Westport in Brief!

EverythingWestport.com

Sunday, May 15, 2016

photos/EverythingWestport.com except as noted

 

Westport Cares Outreach Program.

 

Westport Cultural Council Awards Over $22,000. 

 

Macomber third-grader wins overall poster contest in annual WRWA poster contest.

 

 

Westport Cares Outreach Program.

The new program offered by the department in conjunction with the Westport Council on Aging, will offer service to older adults and at risk members of the community.

EverythingWestport.com

Saturday, May 14, 2016

 

Westport Cares Outreach Program  

 

Westport Fire Chief Brian Legendre is pleased to announce the rollout of a new program offered by the department in conjunction with the Westport Council on Aging, Westport Cares Program will offer service to older adults and at risk members of the community.  The goal of the program is to help keep these community members safe and in their own homes. 

 

As the number of elderly Americans increases, service programs committed to helping older adults live at home with as much dignity and independence as possible must be developed. 

 

Westport Cares is an outreach program specifically designed to assist this at risk population. 

 

This partnership pairs trained professionals from the fire department with outreach workers to enhance an already strong program run through the Westport Council on Aging.  The program allows this team with whom the older population already knows and is comfortable with to meet in the safety and privacy of their own homes to discuss ways to make their surroundings safer. 

 

The Westport Cares program provides an opportunity for a friendly well-being check and access to a variety of services specific to the individual’s needs. The focus of the visit centers on a needs assessment, medical identification program, trip prevention, heating safety, bath room safety, cooking safety, along with smoke and CO detector checks. 

 

Referral programs already associated with the Council on Aging include meals on wheels, self-help, food pantry, transportation options and information regarding the ever changing and complicated insurance landscape including Medicare. 

Westport Cares is an expandable program that will further allow an avenue in which a new wave of community Paramedicine can be established. With the federal implementation of a fundamental change in the nation’s healthcare system, a strong emphasis will be put on medial outreach programs. Some of the items offered to participants in the program will be  

 

  1. Smoke Detectors 
  1. Co (carbon monoxide) Detectors 
  1. Bath mats 
  1. Night lights 
  1. Flashlights 
  1. File of life 
  1. Home Safety Information and Training 

 

http://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=OIP.M17b8ab2b7baee8e1788a2109a146e771o0&w=300&h=286&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0&r=0

A defective or non-functioning smoke alarm almost cost a young Westport woman her life in a July 4th Drift Road fire. The house burnt to the ground but the woman was saved by an alert Fire Chief. Protect yourself, your family and pets with proper smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Is your property safe? Click here to get all the details and state requirements for all age homes. Do it now.  PDF Large file, Please be patient.

 

For more information on receiving assistance for yourself or others through this program please contact Ann Marie Peckham- Coordinator at 508.636.1110 ext. 2118. 

 

 

 

Westport Cultural Council Awards Over $22,000. 

19 grants totaling $22,450 to 16 different organizations and individuals. 

EverythingWestport.com

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Photos | Submitted

 

The Westport Cultural Council is pleased to announce it has awarded 19 grants totaling $22,450 to 16 different organizations and individuals. 

 

The Council received grant requests totaling nearly $40,000, demonstrating the call for cultural offerings in the area.  Westport Cultural Council (WCC) awarded these grants with funds provided by a grant from The Helen E. Ellis Charitable Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee.  

 

In addition to favorite local traditions such as River Day in June and the late summer Concert at Town Farm, the success of last year’s grantee projects illustrated their value to the community.

 

Positive feedback from participants in the Summer Passport Program – a self-guided exploration of historic sites created through a collaboration with Westport Historical Society, Westport Land Conservation Trust, and Westport Education Foundation – led to expanding the upcoming summer’s program.  A filmmaking workshop for teens, where each participant created a short film that was later shown to the public, also received rave reviews and will be offered again this year.

 

2016 Grantees

The Art Drive for its Open Studio Weekend; Westport Pubic Library; Innocation FP’s new media workshop for teens; Westport River Watershed Alliance for River Day; Westport Cultural Council for its Summer Film Series; WHS, WLCT, and WEF (as noted above) for the Summer Passport Program; Concerts at the Point; Gabrielle Ferreira for an outdoor installation at Dedee Shattuck Gallery; Concert at Town Farm co-sponsored by WLCT and WRWA; South Coast Artists Open Studio Weekends; Westport Art Group; Greater Tiverton Community Choir; New Bedford Festival Theater; Jane Dufault for bringing Puppet Theater to Westport elementary schoolchildren; and The Montessori School of the Angels for art and drama programs.  

 

This spring the WCC again hosted a reception to recognize grant recipients, and to “offer opportunities for creative connection with each other and the community,” said Irene Buck, WCC Chair.  Held at the riverfront home of council member Rud Lawrence, the early evening soiree featured grantees describing how their work enriches the Westport area.  A common theme emerged that the pursuits of these various entities complement each other. 

 

Emily Sutton of The Art Group called the gathering “a wonderful, cross-pollinating evening,” adding, “it was great to hear first-hand about what others are doing in and for Westport.”  Ryan Mann, Executive Director of Westport Land Conservation Trust, summed it up eloquently when he compared the work of the grantees to “prisms of light” reflecting both uniquely and similarly through the Westport community, thanks to WCC’s financial support.

 

Next year 2017 marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of The Helen E. Ellis Charitable Trust.  Helen Ellis (1889-1987) was a sculptor and Westport resident who dedicated her life to arts and culture, and helped others develop their creative talents.  A Charitable Trust was created in her memory to financially support the Westport community’s enjoyment and growth through creative activities. 

 

To celebrate her legacy, the WCC encourages those seeking grants in 2017 to consider Helen Ellis themed projects and events.   

 

WCC awards grants for projects or events directly involving the arts, interpretive sciences, or humanities that take place on the South Coast and benefit the Westport community.  WCC publishes a bi-monthly poster listing upcoming events supported by WCC funds.  Flyers are posted at a number of Westport locations, and the information is also on their web site, www.westportculturalcouncil.org, and on their Facebook page

 

      

Above, left: Mary Ellen Kennedy, Concerts at the Point. Right: Jenny O’Neill, Executive Director of Westport Historical Society.

 

Above: Irene Buck, WCC Chair, welcomes grantees at Thursday, April 28th reception.

 

 

 

Macomber third-grader wins overall poster contest in annual WRWA poster contest.

Artwork will be displayed at the upcoming River day at the Head Landing on Saturday, June 4th.

EverythingWestport.com

 

Westport Watershed Alliance has picked winners for this year’s River Day Poster contest. Annual River day at the Head Landing on Saturday June 4th.

 

Students from kindergarten to fourth grade at Macomber Primary School and Westport Elementary School submitted designs featuring the wildlife and scenic beauty of the Westport River and its salt marshes. More than 200 pieces were submitted, making the task of choosing the winner from "many worthy entries" a challenge, the alliance said in a news release. The winning work is displayed on the poster for River Day, which is Saturday, June 4th at the Head of Westport.

 

This year’s overall winner is third-grader Sarah Raposa, whose colorful crayon depiction of the great variety of creatures that live in the Westport River salt marshes was the judges’ favorite.

 

 

The other ribbon winners, listed for each grade level, are:

Grade 1: Dakota Agrella, first place; Audrey Xavier, second place; Paige Arruda, third place;

 

Grade 2: Grace Garrity, first place; Kellie Furtado, second place; Maddie Herliczek, third place;

 

Grade 3: Sarah Raposa, first place and overall winner; Cailynn White, second place; Landon Markovich, third place;

 

Grade 4: Sarah Perry, first place; Gianna Borges, second place; Amelia Van Saun, third place;

 

Kindergarten: All honorable mentions.

 

The alliance thanked art teachers Melissa Lambert and Claudia Carpenter for their "artistic guidance and helpfulness in having the students create the art work. And special thanks go to all the children for their time and talent,” WRWA Executive Director Deborah Weaver said in a press release.

 

River Day will take place at the town landing at the historic Head of Westport, at the intersection of Drift and Old County roads. The event, free and open to the public, runs from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

 

Featured activities include live music, children’s games, fish T-shirt printing, stilt building, wee-boat racing, face painting, May Pole dancing, a walking tour of historic Head of Westport, a live raptor show, environmental exhibits and a tour of WRWA’s future headquarters.

 

Musicians include Rhode Island folk band The Gnomes, the Westport High School Band and Jazz Ensemble, and the Spindle Rock River Rats.

 

 

 

 

 

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