Five Things You Need To Know Today: April 4

Public Notice on Carrington Avenue

Preliminary work begins today on the Carrington Avenue improvement project and residents are asked to seek alternative routes until construction is complete. The City of Woonsocket has contracted with Narragansett Improvement Company for the roadway reconstruction project extending from Hamlet Avenue to Manville Road.

The project, which includes pavement restoration, installation of handicap ramps and adjusting of driveway openings is anticipated to be completed within 90 days.

Residents of Carrington Avenue are requested to refrain from on street parking during the work hours Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Countdown to the Race Against Racism

There's still time to register for the Race Against Racism, 5K Run/Walk which will start and finish at River Island Park on Bernon Street in Woonsocket next Sunday, April 10.

The race is intended to unite people of all races, demonstrate our community's commitment to eliminating racism, and celebrate our diversity. The registration fee is $22 and includes a race T-Shirt. Visit www.raceagainstracismri.org to sign up to run, walk, sponsor, or volunteer.

Flags lowered to half staff

Flags throughout the state were lowered begining on Friday, to honor the memory of Massachusetts National Guard Spc. Dennis C. Poulin of Cumberland, who died Thursday, March 31, 2011, from injuries sustained during a non-hostile incident in Tsowkey District, Konar Province, Afghanistan. Governor Lincoln D. Chafee ordered U.S. and Rhode Island flags across the state to be lowered to half-staff until Specialist Poulin was laid to rest.

Specialist Poulin, 26, deployed to Afghanistan in July 2010. He was a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1^st Battalion, 181^st Infantry Regiment, Massachusetts National Guard, at the time of his death. Specialist Poulin was a gunner in a Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicle when it rolled over on March 28, 2011. He was medically evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, where he died from his injuries.

Chamber comes out against tax changes

The Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce is asking the General Assembly to reject the expansion of the state Sales Tax, as proposed by Gov. Lincoln Chafee. The Chamber believes that the legislation will be harmful to small businesses and is expected to publish a petition signed by supporters in the community later this month.

Blue Ribbon Trees

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and Family Service of RI is urging everyone to remember that everyone has the responsibility to protect children. 

To symbolize a commitment to prevent child abuse, Family Service of RI staff are working with area schools to build “blue ribbon trees.” The blue ribbon is the recognized symbol for child abuse prevention. Margaret Holland McDuff, Family Service of RI’s CEO, urges everyone to display blue ribbons to signify a commitment to keep children safe.

“We all have a responsibility to ensure the safety of all children, even those outside our families,” she said. 

Family Service of RI is a leading provider in the Ocean State of services for abused children, providing therapy and group and foster homes, and serves as a leader in the state’s Family Care Community Partnership initiative to prevent children from falling into state care.  

“What we see on a day-to-day basis is heartbreaking,” she said.  “And such abuse could have been prevented.”

 The blue ribbon campaign to prevent child abuse began in 1989, according to the federal Administration for Children, as a Virginia grandmother’s tribute to a grandson who died as the result of abuse.  She tied a blue ribbon to her car’s antenna in remembrance and to alert her community about the tragedy of child abuse.

In addition to the blue ribbon campaign, Family Service of RI will be placing child abuse prevention messages on its website and Facebook and Twitter pages.

About 12 out of every thousand RI children are victims of abuse or neglect, according to the latest Rhode Island Kids Count figures. “An unacceptable number,” she said.