Editor's Notebook: Week in Review

The week of Sept. 13 to 19 will be remembered as a week when many municipal actions were taken in town. The School Committee chose to not pursue a Caruolo Act, while the Town Council chose to not go with a presented Wastewater Management Plan. Patch takes a look back at this week of decisions and decisionmakers.

• On Monday, the town was busy preparing for the Tuesday statewide primary. Candidates, meanwhile, were busy over the weekend making one last pitch for votes in the primary. Patch gave you The , provided by contributor Catherine Allard.

• The statewide primary was held Tuesday, Sept. 14. Polls opened throughout town to what later proved to be a steady showing of voters. One of the first few people to trickle into the polling stations in Portsmouth Tuesday morning was a man who hopes to be Rhode Island's next governor. Portsmouth resident and Republican gubernatorial candidate John Robitaille cast his ballot shortly after 7:30 p.m. at Aquidneck Island Christian Academy on East Main Road. Robitaille won the GOP nomination later that evening. Voters in Portsmouth showed they were in favor of .

• On Wednesday, we learned that the school committee chose to not pursue a Caruolo Act. The action was being considered as an alternative if the proposed 1.5 percent increase for the budget referendum does not pass. On Oct. 5, the town will vote for either retaining the school department budget at $35,527,720, or increasing the budget 1.5 percent for an additional $765,301.

• On Thursday, we learned that the town council approved the fire chief's request for not one, but two new fire engines. The town's finance director estimates the cost of two engines to be $967,814, which reflects the cost of a performance bond, a discount for pre-payment and a discount for purchasing two engines instead of one. The funds to purchase the two engines will be borrowed upon a five-year bond. The interest is estimated at $38,000 with an interest rate of 1.3 percent, according to Faucher. The new fire trucks should arrive within six to seven months.

• The Department of Environmental Management (DEM) made the news Friday, when the state agency announced it was fining the town for "water pollution." Less than 24 hours after the Portsmouth Town Council passed on a Wastewater Management Plan, the state Department of Environmental Management (DEM) fined the town more than $186,000. The notice orders the town to complete a facilities plan and initiate construction of a wastewater treatment system, and assesses a penalty of $186,019. The town has 30 days to respond.

• This weekend, we learned that total amount raised from the SSG Christopher Potts Fishing Tournament was more than $7,000. "A lot of people said it was the best year so far," said Ralph Craft. About 200 to 250 attendees celebrated with a barbecue and live music provided by the band Blurred Vision at the Portuguese American Club in Portsmouth. The tournament is held to commemorate Staff Sgt. Christopher Potts, who died while serving his country in Taji, Iraq, on his 38^th birthday, Oct. 3, 2004. This year, the tournament raised a little more than $7,000, which will benefit Pott's wife, Terri, and sons, Christopher Jr. and Jackson. Craft says a stand-out moment of the event occurred this year with a visit from the Patriot Guard of Rhode Island, which is a motorcycle group of veterans who attend funerals and events to show support for and honor fallen soldiers. "It was really great to have them there," says Craft.