List of Closings page 4
BORN FREE
THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2012
Vol. 40, No. 32
Arbitrator Affirms Contract
WHAT’S INSIDE
By Meg O’Neil
LOCAL ARTIST PG. 10
Table of Contents 02840 AROUND TOWN CALENDAR CHURCH NOTES CLASSIFIEDS COMMUNITY BRIEFS CROSSWORD DINING OUT MAP EDITORIAL FIRE/POLICE LOG FROM THE GARDEN MAINSHEET REALTY TRANSACTIONS RECENT DEATHS SENIOR SAVVY SUDOKU
10 2 12 20 22 4-5 22 13 6 5 8 11 23 4 21 22
www.Newport-Now.com Twitter.com/newportnow Facebook.com/newportnow
A Step Too Far A Virginia woman suffered minor injuries on Wednesday after slipping on the rocks at the base of Forty Steps on Cliff Walk. Debora Wren, 61, of Arlington, Va. had been walking the Cliff Walk with her daughter, Melody Wren, also of Arlington. The fire department received a 911 call at 10:04 a.m. Engine 5 arrived at the scene two minutes later. Wren said that her mother fell into the water after descending the steps. She was able to swim to a nearby rock where Newport fire crews were able to reach her. Wren was transported to Newport Hospital. (Photo by Jack Kelly)
Boys & Girls Club Swim Team Creates a Splash By Meg O’Neil Every four years, the Olympic Games set the highest standard of athleticism as hundreds of countries compete on the international stage to take home the title of World’s Best. This week, viewers saw swimmer Michael Phelps become the most decorated Olympian of all time, and, North Kingstown’s Elizabeth Beisel brought silver and bronze medals back to Little Rhody for her swimming effort in the 2012 London Games. With the popularity of the sport reaching a fevered pitch, one local organization has become a training ground for future swimming stars. Just off of Church Street in Newport's Historic Hill, the Boys & Girls Club of Newport County’s Barracuda Swim Team has been offering a summer training program and competitive fall/winter program to area swimmers. There are currently 40 swimmers enrolled and the number is growing. Coached by husband and wife Michael and Sarah Richards, the team has increased from about 12 kids six years ago to roughly 90 in the upcoming winter season. Sarah is a Spanish teacher at Mount Hope High School in Bristol, and Michael is an attorney at Bardorf & Bardorf in Newport. When the work day ends for them, a night of coaching begins. The two met at the University of Rhode Island where they swam
Nearly three months after Newport teachers voted down a tentative three-year contract by a 100-41 vote, an independent arbitrator has signed off on several key provisions of an agreement signed in mid-July by both the Newport School Committee and Teachers Association of Newport. The decisions were made by attorney Vincent F. Ragosta, who was chosen by members of the school committee and the Teachers Association of Newport to settle a disagreement over a proposal that would have, among other issues, required teachers to pay a higher share of their healthcare costs, increased the length of the school day, and developed an alternative team model at Thompson Middle School. Validating much of the original proposed contract, Ragosta ap-
See CONTRACT on page 7
Shelter to Crack Down on Drugs By Tom Shevlin
Boys & Girls Club swim team coaches Sarah and Michael Richards prepare to time "the Barracudas" during a Tuesday night practice. (Photo by Rob Thorn) competitively, and wanted to coach the next generation of future swimmers. The pool at the Boys & Girls Club is used in summer as swimmers to prepare for a winter of competitive swimming in the Rhode Island/Massachusetts (RIMA) Swim League, where Boys
& Girls Clubs from the two states compete against each other. Many of the Barracuda swimmers are also on their respective school teams, doubling the number of their practices and meets. “Once the season starts, these kids are in the water up to five times a week,” Michael Richards
said. “It’s a lot of work, but we are dedicated to this team, and we give as much to the swimmers as the swimmers give back to this program.” The practice is rigorous, and is aimed to get swimmers to reach
See SWIM on page 7
On the heels of a major drug bust by Newport Police that saw several of its residents arrested, the administrators of the McKinney Shelter on Washington Square have pledged to step up their efforts to ensure the housing complex remains free of illicit activities. In a letter to City Council members last week, McKinney Shelter Executive Director Deborah Johnston acknowledged that four of the 19 people arrested in the sting operation were "legitimate residents of the shelter." "We want to emphasize that first, this was a shock to the McKinney Shelter staff, and second, staff did not see, hear of, or witness any illegal drug dealing or drug transactions occurring on shelter property or in its programs," Johnston added. Regarding the four residents mentioned, all are Newport residents, and after they are released, the McKinney Shelter plans to require mandatory drug treatment and/or counseling for them; enact stricter curfews and rules; and work with probation officers and the court to ensure a smooth transition. According to Johnston, "the position of the McKinney Shelter is to continue to help the homeless
See SHELTER on page 3
www.Newport-Now.com Free Local News Matters
Newport-Now Right Now: Scan the QR (Quick Response) Code with your mobile phone’s barcode app to get instant access to our website, with updated local news.