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Community Corner

🌱 More Homeless Beds & Vouchers + Catalytic Converters Valuable

The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in Woonsocket.

Kathleen Stoddart, Neighbor
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(Patch Media)

Get on up, Woonsocket! Let's get this Friday started off right. Kathleen here with everything you need to know today in town.

First, today's weather:

Mostly sunny, breezy, and mild. High: 55 Low: 36.

This weekend's weather:

Saturday, December 18

Colder; rain in the afternoon. High: 37, Low: 34 Chance of Mixed: 88%

Sunday, December 19

Windy; a morning flurry. High: 36, Low: 17 Chance of Snow: 42% (Woonsocket Patch)

Here are the top stories in Woonsocket today:

  1. Gov. Daniel McKee announced an additional 130 emergency shelter beds and a quarantine facility for people dealing with homelessness. Last month 220 shelter beds were added with the $5 million in funding from the state. The new beds are being added at shelters in four cities and the Community Care Alliance in Woonsocket is one of them. It will have an additional 10 hotel vouchers. (U.S. News & World Report)
  2. A 16-year-old Woonsocket High School student is set to appear in family court after Woonsocket police were made aware of a social media threat of a possible shooting at the high school. The juvenile has been suspended from school and charged. Detectives found no credibility to the posting and no weapons were located at the student's home. A wave of social media shooting threats in recent weeks includes Barrington High School. (WPRI.com)
  3. The Woonsocket Police Department has seen a recent uptick in the number of catalytic converters stolen from vehicles. Thieves target catalytic converters for their precious metals, which can be more valuable than gold. Catalytic converters are attached to the exhaust system in cars and are typically made with metals from the platinum group, including platinum, palladium, and rhodium. The safest thing to do is park your car in your garage. (Valley Breeze)
  4. On Nov. 15, local advocates called on city officials to spend ARPA funds to address homelessness in the city, criticizing other proposed spending items such as road paving and a synthetic ice skating rink. Two city councilors have proposed committing more than $100,000 toward motel vouchers and a local soup kitchen. Woonsocket Motor Inn on Clinton Street has agreed to allocate 10 rooms per night from Jan. 1 until March 31, with the city paying the bill using ARPA funds. Social service providers have in recent months offered repeated warnings to lawmakers about the severity of the state's homelessness crisis.(Valley Breeze)
  5. More than half the cell block toilets at the Woonsocket Police Department are out of order, a problem the department is currently looking at a six-figure bill to resolve, according to Police Chief Thomas Oates. Oates told members of the City Council that six out of the 11 toilets in the station's adult detention area are not working due to water leakage. The toilets in the cell blocks were installed 45 years ago when the building was constructed and are all failing. Part of the problem, he said, is that the cell blocks were installed with a 24-inch crawl space that does not offer easy access to an individual toilet's plumbing. Along with replacing all 11 toilets, the department is looking to install fiberglass plumbing and make future repairs easier. The project is also expected to equip the cells with hot running water, a feature Oates said is already mandatory in Massachusetts. (City Council Meeting)

Today's Woonsocket Daily is brought to you in part by our friends at Verizon. They're building the fastest 5G network in the country. To learn how 5G is going to change life for you and your community — and to get access to this amazing technology — click here. And thank you Verizon for sponsoring this community resource in Woonsocket!

Today in Woonsocket:

  • The Stadium Theatre presents "A Christmas Carol" tonight! (7:30pm)
  • RI Stage Ensemble (RISE) presents " A Christmas Story: The Musical" (7:30pm)
  • Chan's has Holiday Karaoke Parties tonight and Saturday (8-11pm)
  • Chan's presents the Peacheaters, an Allman Bros. experience tonight! (8pm)

From my notebook:

  • St. Joseph's Church in Woonsocket presents A CHRISTMAS CONCERT on Sunday, Dec. 19 at 3pm. This concert is for all ages and is FREE and open to the public. (Woonsocket Patch)
  • Jolabokaflod, which translates roughly to "Christmas book flood", is the Icelandic tradition of giving and receiving books to friends and family on Christmas Eve. Woonsocket Harris Public Library, 303 Clinton St., will hold a Jolabokaflod program now through Thursday, Dec. 23. Join the library in its Christmas book flood by stopping by to pick up a pre-wrapped book. One book per person, while supplies last.(Valley Breeze)
  • Woonsocket Prospective Homeowners should see these newly listed Woonsocket homes:
    • 107 Virginia Ave.: Price: $294,900Size: 2,808 sq. ft., 3 beds, and 1.5 baths
    • 82 Mill St. #304: Price: $199,900Size: 1,052 sq. ft, 2 beds, and 2 baths
    • 40 Burnside Ave.: Price: $419,000Size: 2,354 sq. ft., 3 beds, and 2.5 baths
    • 51 Dawn Blvd.: Price: $379,900Size: 1,728 sq. ft., 3 beds, and 2 baths
    • 149 Nursery Ave.: Price: $349,000Size: 2,160 sq. ft., 3 beds, and 1.5 baths (Woonsocket Patch)
  • There are thousands of dogs, cats, and other animals of all ages without a home throughout Rhode Island. If you're looking to adopt, a great place to begin the search is at New England Humane Society. If you're not sure if you have time to take care of a pet year-round, many shelters also offer opportunities to foster pets until they are placed. Help is available for your search. Patch and Petfinder have you covered. Patch has amassed this week's list of animals available for adoption near you. (Woonsocket Patch)
  • Woonsocket Cat Sanctuary, Inc. is selling WCS 2022 Calendars for $12. Available for purchase during sanctuary hours. (Facebook)
  • The shortest day of the year is nearly here. We honor the darker days of winter and look forward to the light, Blackstone Parks Conservancy invites you to take part in a community lantern procession. "Calling Back the Light" is a free family-friendly event that will take place on Sunday, December 19 from 2-4:30 p.m. (Facebook)
  • Woonsocket Knights of Columbus dropped off 24 winter coats paid for by its members to the mayor's office which in turn donated them to Sojourner House and students at Action Based Enterprises (Valley Breeze)
  • Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council announces 2022 State Business Tax Climate Index from the Tax Foundation ranks Rhode Island 40th, down from 38th in 2021. In the coming weeks, RIPEC will publish an analysis of Rhode Island's tax climate. (Facebook)

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You're officially in the loop for today! I'll see you tomorrow.Kathleen Stoddart is a Woonsocket resident with her husband, 3 over 20 kids and 3 furry friends.

I delivered my baskets of Christmas baking today wishing everyone a Merry Christmas! This year as in all the others, I attach a list of all the types of cookies and squares in the baskets but with a new statement ..... Made With Love, Mask, and Gloves

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

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