Blood drive salutes Charlestown officer

CHARLESTOWN — The police are sponsoring a blood drive tomorrow in memory of the late Lt. Robert L. Craig III, a retired Charlestown police officer who died Oct. 24 from a bleeding disorder he had fought for three weeks.

Lt. Patrick J. McMahon, commander of the patrol division, said he hopes at least 40 people will give blood in Craig’s name. The Rhode Island Blood Center provided more than 100 units during Craig’s illness, McMahon said, and a drive in Narragansett recouped more than 40 units while Craig was still fighting the disorder.

Donors, who must be in good health, at least 17 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds, are asked to drink plenty of water, eat a good meal and report to the community room of the Police Department, 4901 Old Post Rd., between 2 and 7 p.m. tomorrow, exactly a month after Craig died.

McMahon said that although 37 percent of people are eligible to donate blood, only 5 percent do. He said people taking aspirin or medications for allergies or high blood pressure can usually still give blood.

To make an appointment online, go to www.ribc.org, click on the eDonor link and use sponsor code 2240.

The blood center needs 240 to 280 pints of blood a day.

— Donita Naylor

Nationwide group honors ACI director

A.T. Wall, who started his career in the state Department of Corrections in 1987 and has since become the nation’s third-longest tenured corrections director, has been named outstanding director of corrections for 2008 by his colleagues.

Wall, received the recognition from the Association of State Correctional Administrators at an awards banquet on Nov. 15.

Those who nominated him for the award describe him as a leader who has “never veered from his deep and abiding interest and commitment to the criminal justice system … demonstrating a talent for clearly and concisely communicating the complex issues of the world of corrections to the public.”

In 2003, Wall testified before Congress in support of the Prison Rape Elimination Act and has since crisscrossed the nation to speak to groups and organizations about sexual assault and misconduct. He is the co-chairman of the Advisory Committee to the Prisoner Reentry Institute at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

Wall started out as a probation counselor in Connecticut, worked his way through law school at Yale University and later became an assistant district attorney in Manhattan. He later became director of the Manhattan Community Service Sentencing Project for the Vera Institute of Justice and, in Rhode Island, the principal policy analyst for former Gov. Edward DiPrete.

— Staff reports

Housing Authority earns perfect score

PROVIDENCE — For the sixth consecutive year, the Providence Housing Authority has received a perfect score of 100 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the management of its Section 8 housing voucher program.

According to Donna DeLaRosa, the authority’s director of leased housing, more than 81 percent of voucher recipients surveyed said they were satisfied with the way they were treated by the authority’s staff and 86 percent of landlords felt the same way.

HUD conducts its annual assessment program by using a national tenant database in addition to information from independent audits. Each housing authority is assigned an overall performance rating of high, standard or troubled. Bonus points can be awarded to housing agencies that encourage families to find housing in low-poverty areas.

— Staff report