🌱 Woonsocket HS Student Makes News + Shoutout To Roxane Cary!

Hey, Woonsocket; today is April Fools’ Day! Let's get you started this Friday with everything you need to know going on around Woonsocket today.

A local student is one of five finalists for the Transform Rhode Island Scholarship. Also, Hamlet Middle School’s reading specialist Roxane Cary is making a difference. Finally, participants head to Attleboro on Sunday for a faith-group-led peace march.

First, today's weather:

A shower; breezy in the p.m. High: 58 Low: 34.

Here are the top five stories today in Woonsocket:

1. A Woonsocket HS student is one of the five finalists of the Transform Rhode Island Scholarship. The announcement was made Wednesday. “The five students were chosen from 97 essay and video submission from students of color across Rhode Island, answering the question, ‘What would you do if you were given $1 million to make RI’s communities of color better and stronger?’” The finalists will learn on May 26 whom the three judges will choose. (ABC)
2. We learned Thursday that Hamlet Middle School reading specialist Roxane Cary got the ball rolling on the Nathaniel ‘T’ Crane Sneaker Closet. Sen. Melissa Murray backed her with a City Council meeting announcement. Now, “any student who wants to pick out a pair of sneakers simply has to tell their teacher they would like a pair, and then the teacher will come to Cary with the student. There are at least two pairs for the students to choose from in their size, and then they also take a new pair of socks with them.” (The Valley Breeze)
3. Sunday in Attleboro, “a coalition of area faith groups will march for peace in Ukraine” from the First Baptist Church to the Second Congregational Church. “The march will include a collection to support the Ukrainian relief effort. Second Congregational Church will distribute all proceeds to St. Michael’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church” in Woonsocket. Everyone is welcome at the event that “includes 36 houses of worship and faith communities, serving residents of 14 area cities and towns.” (The Sun Chronicle/paywall)
4. While highlighting the “first dedicated brewer of sour beer” on Thursday, insiders couldn’t help but look around the state a little for other excellent brewers worth noting. Lops Brewery got a very nice write-up calling it “a nano brewery and tasting room, open 7 days a week, serving a diverse rotation of ales, lagers, and hard seltzers.” (1420 WBSM)
5. Where is Rhode Island’s best Middle Eastern restaurant? As of Thursday’s Yelp vote count, it is East Side Pockets in Providence. Almost 1140 reviewers agree that the falafel wrap, tzatziki, and buffalo chicken wraps are the most popular. They make their own sauce and are halal. (Yelp)

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Today in Woonsocket:

• Bible Study In The Gospel Of John at Firm Foundation Christian Church (7 PM)
• Karaoke at the Back Alley Pub (9 PM)
• Karaoke at Black Bar & Grille (9 PM)

From my notebook:

• The month of April is dedicated to raising awareness of esophageal cancer; a cancer that is considered one of the fastest growing and deadliest cancers in the United States and western world, according to the National Cancer Institute. (All Day)

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You're all caught up for today! I'll see you back in your inbox tomorrow with a new 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.