Westport
in Brief!
EverythingWestport.com
Thursday,
July 31, 2014
photos/EverythingWestport.com except as noted
Quick
Article Index . . .
This
August the Dedee Shattuck Gallery will be hosting SEVEN exciting events!
Right Whale,
Roseate Tern and the Leaping Brook Trout come to the assistant of the WRWA.
Two fires in two
days test local firefighters.
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This August the Dedee
Shattuck Gallery will be hosting SEVEN
exciting events! Book signing, films, artists’
reception, and African dance! EverythingWestport.com Friday, August 08, 2014 Saturday August 16th from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. - Artists'
Reception with Jamie Young and Bryan McFarlane. Click here to read about the Exhibition. Click here to view hi-resolution photo
album. Need Adobe Flash Player to view
album – click here. Wear white to get
a free drink! And remember it's
a Sales Tax Holiday, a perfect time to purchase a beautiful work of Art!
Saturday August 16th from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. Le
Travail du Peintre: Classical Performance. A
local classical singer will perform a 20 minutes song cycle, Le Travail du Peintre. Sunday August 10th from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
– An Introduction to Contemporary African Dance. No Experience
Required; $15 per person.
Book Signing,
Talk and Reception. This is the first
biography of journalist Robert Pierpoint, a
contemporary of Edward R. Murrow, hired by him to cover the Korean War for
CBS. He went on to
cover the White House, through six presidents. In more than 40 years with the
network, he covered the Kennedy assassination, Watergate, Nixon's
resignation, and the State Department, culminating in memorable reporting for
CBS Sunday Morning. He was the winner
of two Emmy Awards for investigative reporting and helped shape the careers
of many of today's journalists, including Bob Schieffer,
Dan Rather, Lesley Stahl, and Diane Sawyer.
The Westport
Cultural Council is pleased to present three documentary films for their
3rd Annual Westport Film Series Thursday evenings, beginning in mid-August.
Each of the three films illustrates a compelling environmental issue facing
the world today.
This documentary
investigates the global phenomenon of why bees are in danger of extinction.
Guest speaker will be Wayne Andrews, former Bristol County Mosquito Control
Director and Master Beekeeper, Bristol County Beekeepers Association.
A story of small
farms forced to stop providing safe, healthy foods. The evening's
knowledgeable guest speaker will be Geoffrey Kinder, manager of the 52-acre
Round the Bend Farm in Dartmouth, a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)
farm that sells chemical free meat to the community Tapped, Thursday, August 28, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.
Dedee Shattuck Gallery, 1 Partners Lane (off 865
Main Road), Westport, MA. 508.636.4177 Wednesdays -
Saturdays: 10am - 5pm, Sundays 12pm - 5pm Email: dedeeshattuckgallery@gmail.com
EverythingWestport.com Friday, August
08, 2014 You’ve probably
seen these specialty plates before; a whale tail protruding from the water, a
leaping brook trout. But the plates are
more than just a soothing seascape; they’re for a good cause. Proceeds from
the special plate fees (of just $40 every two years) go toward the Massachusetts
Environmental Trust (MET). These plates have
generated over $18 million since they were first issued 20 years ago. The Westport River Watershed
Alliance (WRWA) received a financial boost with a $15,000 grant from
the Massachusetts Environmental Trust (the Trust). This grant will
enable WRWA to identify sources of pollution relative to the applicable water
quality standards for fecal coliform (FC) in the West Branch of the Westport
River. Since 2009 high
FC levels have required extended shellfish closures in the upper West Branch.
WRWA will track bacterial sources by: employing a sampling program in the
West Branch and contributing streams, counting bird population densities, and
producing a brochure to encourage the community to pick up after their pets. According to Trust
Program Director Bill Hinkley, the trust will
provide roughly $429,000 in grants to 13 organizations this year, thanks to
motorists who choose to purchase one of the trust's specialty license plates.
"Trust plates, including our signature Whale Plate, are the only
specialty plates that exclusively fund environmental initiatives," said Hinkley. "When you purchase a specialty plate from
the Registry of Motor Vehicles the $40 specialty plate fee is donated to the
Trust to fund water-focused environmental programs."
Supporting the
environmental programs funded by the trust in your community is easy: choose
one of three environmental plates—the Right Whale and Roseate Tern, the
Leaping Brook Trout, or the Blackstone Valley Mill—when you purchase a new
car or renew your registration in Massachusetts. The standard
registration fee for a Massachusetts plate is $60. The special plate fee is
an additional $40 ($28 is tax-deductible; $12 is to manufacture the plate).
The total first time cost of an Environmental Specialty Plate is $100. Visit
your local Registry of Motor Vehicles or order a plate online at www.massrmv.com or log
onto www.mass.gov/eea/met
where you can learn more about the Trust, the programs it supports, and the
specialty license plate offerings. In addition to
helping the whales, terns and trout, the MET funds water projects in areas
such as ecosystem restoration, water quality improvement, and environmental
education. If you are interested in seeing where the money goes, a list of
the most recent projects can be found here. Two
fires in two days test local firefighters. EverythingWestport.com Friday, August
08, 2014 Thanks to alert
homeowners, fire detection devices, and quick response from the Westport Fire
Department, two Westport homes, one historic, were saved from rack and ruin when
firefighters entered the structures, and quickly confined and extinguished
the blazes. Although they suffered
moderate smoke damage throughout, the houses themselves were saved. Read additional story below. On Monday, August
4th at 1:57 p.m. in the afternoon, Westport Firefighters were able to save a
single family home at 41 Grand Pine Way, after the owners who were across the
street with neighbors heard their smoke detectors sounding and called
911. Upon arrival, firefighters found
moderate smoke on the first floor. When firefighters
entered the house, they were able to quickly confine and extinguish the fire
in the kitchen. Even though the house
suffered moderate smoke damage throughout, the house itself was saved. It was determined
that the fire originated in the dishwasher but the cause has not been
determined. The fire caused an
estimated $10,000 to the house and contents.
There were no reported injuries. Responding to the incident were three
engines and a ladder. The house is
listed to Marie Cordeiro of Westport. Westport Point historic structures saved
due to alert homeowner and quick fire department response.
On Tuesday,
August 5th, firefighters quickly extinguished a fire in the basement at 1950
Main Road. The call which came in at 10:58 a.m. from the owner June Roche,
reported an explosion and fire in the basement of the two story
home. Arriving firefighters reported
moderate smoke coming from the basement entryway in the rear of the building. The fire which
started near the electrical panels in the basement was extinguished in
approximately fifteen minutes. While
fire damage was confined to the basement, smoke damage was found throughout
the house. The house which
is located in the historic Westport Point area was saved, though electrical
service to the house had to be disconnected for safety. Damage to the house and contents were
estimated to be approximately $60,000 and there were no reported
injuries. Mutual aid was
called in from Little Compton to the fire scene, while a Fall River rescue
was called to assist at a medical call on Route 195. At the time of this fire, Westport
Firefighters were also on two separate medical calls in Town. Story
below first reported by EverythingWestport.com on Tuesday, August 5th at 2:00
p.m. Mayhem on
Main Street. Fire department vehicles from Westport and Little Compton responded quickly
to a 911 call a little before noon on Tuesday, August 5th that reported an
explosion in the basement of a home at 1950 Main Road, Westport Point. The home owner,
while working outside in the yard, reported hearing the bang and phoned in
the emergency call. The alert home
owner and quick fire department response saved an historic structure from
rack and ruin. The eruption and
resulting fire were the result of an electrical failure in the home’s main
electrical panel, according to the contractor called in to access and repair
the failed service. The fire,
contained in the basement, was quickly extinguished. “I was lucky to
be at home at the time,” said the owner. “I can’t go back into the house just
yet, so I’m staying with some neighbors.” The fire
apparatus clogged the narrow street for a couple of hours, frustrating lower
Main Road residents trying to return home. 1950 Main Road is
the historic Captain Edward G. Sowle house, circa
1835, in Westport Point’s historic district. © 2014 Community Events of Westport. All rights
reserved. EverythingWestport.com |
