Barrington
East Bay Briefings
01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Library closing: The Jamestown Library will close tomorrow at 7 p.m. and remain closed all day Thursday for Thanksgiving. The library will reopen Friday at 10 a.m. with regular hours through the weekend.
Family vacation activities: The Audubon Society’s Environmental Education Center, 1401 Hope St., Bristol, has planned family and educational activities for after Thanksgiving.
On Friday, there will be a day filled with crafts, nature stories and animal discoveries. All programs are free with the price of admission. No registration is required. Here’s the lineup: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nature Craft Table; 10:30 a.m. Tidepool Talk; 11:30 a.m. Nature Story: Owl Moon; 1:30 p.m. Nature Program: Habitats; 3:30 p.m. Animal Discovery.
On Saturday at 8:30 a.m. there will be a Fall Bird Walk, followed by hot coffee, cocoa and refreshments. Binoculars are recommended for a good view of the birds. Registration is required, but the program is free with the price of admission.
Admission to the Audubon Society’s Environmental Education Center is $6 for adults, $5 for elderly, and $4 for children 4 to 12. Children under 4 and Audubon Society of Rhode Island members are free. The Environmental Education Center is at 1401 Hope Street in Bristol, Rhode Island. For more information, call (401 245-7500 or visit www.asrieec.org.
Pickups delayed: Both the Department of Public Works and the Recycling Center will be closed Thursday Thanksgiving Day. Thursday’s refuse and recycling will be collected Friday along with the regular Friday routes. Refuse and recycling must always be curbside by 7:30 a.m.
Holiday Hours: The Bayside Family YMCA will be open tomorrow with regular hours from 5:15 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Wellness Center and Pool will be open Thursday morning, from 6 to 10. Regular hours will resume Friday from 5:15 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Prime Time will be closed on Thursday and Friday, resuming its regular hours on Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Exhibit to open: Hope Gallery, 435 Hope St., will open its second holiday “Little Picture Show” and sale Friday, with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. All mediums of painting and photography, smaller than 14 inches each side and priced less than $250 will be exhibited along with sculpture. Items will consist of open submissions and recent work from resident and guest artists.
The exhibit will remain on display through Dec. 24. Gallery hours are Thursday and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, noon to 9 p.m., with extended hours for the holidays Dec. 22 and 23. For information call (401) 396-9117.
Pickups delayed: The City of East Providence Public Works Department will change its pickup schedule for rubbish, yard waste and recyclables for the Thanksgiving holiday. Collections for those with Thursday pickups will be delayed one day and collected Friday. Residents who have their pickups normally on a Friday will switch to Saturday. Residents are asked to have their rubbish, yard waste and recycling containers at the curb by 6 a.m. The regular Thursday and Friday collections will resume Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.
Parent/Child Book Discussion: Children in grades four and up are invited to join the monthly Parent/Child Book Discussion at Weaver Library, 41 Grove Ave. The discussion group offers the opportunity to meet other parents and children while discussing an interesting book each month. A light snack will also be offered. The next meeting will be held Saturday from 3 to 4 p.m. on The Music of Dolphins, by Karen Hesse, the story of Mila, a teenage girl who was rescued from the sea. Researchers learn she has been raised by dolphins and attempt to rehabilitate her to the human world.
This program is free and open to all. Those attend are welcome even if they have not finished the book. For information call (401) 435-1978.
Tutors needed: The East Providence Community Center, 1320 Pawtucket Ave., is looking for volunteers for its literacy tutorial program. The program will begin next Tuesday. Volunteers will assist children in grades 3 to 5 with homework and study skills. The program meets Tuesday and Thursday from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the center. Those interesting in helping are asked to call Joy Dorsey, (401) 438-5285.
Homework and study assistance for children: Students in grades 3 to 5 in need of tutorial assistance are welcome to join the East Providence Community Center’s Youth Homework Tutorial program Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 to 4:30 p.m. starting next Tuesday. Registration will be held tomorrow from 3:15 to 5 p.m. Call the center for information (401) 438-5285.
Harvest Festival: The Middletown Senior Center, Green End Avenue, will hold a Harvest Festival today from 1 to 5 p.m. Included will be baked goods, clothing for children, teens and adults, books and a drawing for prizes.
Click it or Ticket Campaign: The Middletown Police Department has been awarded a Click it or Ticket grant in the amount of $783, which is part of a nationwide effort to enforce seat-belt compliance. The money will be used to pay for extra police patrols for seat-belt enforcement. The program began yesterday and will continue through Saturday.
Community blood drive: The Ancient Order of Hibernians will hold a community blood drive tomorrow from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Hibernian Hall, 2 Wellington Ave. A free buffet will be served to all donors. All are welcome.
Pickups delayed: The Newport Public Works Department’s Clean City Program reminds residents that there will be no trash, recycling and yard waste collection Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. Thursday and Friday collection days will be delayed by one day for the Thanksgiving week.
Yard waste, which is collected every full week in November, will be collected only in brown paper leaf bags or loose in trash barrels labeled “yard waste.” Free yard-waste stickers are available to residents through the Clean City Program, at 70 Halsey St.
Yard waste will not be collected in plastic bags, and all sticks and branches should be placed separately, either in bags, tied in a bundle, or in a barrel. Branches larger than 3 inches in diameter must be less than four feet long and either put in trash cans or tied in reasonably sized bundles.
For more information about the Newport residential solid-waste and recycling collection program, contact the Newport Public Works Department’s Clean City Program at (401) 845-5613.
Site visit for bus passes: The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) will hold a “community site visit” for its bus-pass program for elderly and those with disabilities Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Wm. Donovan Manor, 19 Chapel St.
Staff from RIPTA’s photo identification office travel weekly to communities throughout the state to provide bus passes to qualified elderly and individuals with disabilities who are unable to get to the main office on Kennedy Plaza, in downtown Providence. Photo identification bus passes are available to elderly and other qualified individuals with valid documentation. Passes for elderly cost $5 and are valid for five years. Identification cards for people with disabilities cost $2 and are valid for two years.
For information on how to qualify for RIPTA’s Bus Pass Program for Seniors and People with Disabilities, call (401) 784-9500, ext. 604, or visit ripta.com.
Holiday exhibit opens: G. Scott Gallery, Clock Tower Square, West Main Road, will open its holiday exhibit Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., featuring the work of member artists highlighted by jewelry work by Candace Sherman, a goldsmith and ornamental home accents by Nancy Richardson. Also, artist Jay Egge will conduct a demonstration on encaustic painting Friday at 1 p.m. All are welcome.
Holiday theater performance: The Portsmouth Community Theater will present The Best Christmas Pageant Ever on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Aquidneck Island Christian Academy, 321 East Main Rd. Additional performances will be held Dec. 1 and 2 at 7 p.m., and Dec. 3 at 7 p.m.
The show is directed by Cindy Killavey and cast members live and attend school in Portsmouth, Middletown and Tiverton. Cast members are: Toara Balfour, Tallia Bailey, Caitlin Burke, Lauren Cotta, Trish Culver, Denise, Joshua and Rachel Dvorak, Sophia Ford, Brian, Jim and Kevin Killavey, Leah Kossack, Derek Leavitt, Beth Leinberry, Gabrielle and Martha Lopez, Matthew Makocavich, Leo and Micah Makowski, Ron Marsh, Lauren Masse, Emily Medeiros, David O’Connell, Kristin and Caroline Synnott and Priscilla Wimpress.
Also, area clergy to appear in play include the Rev. Pamela Mott from St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, in Portsmouth, and the Rev. Eugene McKenna from St. Lucy Catholic Church, in Middletown, who will make cameo appearances in the role of the Rev. Hopkins in the show. Mott will appear in this Sunday’s performance, and McKenna will appear in the Dec. 3 performance. Veteran actor Jim Killavey will play the role in the other performances.
Tickets are $12 for adults, $8 for children and elderly. For reservations and information, call (401) 683-1460.
Alumni basketball tournament: Portsmouth High School will hold a benefit alumni basketball tournament Friday from 12:30 to 5 p.m .in the school’s new 25,000-square-foot gymnasium. Interested alumni should contact the school’s athletic director, Mike Lunney, (401) 683-1240, to register. The cost per team is $30 and participants can enter one of three divisions: over-35 division, all-ladies division and the open division. Proceeds will be used to buy much-needed gym equipment.
Holiday Art & Fine Art Craft Show: Artisans by the Bay will hold a Art & Fine Art Craft Show on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at St. Barnabas Church, East Main Road. The event will also feature a silent auction and food café. There will be plenty of free parking and admission is free.
Thirty-four artisans from the East Bay area will be on hand selling photography, pottery, art to wear, designer jewelry (crystal, polymer clay, silver wire jewelry), handbags, sculptural glass, stained glass, reed and cane baskets, Christmas ornaments and more.
Closing for holiday: Portsmouth Free Public Library will close tomorrow at 5 p.m., Thanksgiving Eve, and be closed all day Thanksgiving. The library will be open Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Square dance: The Town Howlers Square Dance Club will hold a dance Friday at 8 p.m. at the Portsmouth Multi-Purpose Senior Center, 110 Bristol Ferry Rd. Jim Schell will do the calling, Anna MacDougal the cueing. For information, call (401) 849-6266, (401) 683-3553 or visit www.townhowlers.org.
