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Community Corner

🌱 Money For Shots + Unprecedented Homeless + RI COVID Top 900

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)

Welcome back, Woonsocket! Kathleen here with everything you need to know to get this Friday started off right.

First, today's weather:

Mostly sunny; windy, cooler. High: 42 Low: 25. We were spoiled yesterday.

Here are the top stories in Woonsocket today:

  1. R.I.'s largest state workers union approved a new contract with $3,000 COVID vaccine bonuses. Union members who get a state-approved religious or medical exemption to the vaccine will also get the bonus. Governor McKee plans to use federal COVID relief money to pay for the bonuses. (WJAR)
  2. The CEO of Community Care Alliance told Woonsocket City Council this week that homelessness in the state has reached unprecedented levels. For example, a man leaving the hospital is discharged to the street. And there's no room in a shelter. All Community Care Alliance (CCA) can say is here's the phone number for the Coordinated Entry System, call them, but they have a waitlist of over 1,000 people. Many criticized Woonsocket city officials for not spending their first round of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to address homelessness and other poverty-related concerns. Gendron, a city council member, said he believes ARPA funds should be used in a way that has a long-lasting effect on the city and not to plug budgetary holes or provide short-term benefits. (Valley Breeze)
  3. RI COVID cases hit over 900 in a single day. We haven't seen numbers like this since January 2021. While getting vaccinated is crucial, RI Department of Health is also urging people to start wearing masks again in public to help stop the spread of the virus. (WPRI)
  4. Operation Christmas Adopt-A-Teen is for older children in Woonsocket. Tara Cruz of the crafting and events group Elite ACE is matching donors with local families who have teenagers in need of gifts. Cruz runs a Facebook page called "Operation Christmas!!! Adopt a Teen!" where donors can choose a family and purchase gifts for that family's teens. (Valley Breeze)

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:

  • Top Of The World is The World's Premiere Tribute to The Carpenters and will be at the Stadium Theatre tonight! (Stadium Theatre)

Woonsocket Patch Notebook

  • Woonsocket's Winter Wonderland is THIS Saturday starting at 3 pm. Also, check out the 13th Annual Woonsocket Main Street Holiday Stroll on the same night! 2 pm - 7 pm (Facebook)
  • Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park notes that celebrations of Hanukkah continue this week and through December 6, 2021. For many years, The Jewish Herald (later published as the Rhode Island Herald) served as an important paper of record for the Jewish community in Southern New England. (Facebook)
  • St. Joseph's Church presents its Christmas Concert at 3 pm on Dec. 19. (St Joseph's Church)
  • Woonsocket YMCA Whalers take on SENECY youth swim opener. The youth swim team made a big splash in its first in-person SENECY (Southeastern New England Cluster of YMCAs) dual meet since the COVID-19 pandemic. They topped their neighboring rivals, the Smithfield YMCA Dolphins. Woonsocket High senior Nathan Fowler finished first in the 50-yard freestyle in 23.9 seconds and also won the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:06.33. (Valley Breeze)
  • Crews from the upcoming movie "Hocus Pocus 2" were spotted filming in Providence recently. Film crews were spotted out on Cooke Street. Neighbors said actors were flying around in harnesses earlier in the day. They've been filming all over RI but it's supposed to take place in Salem. (ABC)

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You're all caught up for today. I'll see you soon!

I'm Kathleen Stoddart, your Woonsocket neighbor, and local realtor. If you have some news or would like to contact me, send me an email at KathC21Homes@gmail.com

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

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