Westport in Brief!
EverythingWestport.com
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Quick Article Index . . .
What's up
with the Route 88 Bridge?
Free Demonstration Classes offered by South
Coast Music Together.
|
EverythingWestport.com Saturday,
April 23, 2011 Adopt A Watershed. Below: Westport High School
Students take measurements in Angeline Brook to create a stream profile.
In the Adopt a Watershed program,
students conducted an in-depth, stream ecology study over the course of several
weeks on two tributaries of the Westport River: Kirby Brook and Angeline
Brook. During the visits to the streams students carefully made their
way into the water, made visual observations and created a stream
profile. Students then put to use the
collecting techniques learned in their classroom and measured dissolved
oxygen, pH, nitrogen, phosphates, turbidity and velocity. Over the
course of this program students learn the importance of the watershed they
live in, along with ways that waters runs through a watershed and how
pollution can spread throughout the system. The Adopt a Watershed Program emphasizes
the importance of students identifying and understanding the environmental
concerns that are happening in the area that they live in. By
participating in this program students are able to not only gain an
understanding of what is happening in the community around them but also have
a range of experiences which are necessary for their future pursuit of
science studies. This program was a part of the
Watershed Education Program. Each year from PreK
to High School students learn about different aspects of their
watershed. The Westport River Watershed Alliance provides the program
as a compliment to the science curriculum each grade is covering for the
year. It provides a hands-on way for students to not only learn science, but
also about the habitats that are in their own backyards. WRWA’s mission is to restore,
protect, celebrate, and sustain the natural resources of the Westport River and
its watershed which encompasses six towns: Dartmouth, Fall River,
Freetown, and Westport in Massachusetts, and Little Compton and Tiverton in
Rhode Island. WRWA accomplishes its goal of protecting the watershed
through education, advocacy, and community outreach. For further
information on WRWA, please contact the office staff at (508) 636-3016 or
visit www.westportwatershed.org. What's up, or not up, with the
Route 88 Bridge? EverythingWestport.com Saturday,
April 23, 2011 What's up, or not up with the Route 88 Bridge? N.E.L.
Corporation workers out of Middleton, Massachusetts, bridge restoration
experts, have been working under the span over the Westport River for the
past few weeks, and according to Westport Harbormaster, Richie Earle, we can
expect them to be there another two months.
N.E.L. Corp. was pretty tight-lipped
about the work, so we can only wonder what trolls may be lurking under the
bridge's surface. What they did say was that
"steel work was being performed under the draw bridge and its surface as
part of the ongoing rehabilitation of the bridge's drawbridge
infrastructure." Earle thinks the addition of a center
barrier rail on the bridge's main span some time ago points to planned work
that would require traffic to travel on only one lane during restoration and
repair work. "They found lots of needed
repairs during the resurfacing of the bridge's super structure," Earle
said. Among the difficulties were
electrical wiring deterioration, burnt out and corroded motors, and the
channel fenders had to be updated (in case boats bumped against the bridge's
supports.) "They are primarily working
under the draw bridge span," Earle said. "They're cutting rivets,
banging and making all kinds of noise." "Once they finish up on one side
they will redirect terrific to the other side and continue doing what they're
doing," Earle said. "I expect they will be there for
the next few months." The bridge was dedicated to SP4
Normand E. Fontaine who was killed in action in Vietnam on May 8, 1968.
Free
Demonstration Classes offered by South Coast Music Together. EverythingWestport.com Sunday, April 24, 2011
All South Coast Music Together
classes are for children ages birth to five, and beyond, and their parents or
caregivers. Classes meet for forty-five minutes each week, for ten weeks, to
experience new songs, chants, movement activities and instrumental jam
sessions. To give families an opportunity to experience all the music
making fun, free demonstration classes are offered, and may be scheduled by
visiting: www.southcoastmt.com.
Spaces are limited, and reservations are required. For the older child there is the
South Coast Children’s Singing Circle, where age appropriate play continues,
while exploring music ideas and terminology. This class too may be
previewed, with free demonstration classes in New Bedford.
For more information, or to visit a
free demonstration class, please visit: www.southcoastmt.com, or call (508) 636-7426. South
Coast Music Together serves the families of the Greater SouthCoast.
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