Westport in Brief!
EverythingWestport.com
Friday, July 09, 2010
Quick Article Index . . .
Dramatic dawn rescue saves woman from burning,
smoke-filled house.
Burdensome
state requirements overtax town clerks.
Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson visits with the
ROMEOs.
ROMEOs pledge continued support for Salvation Army’s Camp
Wonderland.
"Liberty
Street Printmakers" at the Tiverton Town Hall.
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Dramatic dawn rescue saves woman
from burning, smoke-filled house. EverythingWestport.com Monday, July 05, 2010
Westport firefighter Dan Baldwin and Deputy
Chief Allen Manley in a daring display of bravery entered a blazing,
debris-filled house, and located and pulled 24-year-old Shannon Pearce from
her first floor bedroom. The Drift Road bungalow-style home is
¾ of a mile south of the Head of Westport. According to Barbara Steele, executive assistant to
Fire Marshal Stephen Coan, the home was experiencing electrical problems
prior to the fire.” She reported the fire was “most likely caused by an
electrical problem, somewhere in the ceiling above the kitchen.” “I was groggy from smoke inhalation
and carbon monoxide,” Ms. Pearce said. “I just did what they told me to do
and let them drag me out.” Emergency personnel put her on pure oxygen and
later the Dartmouth EMS transported the young woman to Charlton Memorial
Hospital where she was treated and released a few hours later. Because of zero-visibility conditions
firefighters had to use a thermal imaging device that detects body heat to
assist in searching for any possible victims that may be trapped in a burning
structure. They found the sleeping woman. “All seven pets in the house had
succumbed to smoke inhalation and were dead,” Fire Chief Brian Legendre said.
“Shannon is a very lucky girl.”
Above photos by
Lucy Tabit for EverythingWestport.com In an astonishing and miraculous
chain of events, Legendre was driving by 202 Drift Road around 8:40 a.m. on
Sunday, July 4th when he spotted a bit of smoke coming from the second floor
attic window. He called it in and Westport apparatus responded within
minutes. Also responding to the multi-alarm fire were Dartmouth Fire
Department districts 2 and 3, and the Tiverton Fire Department. “I heard my dog barking,” said Lucy Tabit, next door neighbor, “and went outside to find the Fire Chief looking up the upstairs window where smoke was just starting to appear.” The smoke rapidly progressed, and fire quickly broke through the roof. “I would never have noticed the smoke if my dog didn’t bark at the Fire Chief,” Tabit said. “But for that, Shannon would not be with us today.” The house is partially hidden behind heavy growth, and it was a wonder the Fire Chief ever saw the smoke. There were no functional smoke detectors in the house. The house has been a family home for three generations of Pearces since the early 1950’s. Current owners Wayne and Linda Pearce were doing some early morning shopping, and arrived home shortly after the fire apparatus appeared on scene. The family has lost all their possessions, had no insurance, and is now homeless. They managed to save three dogs and two cats. Damage to the home is over $150,000. The fire was brought under control in approximately 45
minutes using three engines, a ladder and a tanker. In addition to the Westport apparatus,
Dartmouth Fire Department Districts #2 and #3
and Tiverton Fire Departments also responded to assist. Deputy
Chief Manley reported that about 30 town firefighters with six companies
responded, along with about 10 Dartmouth and Tiverton firefighters; each fire
department dispatching tankers forming a tanker brigade as Westport has no
town water. Westport’s
new southend fire station will have a 30,000 gallon on-site cistern which
will make it easier for all tankers to be fully prepared for emergencies such
as the Drift Road fire. Westport Captain Michael
P. Silvia said there were no reported injuries to
firefighters and the last apparatus cleared the scene at approximately 3 p.m. “The Red Cross put us up at the Hampton Inn for three nights,” Shannon Pearce said. “But I don’t know where we are going from there. We have no family or friends who can take us in.” Neighbors are working with the Pearce family to find shelter. Also assisting were the Westport Ladies Auxiliary, who
provided water for the firefighters on one of the hottest days of the year, the
Providence Canteen, and the American Red Cross
who provided financial assistance and put the family up at the Hampton Inn.
Fire Chief Legendre noted the bravery of his firefighters, and said they would be recognized at the Department’s upcoming recognition night. Deputy Chief Manley shrugged off the praise with a smile. “We were all just doing our job,” the easy-going Deputy Chief said. “It’s what we do every day.” Yes Virginia, miracles do happen. Now
one more miracle is needed to find the family a home. Burdensome state requirements
overtax Town Clerks. EverythingWestport.com Friday, July 09, 2010
In addition, the notice must include
a fairly detailed agenda for the meeting. “I don’t understand the purpose or
need,” said Westport Town Clerk Marlene Samson. “We already have the meeting
notices posted in the Town Clerk’s office, on the Town’s website as well as
in several newspapers.” (EverythingWestport.com has been updating
town meeting notices two to three times per week on its website for the past
three years. Click here to view town
notices.) To further complicate the cumbersome requirement is
that the notices must adhere to the Americans with Disabilities Act. "We
were thinking of posting the notices on the inside glass of the front doors,”
Samson said. “But that would have required town residents to climb the front
steps.” Sampson with the help of others cleverly installed a
swing-out bulletin board behind the Town Hall’s southeast rear entranceway’s
sidelight window. That is the access way to the building’s elevator. Samson created a special form to be filled out by
meeting organizers. These notices will be posted at least 48 hours in advance
of the meeting. Samson remarked that it’s simply “another mandate by
the state without thinking through the additional work it’ll put on the town
clerks.” Unlike some of the other town offices, the Town Clerk’s
office is open 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. “Are people going to be coming by at two in the morning
to read a notice,” Samson asked? New requirements seek punctuality and completeness According to Samson, “all boards, committees and commissions are now required, by
state law, to post each meeting on an individual basis. You will no longer be allowed to post meetings for an
entire month or year. Meeting postings must include the detailed agenda and
be posted with the Town Clerk's office at least 48 hours in advance of the
meeting. Please be aware that any meeting taking place on a Monday must be
posted by Thursday of the previous week. Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays will no longer count
towards the 48 hours prior notice. Meeting Notices will only be accepted in
the following format. A sample form is
shown below. It can be obtained from the Town’s website, or from the Town Clerk’s office.
Bristol County
Sheriff Tom Hodgson visits with the ROMEOs. EverythingWestport.com Thursday,
July 08, 2010 Although up for reelection this year,
the tough-minded jailhouse reformist has not yet declared his candidacy.
As of July 1st of this year the
independent Bristol County Sherriff’s department was transferred to state
jurisdiction along with the remaining six other county sheriffs who have long
resisted the move. The transfer will dramatically alter
Hodgson’s efforts at fiscal reform, but has not changed his stance on tough
love in his county jails. “We’ve closed the country club,”
Hodgson told the ROMEOs. “Our inmates need programs to prepare for indoctrination
back into society, not a place to hang out, watch TV and eat three square
meals a day.” “We need them better prepared to go
out and not victimize people.” “I knew from the start 13 years ago
when I was first elected sheriff that we needed solid management programs to
address inmates’ dysfunctional behaviors learned from bad home and street
environments,” Hodgson said. Sheriff Hodgson was invited to have
lunch with the ROMEOs, a Retired Older Men Eating Out social club, recently
at White’s of Westport. No stranger to the outspoken ROMEOs, he was right at
home with the ROMEOs’ banter and politics. Hodgson has received lots of
criticism from political opponents and inmate advocacy groups on his
revolutionary programs like health insurance co-pays, a $5 pay-to-stay
inmate housing charge, and other pay programs. “Free benefits promote reliance on
the system,” Hodgson said, “because there is no incentive to work. What are
we teaching our inmates with that kind of rehabilitation?” The co-pays significantly reduced
medical facilities use as inmates were reluctant to spend money just to “get
out and shoot the breeze with clinicians and friends.”
“We reduced meal sizes and offered
healthier alternatives to inmates. We saved over $60,000 by just reducing
juices to one per day and switching to Tang.” The ROMEOs asked a lot of good
questions on issues of the day that could impact the lives of Westport
citizenry. On the impending casino, Hodgson said there “may be a slight
uptick in crime, but there would be an immediate impact on unemployment. Long
term the casino may not provide the sustainable growth that the area needs to
really improve employment opportunities.” On the southcoast rail corridor, he
said that the “long term solution is to have companies and skilled people
relocate to the area. The rail would certain help pave the way for this type
of development.” Hodgson runs his county facilities
with a strong hand an omnipresent eye on budget austerity. Out of 14
Massachusetts counties he has the 4th highest population supported by the 7th
lowest budget. “We have balanced our budget every year despite annual revenue
reductions from the state,” he said. “We were the only county to balance our
budget in this last fiscal year.”
Left: Sheriff Hodgson is an articulate and interesting speaker, and has
proven to be a valuable asset to our community. Right:
ROMEOs Tom Flynn (left) and Joe Crowley share a laugh with the Sheriff. With Massachusetts county sheriffs
transferring to state jurisdiction, county government seems to be in decline.
Further, bureaucratic administrations don’t foster individual initiative;
they expect elected officials to march to the leader’s playbook, and they
encourage budget deficits. But Hodgson doesn’t appear to be cut
from that mold. Political savvy, he has strong convictions about how the
county jail system should rehabilitate inmates. Hodgson may chafe under state
control as he doesn’t appear to be into career building politics, but don’t
count him out in moving his agenda forward with real reform. “80% of our population is
incarcerated with drug-related offenses,” Hodgson said. “We need to transform
the past environmental factors that encouraged this type of bad behavior into
positive reinforcement for good behavior.”
Will he be successful with this
approach? “Not with all inmates; many behaviors
are too deep-rooted, and there is no real desire for change. But we can reach
out and make a difference in the lives of those who are open to improving
their lot in life, and give them an opportunity to take the first step.” Inmates feel like they are giving back when working in
outside community projects like the recent painting of the senior centers.
“We have to try and interrupt the recidivism rate with intercession at the
first incarceration,” Hodgson said. “Anti-social behavior gets planted in
early development.” Hodgson started a re-integration program to assist
inmates who are re-entering society. “By managing our personnel resources on
a weekly basis, productivity and accountability are improved, he said. “Our
goal of educating inmates is getting better, he said. “It’s all good.” . ROMEOs pledge
continued support for Salvation Army’s Camp Wonderland. EverythingWestport.com Thursday,
July 08, 2010 For the second year in a row this
socially-active senior Westport group will send two underprivileged youths to
summer camp. The ROMEOs, Retired Older
Men Eating Out, announced today that they have again donated funds to send
two area youths to summer camp. Westport’s senior social group
anted up $500 to sponsor two deserving youngsters to Camp Wonderland, a
Salvation Army supported summer camp.
ROMEO Ted Rich (left in photo) presents a check for $500 to Jack
Baughan (center) while fellow ROMEO Joe Crowley looks on. Photo
by EverythingWestport.com Located in Sharon, MA, Camp Wonderland is on a beautiful private lake with hundreds of acres of woods and trails. Counselors come from countries served by the Salvation Army, usually college students, who preside over crafts, swimming, boating, hiking, and outdoor overnight outings, all with a reminder of the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ. The enthusiasm generated by the campers themselves is our best recommendation, and many of their current crop of officers all met each other as summer campers decades ago. Click here to get more information on Camp Wonderland.
The ROMEOs are
no stranger to community service. They have donated thousands of dollars to
worthwhile projects and agencies over the years. Past
donations have been $1200 to the COA’s Remembrance Garden in June of 2004,
and $750 to the Salvation Army for the Hurricane Katrina disaster relief fund
in September of 2005. More recently, the ROMEOs donated $600 in matching
funds to the COA’s Senior Social Day Program, and they also made at nearly
the same time a matching funds gift of $600 to the Westport Youth Athletic
Association (WYAA). Also recently were a $300 donation to the Tiverton
Community Chorus Group for the purchase of pianos for the Westport and
Tiverton middle schools, and a donation to potential Eagle Scout Ben Brayton
to support his “Lifesaver” project, a police-assisted radio transmitter
system to protect the more vulnerable of Westport elders. The Salvation Army was founded circa 1850 by an English Methodist Minister of a large well to do church in London. He gave it all up to start a mission for alcoholics who were prevalent in London and sadly demonized. General Booth went on to expand the Salvation Army worldwide, now operating in over 80 countries with hospitals, drug rehabilitation clinics, and summer camps for indigent children. Their mission is mercy and assistance to the lowest economic or social classes worldwide who have no other means of help from political or "acts of nature" or economic disasters.
The Salvation Army of Greater Fall River covers an area from Taunton, east to Dartmouth, south to Westport and Tiverton, and West to Somerset and Swansea, etc. Citizens coming to the Shelter are seen and assisted by a small professional Corps plus volunteers. Funds are provided by various sources (non-governmental), and therefore not restricted to delay in providing immediate response of aid to needy. 2,000 children were supplied with new clothes for Christmas this year. Thousands of meals served.
Periodic rankings of the efficiencies for use of funds provided are published, and of the largest 1,000 charitable agencies in the USA, the Salvation Army provides the highest percentage of funds directly to the intended recipients, normally is the area of 86% to where the rubber meets the road. All the officers are graduates of one of the Army's several Christian Seminaries for a 4 year ordination program. Although the basic corps of the Army is Christian, nobody is turned away regardless of faith, sexual orientation, or color. All local Corps (chapters) are co-managed by a husband/wife team of officers. The ROMEOs meet every Thursday at noon at Whites of
Westport. All are welcome. For more information about the ROMEOs, please
contact Joe Crowley at (508) 636-6442, or email him at pennyman68@charter.net. For more information about the Fall River Chapter of the Salvation Army, please contact Jack Baughan at: (774) 644-7373, or Major Betty Deming at: (508) 679-7900). "Liberty Street Printmakers" at the Tiverton Town
Hall. EverythingWestport.com Wednesday, July 07, 2010
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