Westport
in Brief!
EverythingWestport.com
Sunday,
March 29, 2015
photos/EverythingWestport.com except as noted
Quick
Article Index . . .
Westport firefighters take 11th place
in Providence Stair Climb fundraiser.
Southcoast
Orthopedic Surgery to host monthly total joint replacement seminars.
Southeastern
Ma Alzheimer's Partnership presents Seminars for Caregivers.
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Westport
firefighters take 11th place in Providence Stair Climb fundraiser. EverythingWestport.com Saturday,
March 28, 2015 On Saturday,
March 28th hundreds of firefighters took to the stairs of the Omni Providence
Hotel, located in the heart of downtown Providence. No, there wasn’t
a dangerous skyscraper fire or other disastrous incident, but the eighth
annual stair-climbing fundraising event for the American Lung Association of
the Northeast. “We are so grateful to the Omni
Hotel for graciously opening their doors to us and for
taking an active role in the Fight for Air. The funds raised at the Fight
for Air Climb are vital to the work we are doing to combat lung disease and
air pollution.” Jeff Seyler, President & CEO of the
American Lung Association of the Northeast The seventh
annual Fight for Air Climb in Providence took place at the renowned hotel for
the first time in 2014 due to the event’s growing success. In 2013, more than
800 raced to the top of One Financial Plaza raising more than $192,000 to
directly benefit the American Lung Association of the Northeast.
Above: Westport
firefighters before the 24-story climb. From the left: Firefighters
Keith Nickleson, Chris Caswell, Robert Porawski Jr., Anthony Ward, Lt. Dan Ledoux
and Bob Porawski Sr. Six Westport Firefighters once again competed in the Fight for Air
Stair Climb in Providence with all proceeds raised going to the American Lung
Association.
Most of the competing teams had more members than the minimal six
members of the Westport team. This is the sixth year a Westport Firefighters’ team has competed. “We do full-out sprint, skipping steps for as long as we can to around
the 13th floor, then slow down to single steps for a couple of floors, then back
to skipping steps,” said team leader Bob Porawski
Sr. “It’s a real workout,” Porawski said. “If you’ve
done it right you’ve got nothing left by the top.” Porawski credits
hard training using the Insanity Max 30 workouts with regular climbs at a
Fall River high-rise. Westport firefighter Keith Nickleson led the
team up the stairs finishing in a time of three minutes, 22 seconds. “Keith overtook me halfway up; he was really moving,” Porawski said. “A big
part of the appeal (of this stair climb) is the camaraderie that we build
through all this training together.” Westport firefighter Robert Porawski Sr. Firefighters are drawn to the event from all over the commonwealth and
Rhode Island. The race is 24 stories with 2 flights per story. Fire fighters
don all personal protective equipment including self-contained breathing
device or (air pack), structural firefighting gear, boots and helmets. Keith Nickelson was Westport’s top team member fundraiser with
$515.00, with the team raising $740 overall. “We hosted the
first ever Fight for Air Climb: Providence back in 2009 and are overwhelmed
by the support we have received over the years not just in Providence, but
all over the state,” said Jeff Seyler, President
& CEO of the American Lung Association of the Northeast. “We are so
grateful to the Omni Hotel for graciously opening their doors to us and for
taking an active role in the Fight for Air. The funds raised at the Fight for
Air Climb are vital to the work we are doing to combat lung disease and air
pollution.” Fight for Air
Climbs are the American Lung Association’s most unique fundraisers. Climbs
take place in prominent skyscrapers, stadiums or arenas and involve walking,
running or racing up hundreds of steps. Sometimes called a "vertical
road race", teams and individual participants can use the event as a
fitness target, as a race, or as a great way to be active and meet new
friends. Many participants use it as a way to honor a family member
that has been affected by lung disease. Awards:
Individual and team awards were given to firefighters in an after-party at the Union
Station Brewery in Providence. Presentations were made for: fastest
Firefighter award; plus top 3 males in each age group18-29, 30-39, 40-49,
50-59 and 60+; top 3 females and fastest firefighter team. Cairns helmets
off to Westport’s Firefighter stair climbing team!
Above: Westport
Firefighters after the climb after the 24-story climb.
Submitted photos courtesy of
Westport Firefighter “Polish Bob” Porawski’s FaceBook page. Southcoast Orthopedic Surgery to host monthly total joint
replacement seminars. EverythingWestport.com Sunday, March 29,
2015 Southcoast Orthopedic Surgery to host monthly total joint
replacement seminars. The monthly seminars are open to anyone in the South Coast community
who is interested in learning more about total joint replacement. “Don’t Let Joint
Pain Slow You Down”, will be hosted by Southcoast
Health Orthopedic Surgeons Michael Langworthy, MD,
and Gary Ferguson, MD. The free,
one-hour seminars will be held in Fall River and North Dartmouth, and will
cover arthritis, hip and knee pain and other orthopedic conditions. The
doctors will also use the opportunity to talk about non-surgical and surgical
treatments, nutrition, medications and exercise. Light refreshments will be
served. Registration is
required by calling 508.973.1101. The schedule for 2015 is: Tuesday, April 7 Charlton Memorial Hospital 363 Highland Ave, Fall River Multipurpose Conference Room 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 6 Southcoast
Orthopedic Surgery 300A Faunce Corner Rd, Dartmouth 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 2 Charlton Memorial Hospital 363 Highland Ave, Fall River Multipurpose Conference Room 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 1 Southcoast
Orthopedic Surgery 300A Faunce Corner Rd, Dartmouth 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, August 4 Charlton Memorial Hospital 363 Highland Ave, Fall River Multipurpose Conference Room 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, September 2 Southcoast
Orthopedic Surgery 300A Faunce Corner Rd, Dartmouth 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 6 Charlton Memorial Hospital 363 Highland Ave, Fall River Multipurpose Conference Room 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, November 4 Southcoast
Orthopedic Surgery 300A Faunce Corner Rd, Dartmouth 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, December 1 Charlton Memorial Hospital 363 Highland Ave, Fall River Multipurpose Conference Room 6 to 7 p.m. About Southcoast Health & Southcoast
Hospitals Group Southcoast Health
is a community based health delivery system with multiple access points,
offering an integrated continuum of health services throughout Southeastern
Massachusetts and East Bay, Rhode Island. It includes the three hospitals
that make up Southcoast Hospitals Group — Charlton
Memorial Hospital in Fall River, St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford and Tobey
Hospital in Wareham. Southcoast
provides advanced clinical services, such as open heart surgery, angioplasty
and heart rhythm services, comprehensive cancer care, neurosurgery, weight
loss surgery, plastic surgery, hand surgery, orthopedic surgery, advanced
imaging services and is the only provider of maternity services in the
region. Southcoast is a
not-for-profit charitable organization that depends on the support of the
community to provide services. More information is available online at www.southcoast.org. Connect
to Southcoast through social media at www.southcoast.org/connect/. Westport’s
State Senator Michael Rodrigues, D-Westport, hatched the idea for the eight
Commonwealth Conversations tour series. EverythingWestport.com Sunday, March 29,
2015 To the editor: Since we took
office on January 7th, we’ve initiated a sweeping set of reforms that promise
to change the culture of the Some consider
these changes long overdue. We share their instinct – the time is ripe for
action. We have spent the
last weeks on our Commonwealth Conversations Tour, a series of eight days of
regional meetings and forums held all across the state. We left Beacon
Street for Main Street, bringing the State House to the people. For
some, this is a radical notion; for us, it just made common sense. Rather than
sitting in conference rooms stuffed with special interests, we are going to
where people really talk about this stuff — school auditoriums and town
halls, substance abuse centers, and small businesses. From the Berkshires
to Cape Cod, people have turned out by the thousands to make their voices
heard. We could not be more pleased with the level of public
engagement. We have heard
from residents on issues from affordable housing, substance abuse, economic
development, energy costs, education, criminal justice reform, and many
more. We plan to take what we have heard from our constituents back to
the Senate to help craft an agenda that will work for all the people of the
Commonwealth.
Left: A standing-room only crowd gathered for the Commonwealth Conversations
Tour’s second public forum of the day, held at Holyoke Community College on
February 4th. It’s a simple but
vital idea – engage the people in the process and the process will ignite
with creativity and vibrancy. Not only is this
good for making a more transparent body but it also enhances the capacity of
the Senate to do more – to tackle more issues, to develop more creative
approaches, and to produce more effective legislation. In other words,
this tour will help make the Senate more skillful, more efficient, and more
innovative. How do you
summarize all of this? Collaboration and shared leadership. The days of
information control and top-down authority are giving way to open
communications platforms and democratization of decision making. That’s what we
seek for the Massachusetts State Senate: A more open, transparent,
collegial, and collaborative body, ready to engage the people of our
Commonwealth. In the coming days, weeks, and months, we will continue
to rethink the ways we engage with voters, revisiting old rules and policies
to free up the flow of information both on and off Beacon Hill, and working
hard to expand openness and transparency in state government. We thank all of
those who participated in these events across our Commonwealth: the small
businesses and organizations we visited for making time for us, the people
who deliver services to those in need, and the residents who attended public
forums. With your help
and commitment, the Senate is ready to go to work on continuing to move
Massachusetts forward. Stan Rosenberg
(D-Amherst), state Senate president Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester), Senate minority leader Michael Rodrigues
(D-Westport), Chairman, Senate Commonwealth Conversations Tour
Above: The MA Senate delegation
visited Hoppe Technologies, a precision manufacturing company in Chicopee, as
part of its Commonwealth Conversations Tour in Western Massachusetts on
February 4th. Southeastern
Ma Alzheimer's Partnership presents Seminars for Caregivers. EverythingWestport.com Sunday, March 29,
2015 The Southeastern
MA Alzheimer's Partnership is offering four seminars for caregivers in a
variety of locations for the public's convenience. If you are
currently a caregiver or expect to be in the future this program will provide
you with the tools to handle the demands of this responsibility. Panel members are
professionals in a variety of fields and will provide valuable information on
the topics of Elder Law, Adult Day Health, Alzheimer's Association Programs,
Assisted Living, Homecare, Hospice, Long-Term Care, Geriatric Care Managers,
Monitoring Programs, Reverse Mortgages, State
Agencies for Elder Services, and a caregiver's personal experience. Following the
presentation there will be a Q & A. These programs are free and
everyone is welcome.
April 9 6:30 p.m. at Good Shepherd Church,
1598 South Main St., Fall River (RSVP to Jane Sullivan at 508.679.0535 or jelslaw@aol.com) May 3 12 noon at St. Andrew the Apostle
Church, 19 Kilmer Ave., Taunton (RSVP to Phoebe Worcester at 508.822.9200 or pcworcester@gmail.com) May 6 4:30 p.m. at Fairhaven Council on
Aging, 229 Huttleston Ave., Fairhaven (RSVP to Pat Midurski at 508.992.6278 or pmidurski@communitynurse.com May 12 5:00 p.m. at First Christian
Congregational Church ("White Church"), 1113 GAR Highway, Swansea
(RSVP to Judy Andrade at 774.229.6607 or mammie1946@live.com These seminars
are very informative and can help people understand the issues surrounding
caregiving. For more general information please contact Patricia Midurski, RN BSN CDP, Co-Chair, Community Nurse &
Hospice Care, Inc., 62 Center Street, Fairhaven. Telephone:
508.992.6278 Email: pmidurski@communitynurse.com
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