🌱 Diamond Hill Road Scuttlebutt + Building Official To N. Smithfield?

Happy Sunday, people of Woonsocket; today is World Party Day! Here's everything you need to know about what's happening today.

What happened near the elementary school? Also, are we losing our zoning officer? Finally, the City has the highest rate of child abuse cases in the state.

First, today's weather:

Rain and drizzle in the p.m.. High: 53 Low: 37.

Here are the top five stories today in Woonsocket:

1. What was happening on Friday in the “wooded area off of Diamond Hill Road, near Citizens’ Memorial Elementary School?” News crews saw five fire trucks and an ambulance. With information being thin on the ground, we turned to Facebook. Speculations included “fire in the woods,” “fireworks,” “a tent city,” and a “brush fire.” (ABC, FB)
2. North Smithfield’s building and zoning official retired. “On Monday, April 4, Town Administrator Paul Zwolenski plans to recommend Lawrence Enright, the building official from neighboring Woonsocket, to fill the position.” Enright spent “more than 20 years in Woonsocket, where he was first hired as a sewer utility worker in 1989.” He was the City’s zoning officer in 2011, left, and returned in 2020. (NRI Now)
3. Last week, we learned about the 2021 local investigations of child neglect and abuse. With 9,888 children under the age of 18 living in Woonsocket, there were 178 indicated investigations of child neglect/abuse. This translates to 18.0 investigations per 1,000 kids, which is the “largest rate of child abuse and neglect in the state.” (@ItsmeBonnieP)
4. The Rhode Island DEA Drug Task Force, of which the Woonsocket PD is a member, investigated a Providence man. On Friday, he “pled guilty in federal court to a charge of knowingly and intentionally distributing and possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a methamphetamine mixture.” Sentencing will be on July 14. (DOJ)
5. CVS Health is settling with “the State of Florida to resolve claims dating back more than a decade related to prescriptions for opioid medications that were filled at Florida CVS Pharmacy locations.” A Wednesday press release revealed that CVS will pay $484 million over a period of 18 years. It “will settle all opioid claims against (CVS) by Florida,” which means the company won’t be a defendant during the April 2022 trial. (PR Newswire)

Today in Woonsocket:

• Museum of Work & Culture’s Salute to Spring Bonjour Printemps (1:30 PM)
• The Stadium Theatre Performing Arts Centre presents Sleeping Beauty By Heritage Ballet (2 PM)
• Burger Bowl at Walnut Hill Bowl (5 PM)

From my notebook:

• Sign up for AmazonSmile and help Holy Trinity Parish! It's a great way to earn funds for our parish... no cost to you, and no gimmicks. .5% of each purchase is donated to Holy Trinity when you sign up.

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That's it for today! See you all tomorrow for another update.

— Sylvia Cochran

About me: Sylvia Cochran works out of sunny Southern California and has been freelance writing full-time since 2005. She loves dogs, cats, books, plays Best Fiends (don't judge), embraces social justice, and tries to live out Micah 6:8.