Latest Washington County, Rhode Island Stories

ATTLEBORO, Mass., Nov. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sensata Technologies (NYSE: ST) is proud to announce that it received the University of Rhode Island 2012 President's Corporate Award and that Sensata Chief Executive Officer Tom Wroe was recognized as one of four distinguished URI alumni at the University's 2012 Distinguished Achievement Awards program event held on October 27 in Newport, RI. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20070227/CLTU192LOGO ) In presenting the awards, URI...

Work scheduled to start in mid-November CONCORD, Mass., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Point Judith Harbor of Refuge Federal Navigation Project in South Kingstown and Narragansett, Rhode Island, will be dredged under the terms of a $978,000 contract issued recently by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District. The maintenance dredging, which will be accomplished by Village Dock, Inc. of Port Jefferson, N.Y., will begin on or about Nov. 15, 2009 and take about two months...

By Arline A Fleming Artifacts related to the facility are sought in advance of the organization's November celebration. SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- Had Mrs. John Newbold Hazard, a century ago, come upon a bevy of barefoot yoga students practicing enlightened walking on the graceful lawn of Peace Dale's Village Green, she might have gasped in wonder. Toes bare and extended, gripping the cool earth, these yoga students might have made the benevolent Mrs. Hazard hold her lacy hankie to her lips while...

Nature is slowly reclaiming these former runways at Ninigret Park and Refuge, once the Charlestown Naval Auxiliary Landing Field, where former President George H.W. Bush trained as a pilot during World War II. More than a decade ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the former base's 70 acres of asphalt runways to restore its native grassland habitat. The park includes four tennis courts, a 9/10-mile bicycle course available for bicycles, walkers, rollerblading and jogging,...

Nature hike: The Audubon Society of Rhode Island is sponsoring a six-mile hike along the Vin Gormley Trail, through Burlingame Management Area in Charlestown, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Walkers should meet at Kimball Wildlife Refuge, 180 Sanctuary Rd. Fees are $8 for Audubon members, $4 for their children; and, for others, $12 and $6. For information or to register, call 949-5454, ext 3041. Road rally: SHO will raise funds with an "Autumn Fun Road Rally," a caravan traveling through...

By Randal Edgar Narragansett, Hopkinton and Richmond benefit from $100,000 DEM grants. Plans to build public parks in three South County towns are moving forward on a surer financial footing this fall, thanks to three $100,000 grants that were recently announced by the state Department of Environmental Management. The money is earmarked for projects in Narragansett, Hopkinton and Richmond, adding to money raised through local contributions. The Narragansett grant is helping to pay for...

Rhode Islanders should be grateful, as I am, for your two-page discussion of "secret" beaches and right-of-way paths (" 'Secret' beaches for you and me," news, Aug. 24) that often sit unnoticed in the Ocean State. Your report is much needed as a refresher course for citizens who may not concern themselves with the finer points of shoreline rights. For those of us who do watch shoreline issues closely, however, the reality, as The Journal mentions in the article, is a bit more complicated....

NORTH KINGSTOWN -- The School Committee has voted to ask the Town Council to help stabilize the aging Wickford Elementary School. Committee Vice Chairman Larry Ceresi said it could cost $65,000 to replace a boiler and $20,000 to repair the roof of the brick building, closed in 2005 to save money. The request came Tuesday night, after a long discussion about school enrollment and the district's finances. School officials, facing a million-dollar deficit, noted they have less than $1 million...

By Paul Davis Citing an expected decline in enrollment, the School Committee decides that Wickford Elementary School will not reopen. NORTH KINGSTOWN -- After months of debate, the School Committee last night said Wickford Elementary School will not reopen as a school -- at least in the near future. The reason? Declining enrollment. In the next five years, the district expects to see 356 fewer students. Although officials are considering reconfiguring the district, Wickford Elementary...

The Friends of the National Wildlife Refuges of Rhode Island have announced the winners of their eighth annual amateur photo competition. The judges for the contest were Jim Hazelwood and Matt Wunsch. Contestants were asked to submit photos taken at one of the five refuges in Rhode Island: Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge in Charlestown, Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge in South Kingstown, John H. Chafee National Wildlife Refuge in South Kingstown, Sachuest Point National Wildlife...