Westport in Brief!
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Sunday, November 19, 2017
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Narrows
Center for the Arts marks major milestone with building acquisition.
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EverythingWestport.com Friday,
November 17, 2017 Photos |
EverythingWestport.com WESTPORT - Anglers catch
lots of odd things fishing off Hix Bridge. Old
tires, even older boots, lost rods and reels, and, yes, even But MassDOT
contract divers repairing the crumbling Hix Bridge
support columns Friday noontime caught a car and the imagination of all
present whether anyone was still inside. And imagine their surprise
when they discovered what was thought to be a red Porsche lying upside down
eight feet below the surface of the Westport River was actually a Volkswagon. Police were called, the
Highway Department hustled down, and a BigWheel
recovery team rushed in to extricate the red, two-door sedan lying eight feet
down on its roof, buried in two feet of muck.
A corroded registration
plate with partially readable numbers and a VIN number was retrieved and the numbers
radioed to the police dispatcher with the hopes of tracking down the decades
old registration, and solve the ownership question which might open doors in
deciphering the how and why the car was at the bottom of the Westport River’s
East Branch for maybe two decades or more.
Oregon. Initially, the Jackson County Sheriff’s office thought skeletal
remains found near the nearly intact vehicle were human, but the remains turned
out to be deer bones. Similar concerns about a body in the sunken vehicle were running
through Westport officials’ minds when a BigWheel
crane was called in the next day to haul the car out of the river. The car turned out to be a red, mid 1990s
Volkswagen Golf and may have been in the water for up to two decades. The rusted out hulk, an unrecognizable two-door sedan, was full of
mud, eels, some fish and oysters from many years underwater, leaving police
puzzled over ownership and possible motives of how it got there in the first
place.
Hoisted over the bridge’s surface, the VW’s one remaining seat cushion
fell out onto the road along with the mud and crud accumulated over two
decades. And yes, no body was discovered. Amazingly, the Golf wasn’t found when the state rebuilt Hix Bridge in 2005! Police and the harbormaster theorized the car was rolled from the eastside
boat ramp into the water, where it flipped over and was dragged by the wind
and current until sinking and coming to rest on its roof near the southeast
corner of the bridge. According to police, a Fall River man reported the car stolen in 1997.
The owner received an insurance settlement and the car, or what is left of
it, is now owned by the insurance company, Commerce Insurance. And the car? Needless to say the Insurance Company said finders, keepers!
Narrows Center for the Arts marks major
milestone with building acquisition. EverythingWestport.com Sunday, November 19, 2017 The Board of Directors of the Narrows Center for the Arts is pleased
to announce that the purchase of the building at 16 Anawan
Street in Fall River has been finalized. “The purchase of this building, which we have called home for the last
sixteen years, marks a major milestone for our organization. Initial plans include increasing the performance seating from its
current capacity of 280 to a new capacity of 430. The increased capacity will
invite higher profile acts and allow an additional 150 tickets to be sold for
the acts that sell out regularly. Buildout on the second floor will include
nine artist studios to start. The additional space will make for a more
vibrant and diverse artist community. Additional buildout on the second floor
will include space for art-related businesses, retail, and holistic healing.
Future plans for the first floor include the possibility of a brewery,
restaurant and other commercial entities. In 2017, over 30,000 people attended an event at the Narrows Center.
The Narrows anticipates additional 5,000-10,000 attendees in the first
year of expansion. These numbers will increase exponentially as build out and
occupancy reaches capacity. The Narrows Center expansion will be a vital
economic and cultural destination for the Fall River waterfront. The Narrows Center for the Arts is currently in the midst of a Capital
Campaign to raise $750,000 for renovation and building improvements. To
date, the Narrows has raised $375,000 for the campaign. The non-profit
organization is seeking support from the community at large to meet their
goal. Visit the website, www.narrowscenter.org, or
call the box office for more information, 508.324.1926. - - - - - End - - - - - ©
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