Vol. 39, No. 36
BORN FREE
THURSDAY, September 8, 2011
Council Votes for Signals
What’s Inside
By Jill Connors
SEE PaGe 8
Table of Contents CALENDAR 14 CLASSIFIEDS 26 COMMUNITY BRIEFS 4-5 CROSSWORD 25 EDITORIAL 6 MAINSHEET 13 NATURE 21 POLICE LOG 5 REALTY TRANSACTIONS 7 RECENT DEATHS 25 RESTAURANTS 14-19 SPORTS 23 www.Newport-Now.com Twitter.com/newportnow Facebook.com/newportnow
Back to the Drawing Board The Middletown Town Council on Tuesday unanimously voted NO on a controversial proposal for roundabout circles to handle traffic at two key intersections in town, both on heavily traveled West Main Road. Dozens of Middletown residents last month attended a workshop at which many vigorously opposed the idea of introducing a circulating traffic pattern. Instead of the roundabouts, the Town Council voted for an “enhanced signal design” to keep things moving at the two intersections. (Read the full story at right)
Thompson Principal Sets Goal for School Year By Meg O’Neil NEWPORT – It’s the second day of the new school year, and the new principal of Thompson Middle School is wandering the empty hallways, ducking in to each and every classroom he passes for several minutes at a time. It’s in those few minutes that Principal Jaime Crowley sets the tone for the rest of the school year, not only allowing the student body to become familiar with him, but also to set the standards that he expects from every student. To that end, Crowley has spent the first two days of school walking around the school with his college diploma tucked under his arm. He presents the Boston College degree not only as a symbol of accomplishment, but also as a conversation piece to get TMS students tuned in to their potential. According to Crowley, research shows that if teachers, mentors, and parents can get kids thinking about long-term goals such as college early on in their academic careers, then students are more willing to engage in the work it takes to reach that level. In each of the classrooms, Crowley explains that his job as a principal is to prepare the students for a future college career. To achieve that, he says, they
Middletown — In its regular meeting Tuesday night, Town Council voted unanimously to recommend that the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) rebuild two intersections along West Main Road using an enhanced signal design rather than a roundabout design. “Everything I have heard from the public tells me they prefer the signalized option,” said Council President Art Weber before the vote. The Council’s action followed several weeks of intense public scrutiny of the intersections’ two proposed designs, culminating in a public workshop held in late August that was attended by more than 100 residents who voiced opinions and heard presentations from RIDOT. Although the Middletown Plan-
See SIGNALS on page 3
Action Needed to Revive Square By Tom Shevlin
Principal Jaime Crowley spent his second day at Thompson Middle School visiting classrooms and showing students his college diploma, a symbol of the potential that he wants every student to achieve in their future. (Photo by Meg O’Neil) need to follow his three simple rules: Be in a good school (“Which TMS is,” he says); work hard; and follow the rules. Live by that creed, Crowley tells the attentive students, and college is guaranteed. During one of his classroom visits on Wednesday, one student raises his hand and tells Crowley that he thinks he won’t get to attend the college he wants with a diploma from Rogers High
School. Crowley was quick to reassure the class that students who graduate from Rogers go on to some of the best colleges in the country. “I don’t want you thinking that the doors to success are already closed; they are never closed if you work hard,” he stressed. Crowley believes that constant interaction between student and principal is a key to academic success.
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A native of Aquidneck Island, Crowley graduated from Middletown High School, received his undergraduate and master’s degrees in French from Boston College, and taught French for 10 years at Mt. Hope High School in Bristol before serving as assistant principal there for the last four years.
See PRINCIPAL on page 26
NEWPORT – Newport has a jewel in Washington Square – one in which the state would eagerly invest – but it’s going to take political will on the city’s part to make the historic neighborhood truly thrive. That was the consensus of a group of panelists who convened at the Jane Pickens Theater and Event Center on Tuesday for a special forum on the recent efforts to reinvigorate the Square, and ponder its future economic development. The event, was sponsored by the Washington Square Roots Initiative, a group whose aim is to restore the square as Newport’s center of life and commerce. Bringing together a panel that included Keith Stokes, a native Newporter and head of the state’s Economic Development Corporation, GrowSmart RI Executive Director Scott Wolfe, and Ted Sanderson of the State Historic Preservation Office, the forum focused its initial attention on the historic significance of Washington Square and the more than decade-long process, now currently wrapping up, to restore the area. Joe O’Connor, station manager
See REDEVELOPMENT on page 3
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