 35.9 seconds of totality from Adams, Tennessee. When the eclipse came to an end we were already talking about our potential plans for the April 7, 2024 total solar eclipse.

But before we jump too far ahead in our anticipation of future astronomical highlights, let’s examine what events are on our calendars for 2018. There will be three partial solar eclipses and two total lunar eclipses in 2018. Unfortunately, due to our location here in Southern New England we only get to observe some of the January 31 total lunar eclipse before the Moon sets. We will not see totality. The other four eclipses will not be visible from here at all.

On January 1 Mercury will be just a few degrees above the eastern horizon during dawn’s early light. Above and to the right will be Mars and Jupiter, which will be at their closest to one another (conjunction) on the morning of the sixth and seventh. Jupiter will be the brightest object, while Mars will be distinctively red. On the third at 12:34 a.m. the Earth is at perihelion (closest to the Sun) for 2018 at 91,401,983 miles.

This might seem counterintuitive, but the northern hemisphere is titled away from the Sun at that time and we experience winter. On July 6 at 12:46 p.m. the Earth will be at aphelion (farthest from the Sun) at 94,507,803 miles. This three million mile plus difference in the Earth’s elliptical orbit does not affect our global temperature.

I always look forward to the first

40

major meteor shower of the year, the Quadrantids, which peak on the night of January 3-4. While it is usually quite cold to be lying outside in a lounge chair just to watch “burning rocks” fall from the sky, these blue shooting stars blaze across the sky at 25.5 miles per second. While 100 meteors per hour are possible, 60 or so is more realistic.

So I think the effort is well worth the reward.

Unfortunately a waning gibbous Moon, full on the first, will overshadow all but the brightest of the Quadrantids.

This Full Moon is also the closest full moon of 2018, so it will be called a Supermoon. Should skies be clear during the peak night you may still catch a bright meteor or two. The shooting stars appear to radiate from an area of sky not far from the end star, Alkaid, of the Big Dipper’s handle, but they can be seen anywhere in the sky.

The schedule of the other major meteor showers for 2018 appears in a table at the end of this column.

With a Full Moon on the first day of January and another on the 31st, the second one will be called a Blue Moon.

The total lunar eclipse also occurs on the night of the Blue Moon. Here the partial phase will begin at moonset.

Perhaps as the Moon nears the horizon a keen-eyed observer may notice a slight darkening of the lunar surface. The Moon will look “orangey” anyway due to its low elevation. Both full moons in January are Supermoons.

Just an FYI, a Blue Moon will also occur in March, and the smallest Full Moon, a Minimoon, will occur on July 27.

As the year progresses, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars will return to pre-midnight

skies. Opposition (when a planet rises as the Sun sets) signals a good time for casual stargazers to observe these planets without losing any beauty sleep.

Opposition dates are: Jupiter (May 9), Saturn (June 27), and Mars (July 27).

Mars is going to be the highlight of the year, for this opposition will be the best one since 2003. Mars’ oppositions occur about every 26 months. Oppositions coincide with a planet’s closest approach to the Earth. This year Mars is at its closest to us on the night of July 3031 at a distance of only 35,785,537 miles. As the year begins the Earth will be approaching Mars in our respective orbits until that date. With a telescope you’ll be able to observe the planet’s disk grow larger in size as the days progress.

Throughout this period one will be able to discern much detail, including the planet’s South Polar Cap, since Mars’ South Polar Region will be tilted toward the Earth. After this close approach Earth’s faster orbital speed will quickly cause Mars to recede, getting smaller each day. However, we’ll have several months to explore this fascinating world.

Brilliant Venus will return to the evening sky after sunset at the beginning of March and will remain a beacon in the western sky through mid-September. Mercury joins Venus early in March, the two planets being very low above the western horizon after sunset. On March 18 a waxing crescent Moon will join the pair for a beautiful conjunction.

Saturn will still put on a very good show during 2018. Though the rings were titled open at a maximum of 27 degrees back in October, they will have closed up just slightly for 2018. If folks

January 2018

know this beautiful ringed world will be visible at the local observatories on a given night, one can expect a crowd to stand in line to view its exquisite appearance.

And finally, my Christmas list to Santa included a request for a bright naked-eye comet to grace the evening skies sometime in 2018.

In conclusion, please remember, weather permitting, the local observatories remain open during the winter months to share beautiful views of the heavens. Snow or ice can force closures, so please check the respective websites for any cancellation notices and observing schedules before venturing out for a visit.

Seagrave Memorial Observatory (http://www.theskyscrapers. org) in North Scituate is open every clear Saturday night. Ladd Observatory (http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Physics/ Ladd/) in Providence is open every clear Tuesday night. The Margaret M. Jacoby Observatory at the CCRI Knight Campus in Warwick (http://www.ccri.edu/physics/observatory.htm) is open every clear Thursday night. Frosty Drew Observatory (http://www.frostydrew.org/) in Charlestown is open every clear Friday night.

Some of the topics highlighted in this column may be covered in depth as an event date approaches.

Please clip and save the following chart showing the observing prospects for the 2018 meteor showers. These displays of shooting stars only require your eyes, dark skies, and patience to enjoy.

Obituaries

Kathleen M. Walsh December 1, 2017 www.thequinnfuneralhome.com

Leo Stephen Shiel December 7, 2017 www.brownfuneralhomes.com

— — — — — — — — — — CLIP & SAVE — — — — —— — — — —

METEOR SHOWER PROSPECTS FOR 2018 MONTH

SHOWER

DATE

January

MOON PHASE

Quadrantids 3-4

Waning Gibbous (Full Moon on1st)

April

Lyrids

22-23

First Qtr

May

Eta Aquarids

5-6

Waning Gibbous

July

Delta Aquarids

27-29

Full Moon

July

Capricornids

29-30

Full Moon

August

Perseids

12-13

Waxing Crescent

October Orionids 21-22

Waxing Gibbous (Full on 24th)

November Leonids 17-18

Waxing Gibbous (First Qtr on 15th)

December Geminids 13-14

Waxing Crescent (First Qtr on 15th)

Keep your eyes to the skies for 2018 and always.

Happy New Year!

The Smithfield Times, Inc.

Frank Amaral December 11, 2017 www.robbinsfuneralhome.com

Vincent J. Scopelliti December 15, 2017 www.andersonwinfield.net In your time of need, The Smithfield Times will print your loved one’s obituary at no charge.

41

Will the CVS/Aetna merger be good for healthcare providers and consumers?

By Diane L. Marolla, LICSW, Marolla Consultants, MarollaConsultants@yahoo.com “Control and manipulation of patient data is also a concern. Consumers should have the freedom to choose the providers that produce the highest quality health outcomes and cost-effectiveness, rather than being coerced into using certain physicians or pharmacies.”

“In short, bigger is not always better. A close examination of whether this acquisition will lead to higher drug prices and fewer quality and convenience options for consumers is warranted.” ­— B. Douglas Hoey, CEO, National Community Pharmacists Association I will be honest in sharing with you that my original article for January was to talk about getting and staying healthy in 2018. My plans for that article immediately changed when the news broke about the CVS/Aetna merger. This was and remains very big news.

Should the merger go through, it will continue to change the landscape of how healthcare is delivered to consumers like you and me. Additionally, it is a game changer for “who” will be delivering care to you and me.

As consumers of health care services, we are in this position of having big companies trying to control our health for a multitude

42

of reasons. There are a multitude of reasons as to why the healthcare industry has changed so dramatically over the years. Unfortunately, a major reason contributing to such changes is how consumers have been utilizing the systems available.

Additionally, Americans as a whole are not doing enough to stay healthy. I say this because as Americans, many chronic conditions are preventable. According to the Center of Disease Control’s (CDC) most current data: • About half of all adults in this country have one or more chronic health conditions • Obesity is a serious health concern with more than one third of adults in this country being obese • Half of the adults in this country do not engage in recommendations for physical exercise • 90% of Americans over the age of two consume too much sodium • Cigarette smoking and drinking too much alcohol contribute to the chronic conditions of Americans Doctors, hospitals, and our health insurance companies have all tried to change the behaviors of the average American. Doctors tell patients to lose weight and to stop smoking, yet their directions are not followed. Our health insurance companies have increased our premiums and deductibles in an effort to prevent inappropriate and over usage of emergency rooms and inpatient hospital stays.

Employers purchase wellness programs to try and get their employees healthy in an effort to drive costs down and to prevent absenteeism in the work place. Thus far, all of the interventions have not worked.

Healthcare costs are unaffordable and unmanageable which is why we now have the Aetna/CVS merger.

From a business perspective, the merger is genius on the part of CVS and Aetna. They are both for profit, so they will continue to make money hand over fist should this merger be approved. They will certainly tell consumers that this merger will be good for us (and of course, they already are), but ultimately, it will be good for them, their share holders, and their corporate executives. At the end of the day, a company does not spend 69 billion dollars on a merger unless there are huge profits to be gained. Corporate executives do not sit around and say “Gee, how can I make the life of Jenny Jones in Smithfield, RI better for her today?” Should the merger be approved, CVS/Aetna will be a huge force in dictating to consumers how their care will be managed and delivered. Consumers will have little say in who will be treating them and if the medication prescribed is really the best medication from a clinical perspective. CVS/Aetna will navigate care through their clinics to ensure their subscribers/members are receiving care in the cheapest setting.

In addition to this merger ensuring CVS/Aetna will continue to

January 2018

make huge profits, it will also lead to: • fewer choices for consumers in choosing their doctors or even getting treatment by a doctor since other professionals are now able to provide such care at a cheaper cost to the insurance companies • doctors will continue to lose the “doctor/patient” relationship • The seller of drugs (CVS) will be involved in dictating which drugs you will take more and more hospitals will struggle financially as they will have decreased traffic in their emergency rooms, and will have difficulty filling inpatient hospital beds.

Most hospitals still rely on emergency room and inpatient bed costs for their bottom line. If hospitals cannot find other sources of revenue other than emergency room visits and inpatient hospital stays, you will see more hospital closures.

History has already proven to us that such mergers, like the proposed CVS/Aetna merger have not led to a decrease in costs to consumers. If we were to ask the executives at CVS and Aetna how much it will save consumers, trust me, they can’t give an answer.

Better yet, if we asked them for a guarantee of a savings, they certainly would not commit to that.

Specific to this merger being good for us, over the past 30 years, other mergers in healthcare have occurred. Thus far, none of them have provided any savings to consumers at all. How do I know this?

Well, if I ask you if anything in healthcare is better for you from a cost perspective, the majority of you would say no.

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43

Town of Smithfield Recycling & Trash Calendar 2018 For missed collection, please call 1-866-420-6342 x302

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For appointments and recycling information, Please visit the Town’s webpage: http:// smithfieldri.com/ recycling/ Appointments are made on-line for special pick-ups.

Please sign up and match your item with the correct collection date. Pick-ups are available on a first come, first serve basis.

USABLE ITEMS? Please DONATE to those in need before sending to the landfill.

Visit the Town’s website for our Donation Database.

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Got Compost? This is a great way to reduce your waste by almost 20% - bins available at DPW & RIRRC.

SPECIAL COLLECTION-BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

Metal & Appliance, by appointment only Bulky Items, by appointment only Lawn & Leaf H

Holiday Holiday week, one day delay in collection for week.

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Special Events (3/3, 4/21, 5/5) Please check website for future Special Events TBA http://smithfieldri.com/recycling/

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REDUCE 1st REUSE 2nd RECYCLE 3rd TRASH ONLY if no other option.

Appointments are limited and are available on a first come, first serve basis. Limit of 4 Items per pick-up. *Please note, Mattress and Box Springs are no longer collected curbside*

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Special Events (SE) coming up!

Call: (401) 233-1034 x105 or Email: recycle@smithfieldri.com 1) Electronics Recycling Saturday, March 3rd at Smithfield DPW 9:00AM-12:00PM 2) Earth Day Celebration and Clean-up Saturday, April 21st at Deerfield Park Pavilion 9:00AM-12:00PM 3) Sensitive Document Shredding and Rigid Plastic Recycling Saturday, May 5th Smithfield DPW 9:00AM-12:00PM 4) Mattress Recycling– TBA

January 2018

COMMUNITY EVENTS Audubon Powder Mill Ledges Wildlife Refuge 12 Sanderson Road, Smithfield, RI Owls of New England January 4, 2018; 6:30 – 8:00 pm Did you know there are several species of owls that live here in New England? Some might live right near your back yard. Enjoy a pictorial look at our native owls, hear their calls and learn about their amazing adaptations. End with a visit from a live owl.

Animal Tracks and Signs for Families January 27, 2018; 2:00 – 4:00 pm Learn how to identify different tracks and other signs of our native mammals and birds. Investigate artifacts, explore track patterns and make plaster tracks to take home. Try to hop like a ‘bounder’ and strut like a ‘perfect stepper’! Venture on the trails to see what evidence can be found of wild things on the refuge.

Although all are welcome, this class will be geared for families with children. Wear warm footwear and dress for the weather. $10/member adult, $5/member child; $14/non-member adult, $7/non-member child. Ages: 6+.

Register through the events calendar at

www.asri.org

SMITHFIELD RESOURCES —

Smithfield Police Department

231-2500 Smithfield Fire Department

949-1330 Always dial 911 in an emergency!

Department of Public Works

233-1034 Animal Control Officer

233-1055 Division of Emergency Management

233-1033 Division of Parks & Recreation

349-0612 Smithfield Public School Department

231-6606 www.Smithfield-ps.org Smithfield Town Hall

233-1000 Smithfield Tax Assessor

233-1014 Smithfield Senior Center

949-4590 Smithfield Municipal Ice Rink

233-1051 Town of Smithfield Jerry and Pat Picozzi help to spirit the campaign for the Corvette Club of RI Charity Cocktail Party for Toys for Tots that was held on December 2 at the home of Lilliana Dolan.

The Smithfield Times, Inc.

www.smithfieldri.com 45

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Gold is a precious metal and is given as a symbol of a lasting gift. But what if that same gift becomes cold, hard, and painful? Rob Richards of AC Jewelers knows how to do both: help you give the gift of lasting gold and release you from the pain of that same gift.

Recently my son, Adam had his beloved gold ring stuck so tightly on his finger that circulation was being cut off rather quickly. Knowing Rob from our past trips to purchase jewelry from his store, we rushed over there to see if he would remove the ring. He immediately cut the ring from Adam’s finger saving the ring and the finger! He did not look at Adam with disdain and refuse to help him as we have experienced in the past.

Rob genuinely cared what happened to Adam and did not try to send us elsewhere to have the ring removed. He saw the pain etched on Adam’s face and rushed to get his tools.

Within five minutes of entering the store, the offending ring was off and Adam smiled. With care and compassion Rob took care of our needs and refused any type of payment. It makes me glad to know there are still considerate people who own their own business and care more about people than just making money.

Oh, and did I mention that Adam is severely disabled and unable to speak? I just happened to notice the swollen finger and knew that it needed immediate attention. Rob Richards was an answer to prayer. Merry Christmas from Adam.

Sincerely, Diane Maione

Please note that our Smithfield Times website and e-mail addresses have changed from .com to .net

543 Putnam Pike Smithfield, RI 02828 401.232.9600 • www.smithfieldtimesri.net John J. Tassoni, Jr., Publisher john@jtsentinelgroup.com Ann Marie Donahue, Executive Editor amdonahue@smithfieldtimesri.net Kerryn Azevedo, Creative Director kerryn@cox.net — ADVERTISING AND SALES Camilla Spliid cspliid@smithfieldtimesri.net Rick Laurito rick@smithfieldtimesri.net — WRITERS Harry Anderson Jim Ignasher Peg Brown Jane Fusco Marilyn Busch Paul Lonardo Brittni Henderson Rick Lyle Tia Hines Sarah Payne Tom Hines Laurence J. Sasso, Jr. Robert Houghtaling Ron Scopelliti David Huestis Patricia Shaffer — Albert Tavakalov, Photographer —

The Smithfield Times, Inc. does not assume any financial responsibility for typographical errors in advertisements, but will reprint that portion of an advertisement in which the typographical error occurs.

PUZZLE SOLUTIONS

www.smithfieldtimesri.net amdonahue@smithfieldtimesri.net cspliid@smithfieldtimesri.net rick@smithfieldtimesri.net 46

January 2018

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1 Garnett Lane Suite 8 Greenville, RI 02828

(401) 349-4355 Cranston

95 Sockanosset Cross Rd Suite 301 Cranston, RI 02920

(401) 942-0300

North Smithfield

947 Victory Highway North Smithfield, RI 02896

(401) 762-2830