Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Economic and atmospheric conditions have created a "perfect storm" of hardship for animals this winter, the director of the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said today.

E.J. Finocchio, a veterinarian and director of the RISPCA, said donations and adoptions are down and relinquishments and euthanasias are up.

Just yesterday, Finocchio said, six pets were left at the society's East Providence shelter because their owners had been evicted by foreclosure. "That's just in one day," he said.

It's worse for larger animals needing care, he said.

"We do not have a facility" for animals such as horses that are starving to death because their owners can't afford to feed them or provide veterinary care, he said.

Three horses died last year in separate Lincoln and West Greenwich cases. Two people in the West Greenwich case pleaded no contest this week and were ordered to pay $500 in restitution and serve 50 hours of community service.

Donalyn Zaborski-Blinkhorn and Russell Brightman must also allow the RISPCA to monitor the five horses and two ponies still living in a 10-by-10-foot pen and 150-by-200-foot enclosure off Victory Highway in West Greenwich.

The RISPCA, he said, has to be careful about moving horses to private farms that take in rescued animals, because overwhelming them could result in cruelty conditions at the shelter farms.

The owners of the animals in West Greenwich were given lines of credit to buy hay and grain. People wanting to donate for the care and feeding of horses, donkeys and ponies in Rhode Island can contribute to the RISPCA and their donations will be earmarked for those animals, he said.

Journal photo / Steve Szydlowski
James Richardson, the man convicted by a jury of killing Margaret Duffy-Stephenson in 2005, reads his statement in court during the sentencing hearing.

By Talia Buford
Journal staff writer

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- James Richardson was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole this morning for the 2005 murder of teacher aide Margaret Duffy-Stephenson and a consecutive life sentence for the burglary of her Warwick home.

Richardson, convicted in November on one count of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, at times shook his head in disbelief.

His court-appointed lawyer, Mark Smith, filed a notice of appeal, asked for a transcript of the trial and noted that a public defender will handle the appeal.

Before the sentence was read, Richardson maintained his innocence and asked for mercy from Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. in Providence Superior Court.

The victim's father, John E. Duffy, and her husband, James O. Stephenson III, gave their family impact statements.

"We petition the court not to let this murderer ruin more lives and families," Duffy said. "In cases like this torturous animal-like murder, the statutes of the state of Rhode Island allow for a sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole. Margaret's memory and all that she gave and could have given to society demand the maximum sentence in this case."

Her husband, who was in Florida with their then-3-year-old son, said: "The pain of having to explain to a 4-year-old in a way you hope he can understand, that his mommy was killed and do it in a way to show that anger is OK but violence toward that anger is not, is not something I wish anyone to have to go through."

Richardson's first trial ended in a hung jury in 2007. A second jury deliberated less than three hours last November in finding him guilty.

According to testimony during the trial, Duffy-Stephenson heard a noise coming from her basement the night she died, which authorities believe was Nov. 16, 2005, or early the next morning. The family had traveled to Florida for a wedding, but Duffy-Stephenson flew back to Warwick early so she could return to work. When she heard the noise, she went downstairs to investigate.

She made it to the bottom of the stairs before she was stabbed first in her stomach. She was stabbed 11 more times, once in the neck so deeply that the knife left nick marks on her spine.

Special Assistant Attorney General Thomas H. O'Brien, in his closing arguments at the second trial, said Richardson was ransacking a downstairs office to steal roughly $11,000 from a small safe he knew the family kept, when he heard Duffy-Stephenson stirring upstairs. "The defendant was the only person who had the knowledge, who gave a false alibi, who had motive, who had the unexplained cash, who had a consciousness of guilt and who left his DNA under her fingernails," O'Brien said. "Lightning did not strike the defendant seven times."

After the sentencing, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch noted that the crime met the conditions for aggravated battery and torture and said Darigan imposed the maximum penalty available under Rhode Island law, life without the possibility of parole.

"The most that any prosecutor can hope for in a sentencing is a sense of proportionality." Lynch said. "Does the punishment fit the crime? Thanks to the Court's grasp of this principle, resulting in one of the harshest -- and one of the most justifiably harsh -- sentences that I can ever recall, we have done everything we could possibly do to do justice for Margaret Duffy-Stevenson. Obviously, the pain and anguish of her family and friends will never subside, and we continue to offer Margaret's loved ones our prayers and sincerest sympathies."

The episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition being promoted as part of Sunday night's lineup on ABC (Channel 6) is the one about the Voluntown, Conn., mother and four children who were whisked away from the charred and moldy ruins of their former house in early December and returned to a castle a week later.

The Girard family, along with thousands of builders, decorators, volunteers, church friends, classmates, neighbors and interested onlookers will watch the episode on a big screen at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort Casino.

Starting at 6:15 p.m., ceremonies will honor the family, volunteers and sponsors of the project. The screening, which is open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis, will be simultaneous with the 8 p.m. broadcast of the episode.

The home was built to resemble a castle.

Voluntown, Conn., is just over the state line from Exeter and Hopkinton. The family lost their home in a fire, then suffered the death of the father in a drowning accident that also claimed the life of a son who had tried to save him.

A wind turbine that will stand 60 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty is traveling by barge from Quonset to Newport this afternoon.

The turbine, which has been delivered to Quonset from the manufacturer in Canada, is in three pieces, each piece weighing more than 50 tons, according to a press release.
Specialty Diving Services, which operates the barge, plans to have 10 riggers, crane operators and tug boat personnel on hand for the transport across the Bay to the Newport shipyard, where the parts will be offloaded by the shipyard's 300-ton travel lift and trucked to Portsmouth for assembly.

Governor Carcieri is expected to attend, along with dignitaries from Portsmouth, the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation and the Quonset Development Corporation, as well as representatives from the wind turbine manufacturer and the contractor who will assemble it in Portsmouth.

The turbine will stand 213 feet tall and provide enough power to support 60 percent of the Portsmouth's municipal electric usage, for schools, street lights and town buildings.

The blades were trucked from Connecticut on Jan. 23 and have been on display at Portsmouth High School.

By Mark Reynolds
Journal staff writer

JOHNSTON, R.I. -- Governor Carcieri today accused the town's teachers union of spitefully pulling the plug on an important pilot project for upgrading science and math education in the state.

The School Department this week withdrew from participating in the inaugural year of the program, citing resistance from the union, which is trying to secure a new contract.

"This was a tremendous opportunity for Johnston to forge a new path in math and science education in Rhode Island," Carcieri said in a news release. "It represented a chance for the Johnston School District to use new tools and resources for their teachers and students to improve students' proficiency in the critical areas of science and math. This decision by the Johnston teacher's union to pull the plug on their own members is spiteful, and in the end only hurts the students."

State officials say another school district will be selected to take Johnston's place among six districts where teachers have agreed to take the necessary coursework this summer.

"We have received overwhelming response from school districts eager to participate," Carcieri said. "However, it is disappointing that Johnston has stepped away from the project, and it is a shame that the students will be deprived of the chance to participate," concluded Carcieri.

The wake for Sgt. Kyle J. Harrington, the 24-year-old Swansea man who died in Iraq on Jan. 24 and whose body arrived in Rhode Island eight days later, will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, his maternal aunt said today.
Cindy Gerke, sister of Kathleen (Blow) Harrington, the soldier's mother, said the wake will be at the Birchcrest Home of Waring-Sullivan, 189 Gardners Neck Rd, Swansea, Mass. The funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home.
Burial with military honors will be in Vinnicum Woods Cemetery on Vinnicum Road in Swansea.
Cindy Gerke said the family timed the funeral to avoid falling on the birthday of Joshua Harrington, who turned 7 on Monday, or of his maternal grandmother, which is today.
To view the tribute page or add a comment, click here.

By Katie Mulvaney
Journal staff writer

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A British Royal Navy officer testified in Providence County Superior Court today that he saw a heated argument and a young man taking off his shirt in the moments before a Fairfield University student died under the wheels of a bus.

Commander Martin J. Woolley testified this morning that a passing bus then obscured his view on that May night in 2004 and that the next thing he saw was a man flailing backward trying to regain his balance.

Woolley said he saw the man hit the ground, his back first and then his head. Immediately the right rear wheel of the bus ran over the young man's head, Woolley told the court today. "He had no time to react."

Woolley's testimoney came in a civil suit brought by the parents of Francis J. Marx V against two former URI students, Jarrad Rocheleau of Cumberland and Loren Welsh of New Jersey, who are accused of scuffling with their son just before he died. The parents say that scuffle contributed to his death.

Woolley, then stationed in Corpus Christi, Texas, was visiting the Naval War College and went out the night of May 19 with colleagues. Marx, of Richboro, Pa., was in Newport attending a Wheaton College formal with his girlfriend. The URI students were in town for a pub crawl, a practice that has since been banned by URI.

It was 1 a.m. on May 20, when the bars were closing, buses were picking up URI students to return them to campus, and a curbside argument drew Woolley's attention.

The man who fell did not appear to be drunk, Woolley testified today. His movements looked like a man trying to regain his balance. Woolley said he went over to assist the young man and saw "he was undoubtedly immediately dead, and there was nothing I could do for him."

Woolley said he then tried to help the young people. One young woman seemed to be in need of sedation, he said, and others looked like they were going into shock.

When the police arrived, he said, they gave the youngsters a hard time. He was told that he would be arrested if he obstructed officers.

Woolley now works at NATO headquarters in Norfolk, Va. The civil trial is to resume this afternoon.

A South Kingstown contractor who pleaded guilty in September to evading nearly $200,000 in federal income taxes was sentenced Friday to serve six months in prison.

John Wilk, owner of Independent Chimney and Masonry Construction, was sentenced in Providence by U.S. District Chief Judge Mary M. Lisi, who also ordered him to pay all outstanding taxes and penalties to the Internal Revenue Service.

Lisi also imposed six months' home confinement upon Wilk's release from prison and three years' supervised release. She also required that he participate in mental health and substance-abuse treatment programs.

Prosecutors said Wilk understated his income from 2002 to 2005 by a total of $648,545. They said he asked customers to make checks out to him rather than to his business and that he deposited customer checks into his girlfriend's account.

Wilk was sentenced under a plea agreement. He could have been sentenced to five years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

By Katie Mulvaney
Journal staff writer

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A former bartender at The Red Parrot told the jury today that he saw an escalating confrontation between two groups of bargoers seconds before a Fairfield University student was killed under the wheels of a bus on a busy May night five years ago.

Sean Caffrey was shutting the windows of the popular Thames Street restaurant after closing around 1 a.m., when he observed a crowd of drunken people spill onto the street from bars in the area, he said. A collection of five to seven men and women caught his eye. The two sides -- one in formal wear, the other not -- would surge toward each other and then separate.

"It looked like a fight that may happen but most likely wouldn't," said Caffrey, a grad student who teaches geometry at Scituate High School.

One woman was upset, her hands flailing, as if she was about to slap someone, he said. Then a bus turned right onto Thames, obscuring his vision. The next thing he saw was a man lying dead in the street, he said.

Caffrey took the stand in Providence County Superior Court in the jury trial of two former University of Rhode Island students who are accused of contributing to the death of Francis J. Marx V, who was run over by a bus loaded with URI students returning from a pub crawl. The parents of Francis J. Marx V allege in a civil suit that Jarrad Rocheleau, of Cumberland, and Loren Welsh, of New Jersey, scuffled with their son, causing his death.

>> Continue reading: Bartender testifies on drunken crowd in pub crawl case

Cranston police say the young woman found dead Thursday in her home at16 Cedar St. was Melissa Delmonico, 19.

They are investigating her death as a homicide.

Police Chief Stephen McGrath, in a news elease issued jointly with Mayor Allan W. Fung, asked anyone with information about the homicide to contact the Cranston Police Department at (401) 942-2211.

Police today referred all questions to McGrath, who did not return calls.

By Tatiana Pina, Amanda Milkovits and Donita Naylor
Journal staff writers

NEWPORT -- The six-week-old baby girl who suffered a fractured skull and ribs has died, the Newport police said.

The girl, who was admitted Tuesday to Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, died at 12:01 p.m. today, said Newport police Sgt. John Barker. She had been on life support.

"The passing was not unexpected," Barker said.

The baby's father, Rachin McCoy, 21, has been charged with first-degree child abuse. His bail was set at $500,000 with surety on that charge, and he was ordered held without bail as an alleged probation violator.

"It's definitely a homicide investigation at this time," Barker said.

McCoy told Detectives Kevin P. Sullivan and James Evan Hazel that the baby's injuries were caused by "falling off the couch" of his home in the Festival Field Apartments at 90 Girard Ave. But the nature of the injuries did not support that, Barker said.

Barker said the body will go to the state Medical Examiner's Office, which will investigate the full extent of the baby's injuries and "be much more specific as to the cause of death," he said.

The police have not released the baby's name, saying it is department policy not to name a victim. The baby's mother has not been charged. The police haven't released her name either.

The father of a Swansea soldier who died Saturday in Iraq has released a statement expressing hope that his fellow soldiers "find peace within their hearts" and come home safely.

Army Sgt. Kyle Harrington, 24, who graduated from Swansea's Case High School in 2003 and was serving his second tour of duty in Basra, Iraq, repairing military vehicles with the 542nd Maintenance Company, suffered fatal injuries when a forklift backed over him in an accident the Army described as "training duty-related" and "non-hostile."
The matter is under investigation.

Dennis Harrington of Cranston said he and Kyle's mother, Kathleen Harrington of Fall River, "wish to thank everyone for the many thoughts and prayers received in response to the death of our son, Kyle. We are deeply moved.

"Kyle's death was an unexpected tragedy for which we were unprepared, though one can never be prepared for the loss of a son, brother, husband, father, family member or friend, and we are heartsick.

"We have appreciated the support of family and friends, and also the larger community's respect for our privacy during this sad and emotional time. Our prayers go out to the soldiers who worked at Kyle's side in the hope that they find peace within their hearts. May they and all our men in uniform continue to strive for that which they stand amid these unstable times and find their way safely home.

>> Continue reading: Swansea soldier's family speaks about his death

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- An emergency environmental team was called to 225 George St. this morning after workers found a pool of mercury about the size of a small pizza on a cement floor under a wood floor they were removing from the basement.

Lauren Greer, who lives in the two-family house with her husband and their four children, ages 8 to 14, said they had hired a contractor to remove the wooden floor. Yesterday, she said, the contractor told her he'd found a puddle of mercury about 8 inches wide. He left for the day.

Last night Lauren Greer did some online research, she said, and learned that anything more than 2 tablespoons of mercury must be reported. So this morning she called the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, which sent an emergency response team and told her to call the Providence Fire Department.

Providence Deputy Assistant Fire Chief Daniel Crowley said the Brook Street fire station was responding to a box alarm at Brown, so a truck was dispatched from the Public Safety Complex. Crowley said he was relieved that the call was not for a hazardous spill at the Brown biomedical building.

Jim Ball, DEM's acting chief of emergency response, said his department's Jill Eastman measured the nanograms of mercury per cubic meter of air and found the level near 1,000, high enough to require a cleanup.

Greer said she called Clean Harbors, a private environmental cleanup company. She said the family would stay in a hotel tonight while their house is ventilated.

Readings will be taken, Ball said, until safe levels are reached.

"Once it gets into the outside atmosphere, it dissipates," Ball said, with no danger to the neighborhood.

Ball said standing mercury "kind of develops a little crust" that reduces the evaporation rate. But disturbing it releases vapors, which are dangerous if inhaled over time.

The Greers have owned the house for 2 1/2 years. Lauren Greer said they were replacing the basement floor so the children could play hockey there. They have noticed no ill effects, she said, even to their dog, Trot, a King Charles spaniel.

There is no way of knowing how the mercury got into the basement. "It potentially could have been from a heater or boiler with a gauge or a regulator," Ball said. Old regulators for liquid natural gas have been known to leak mercury, he said.

The fire department's Crowley said the Greers did all the right things. They reported it to the proper authorities and hired an environmental cleanup company to remove it. No one touched it or played with it, he said,

A small truck slid into Westerly's Winnapaug Pond about 2:10 this afternoon. No one was injured.

Two members of the Dunn's Corners Fire Department cold water rescue team waded out in wet suits to attach the vehicle to wrecker cables.

Fire Chief Michael J. Frink said the driver was trying to park in his driveway on
Brightman Way. A decline between the end of the driveway and the pond's edge was slippery from recent snow and rain and freezing temperatures, and the truck didn't stop when the driver braked.

Half the nose of the truck was submerged, Frink said, and the driver got out and waded back. He was wet and cold but didn't require medical treatment.

"He's fine," Frink said. "He was out when we got here."

The pond is between Misquamicut and Weekapaug.

Westerly Police Det. Darren Fiore resigned Friday after 14 years with the department, Police Chief Edward Mello said.

Fiore, who was in an accident in Groton, Conn., on Dec. 10, while on duty and driving a vehicle owned by the Westerly Police Department, was the focus of an internal police investigation, Mello said Friday.

Groton is about a half-hour away from police headquarters on Airport Road in Westerly.

Because Fiore resigned, Mello said, the investigation is closed.

A fraternity at the University of Rhode Island has been banished for 1.5 years and its chapter house closed for 4 years because of substance abuse and destruction of property.

University police with a warrant searched the chapter house of Phi Kappa Psi, 4 Fraternity Circle, on Dec. 5 at 4 a.m. Eight people in Room 3 were handcuffed and waited in the hall while police searched the room, which was strewn with empty beer cans. Police found a locked safe in a closet. Robert S. Gallo, 20, of Warwick was taken for questioning.

Inside the safe, police found marijuana, miscellaneous pills, two scales, a 16-gigabyte iPod, $130 in cash and blue paper with numbers. Gallo had $95 in his wallet and $63 on his person, the arrest report says. He was charged with distributing and selling drugs.

Tom Dougan, the university's vice president for student affairs, said sanctions were imposed before students left for the holidays, and the 45 students have been able to find other housing for this semester.

"This is the exception," Dougan said. "We have not closed a fraternity chapter here in at least five years. ... The large majority of our frats are award-winning chapters. Our system has been recognized locally and nationally as an excellent fraternity system."

Phil Bowers, president of the Interfraternity Council at URI, said the IFC supports the university's action. Events at Phi Psi
"stand against the values and beliefs shared by the Greek Community, " he said.

"Greek life at URI is stronger now then ever before," Bowers said. "Our fraternity and sorority community produces outstanding leaders and continues to be on the forefront of scholarship, leadership, philanthropy, and community service. ... The actions of Phi Kappa Psi are unfortunate yet do not in anyway reflect activities common in fraternity and sorority houses at URI. Our Greek community has made tremendous strides in the past fifteen years by holding ourselves to higher standards, standards that have helped us become one of, if not, the strongest Greek community in the northeast. Those that cannot meet our standards restrict the ability of the community to further grow and develop and must be punished."

The Dec. 5 arrest was the fraternity's third strike in the last three semesters. Violations found in November included substance abuse and destruction of property, which included holes punched in the walls, furniture destroyed and glass bottles smashed in the shower and bathroom.

The house and furniture, Dougan said, belong to the Phi Kappa Psi Alumni Corp., a non-profit organization. The land on which it sits belongs to the university. The house is now occupied by about 35 transfer students who lease rooms from the Fraternity Managers Association. The chef and other staff are still working there, Dougan said.

The fraternity can return as a student group in September of 2010, Dougan said, and the chapter house can open in September of 2012.

Children's coats, hats and mittens will be given away Monday at the kickoff of the annual "Warm Hands, Warm Hearts" event in Pawtucket and Woonsocket.

The event is a way to thank donors and to get about 250 coats and 2,200 hats and mittens into the hands of children who need warm winter clothing. The kickoff will run simultaneously from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at two locations: the Saint James Baptist Church, 340 South Main Street, Woonsocket, and the theater of the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center, 175 Main Street, Pawtucket.

Coats will be distributed until they run out. People needing coats are asked to bring the child to try it on and proof of the child's name and age.

Coats are arranged by sizes, said Tom Boucher of the Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, one of the sponsors. With refreshments and small people everywhere, it's "kind of a fun atmosphere," he said.

"There's a lot of folks involved in this," Boucher said. Rhode Island Parent Information Network , in the same building as the tourism center, is part of the effort.

New coats have already been collected, but "if somebody else wants to donate," Boucher said, "that would be terriffic." Items, which must be new, can be dropped off at both locations.

Firefighters sent to the vicinity of 352 Branch Ave. in Providence around 2:13 p.m. were looking for the source of heavy smoke reported coming from a porch fire.

The state Department of Transportation wants to be your friend on MySpace, with Facebook, Twitter and Blogger also available.

The DOT announced today it has joined four Web-based social networking sites to reach more people with traffic alerts and other motoring messages.

Warning that the department "strongly discourages motorists from accessing Twitter or any of these Web sites on their cell phone while driving," it offers the following details about the services.

Twitter: Sometimes called a micro-blog, this provides updates of 140 characters or less. Anyone can view the page, but by registering with Twitter, users can establish their own pages and choose which sources to follow and thus receive information as soon as it is posted. The site has tools to allow users to receive updates, commonly called "tweets" by text message on their cell phones.

Blogger: A blog is a series of journal entries on a Web page. The RIDOT blog will be home to press releases and announcements and will feature slideshows and videos of active projects. It will also host the DOT's video podcast series created in October 2007 about the Iway project.

Facebook: This Web page, which requires visitors to register, is a popular place for sharing photos, videos and information with friends and family. Although the service often requires members to request access to each other's pages, the DOT page will be publicly accessible.

The department will use it to list news and traffic advisories, with more emphasis on video and photos than on the blog.

To view the DOT's Facebook page, type Rhode Island Department of Transportation into the search field. Becoming a "fan" of the page allows for easier navigation.

MySpace: Similar to Facebook, MySpace lets people choose to be "friends" so they can see each other's posted information. The DOT page will host news and traffic information as well as graphics, videos and pictures.

The DOT will continue to use its main Web site to provide access to traffic cameras and updates on traffic congestion or accidents.

The department also uses short-range AM radio broadcasts and electronic message boards at various points on state highways and a recorded message that motorists can access by dialing 511.

At least a foot of packed snow on trails in Pulaski Memorial Recreation Area in Glocester makes it excellent for cross-country skiing, the state Department of Environmental Management said today.

The four one-way loops at Pulaski are open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and weekends from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., weather permitting. Parking for 200 vehicles is available. Rentals are not provided at the management area. For recorded
information about trail conditions updated on weekdays call 568-2085.

A Web site maintained by Glenda Jeffrey of North Scituate includes an e-mail newsgroup where people can post information about recent trips to Pulaski and other local ski spots.

Snowshoeing is permitted in an untracked area along the side of the ski trails. Sledding and hiking is allowed in several hilly areas at Pulaski, but these activities, as well as animals, are not allowed on the groomed ski trails.

Other state parks, such as Colt, Goddard, and Lincoln Woods, offer open areas for winter hiking, sledding, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing. At Goddard, in Warwick, patrons are asked to stay off the golf course greens and tees.

Snowmobiling is permitted at George Washington Management Area in Glocester, as well as on the roadways in Arcadia, Burlingame, Wickaboxet and Woody Hill Management Areas, Burlingame State Park and Campground, and Lincoln Woods State Park, and on open fields at Colt State Park, in Bristol. All snowmobiles must be registered with the DEM's Office of Licensing and Registration, 235 Promenade St., Providence. Information about
registration is available by calling 222-3576 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays.

Users of state management areas are reminded to wear at least 200 square inches of solid daylight-fluorescent orange material through Feb. 28, the end of small-game hunting season. The blaze orange has to be worn above the waist and must be visible from all directions.

Ice skating is excellent at Goddard, Lincoln Woods and Meshanticut State Park in Cranston, the DEM says. Ice strength is affected by the pond's size and depth, the presence of springs or currents, and local temperature fluctuations, said John Faltus, DEM's Deputy Chief of Parks and Recreation.

"No one should ever assume that ice is safe for skating by merely conducting a visual inspection. The ice needs to be cut through and measured in various locations in order to ensure that it is thick enough to support safe skating."

People should never skate alone or on an untested body of water, never use the ice for a short cut, and never go out on the ice after an animal or toy, Faltus said.

For ice information on state ponds, call (401) 222-2632. For town ponds, residents are advised to contact the local recreation department.

An ice safety guide on the DEM parks site includes information on what to do if someone falls through the ice.

The pen used by President Obama to sign inauguration documents yesterday was made by Rhode Island's A.T. Cross Company, but most of the pen was made at the company's factory in China, a Cross spokeswoman said today.

Lori Geshelin, marketing manager at A.T. Cross, said the cap and barrel of the black lacquer pen was made in China, then engraved in Lincoln, R.I., with Obama's initials and the presidential coat of arms. The company, founded in Providence in 1849, now has its headquarters at One Albion Road in Lincoln.

The 10-karat gold A.T. Cross pen that is being sold for $120 at the Inaugural Collectibles Online Store was assembled in the United States with U.S. and foreign components, Geshelin said. Interior components were made in China, she said, "and the gold components we get from around here."

The rolled gold cap includes a die-struck inaugural seal on the clip and is engraved with Barack Obama's signature. A notice at the bottom of the accessories page of the online store at www.inauguralstore.com,proclaims: Union/USA made.

A Providence Journal story last April said that Cross in 2006 began shifting most of its manufacturing from Lincoln to China. The company also sold its 250,000-square-foot building off Route 116 and now leases back about half the building for its office headquarters, the company's chief financial officer, Kevin Mahoney, said in April.

The company then employed about 350 people in Lincoln, including just over 100 in manufacturing and the rest in areas such as engineering, sales, marketing and administration. About 40 of the jobs in April were held by temporary hires.

As of 4:35 p.m., the White House had not returned a call seeking comment.

Obama used the black lacquer pen today to sign five executive orders requiring staffers to comply with strict new rules governing lobbying, lobbyists and the Freedom of Information Act.

MCT photo / above

By Donita Naylor
Journal Staff Writer

Let's talk about Aretha Franklin's hat, the one with the big gray bow that she wore while singing at Barack Obama's inauguration Tuesday.

"The type of hat that Aretha had on is what we call a church hat," said Gertrude F. Jones, who works in Providence at the Coro building as director of diversity for Lifespan.

In African-American churches, she said, "it's a convergence of faith and fashion. It keeps the Sabbath holy and it's also glamorous.

"If you look in the congregation, especially in the South, that is the thing to do," said Jones, who also serves as second vice president of the Rhode Island chapter of the charitable group the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, a name that is symbolic rather than a numerical reflection of membership.

"You have to have a fabulous hat, either with feathers, tuille, ribbons, something Afro-centric. The bigger and more design, the better."

When Aretha sang at the inauguration, she had on a gray hat, gray gloves and a gray outfit, Jones noted. "I didn't see her shoes, but I will bet you she had on gray shoes."

Jones said she and her three sisters were brought up to know that the hat, pocketbook and shoes all had to match. "We call it topping off the outfit. If you had beautiful suit, shoes and bag, the outfit wasn't finished without the hat."

The tradition is rooted in slavery and Christianity. "When slaves would go to church, they would take a little cloth, or a doily," she said. "We don't want to go to God thinking we're so bold as to be uncovered. Then it just kind of progressed, to bigger hats, matching hats. Now of course, it's this huge fashion statement."

Jones that after her mother died, "We were cleaning out everything and when we went to her storage bin, we found boxes and boxes and boxes of hats."

Three sisters (one wasn't interested) divided them up. "I have around 25 or 30 hats, I mean fabulous hats." She wore one to her coalition's annual Sister Hat Tea. "I think I came in number 2" with her favorite, which she described as the color of a copper penny with beautiful thin white feathers in front.

"Black women actually keep the hat industry going," Jones said, but you have to know where to look.

"They're hard to find. Every now and then TJ Maxx has a collection on sale. I've also seen some at Burlington Coat Factory. Most of them you have to order online."

She said specialty stores in the South carry them, with the matching outfits and accessories. When she travels and sees a fabulous hat, she buys it.

"I'm so proud to keep our tradition going."

Photo: MCT

By Thomas J. Morgan
Journal staff writer

Lucy Mueller, 67, of Wakefield, is part of a Peace Corps contingent that traveled to Washington to take part in the parade.

"We are lined up now for the parade, ready to start marching, but first we have to march to where the parade begins," Mueller reported at 1:55 p.m.

She said that she was surprised to discover that her fellow Peace Corps marchers "who aren't particularly military-oriented, were able to form straight lines. They're quite a group."

She said that a cold breeze was setting the marchers' flags aflutter. The flags represent the the nations that the volunteers have served in. Mueller is the only Rhode Islander in the contingent, and the only volunteer who has served in Brazil.

Mueller said she got her slot in the parade through a lottery. The marchers have to provide their own housing, however.

As for watching Obama take the oath, "We saw the swearing-in after a fashion," she said. "We were bused into the White House Elipse. They have huge tents -- heated no less. They had some televisions, but they weren't very big. But people were very quiet, so we could all hear even if we couldn't see."

Foxwoods Resort Casino announced today that it will host the public viewing of the ABC show "Extreme Makeover, Home Edition" when it airs the episode filmed in Voluntown, Conn., at 8 p.m. Feb. 8.

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, in conjunction with the MGM Grand at Foxwoods are throwing the party for the Girard family, volunteers and sponsors who participated in the project, Dec. 4-12, just over the state line from Exeter and Hopkinton, R.I.
Anyone may attend at no charge, but reservations must be made by calling (866) 646-0609. Tickets can be picked up a the MGM box office.

The Girard family of Voluntown, Conn., lost its home to fire, and months later the father drowned and his son died trying to save him. They were one of five Connecticut families considered for the makeover.

Foxwood hosted a news conference Nov. 20, announcing that a house would be built in Connecticut and the Dec. 12 wrap party for the volunteers and participants, and provided staging locations, parking, transportation and catering services for the volunteers during the construction process.

"We are honored to have been a part of this very worthy and heart-touching project," said Charlene Jones, secretary of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council. " It has been a life-changing experience for all those involved and we all bring away something very special in our hearts, having been a part of this project. To know that you are a part of something so much bigger than yourself, something that takes the collective resources of all of us to accomplish, is a very humbling experience. It is a reminder to us all of the positive things we can accomplish if we all work together."

Photo courtesy of A.T. Cross

President-elect Obama will sign inaugural documents tomorrow with a pen made by A.T. Cross, a company based in Lincoln, R.I.

Lori Geshelin, marketing manager for A.T. Cross, said the company was notified about a week ago by the Obama-Biden transition team and had just less than a week to deliver the pens.

The specially designed Cross Townsend black lacquer rolling ball pens feature the presidential coat of arms and are engraved with President-elect Obama's signature on the barrel. He will use them to sign a series of inaugural documents and executive orders for the new administration.

The Cross Townsend Collection, including the black lacquer finish ($135) similar to the ones to be used by Obama, are available at the Lincoln company's Web site.

A distinctive, limited edition 10-karat gold Cross Classic Century pen ($120) bearing the new president's signature and an emblem with the presidential seal is also available on the Official 2009 Presidential Inauguration Store Web site.

The gold pens are made in Lincoln.

Journal photo / Connie Grosch
Allison Rogers, Miss Rhode Island 2006, left, will be attending several inaugural balls with Rep. James Langevin, D-R.I. She'll be wearing clothes designed by Katie Brierley, a Newport-based designer who specializes in environmentally friendly fabrics and processes. At right is Brierley, in her Newport atelier.

It's obviously a busy week in Washington, D.C.

Visitors to the nation's capital may be taking part in Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Community Service events around metropolitan Washington today, while they're also getting ready for one or more of the official and unofficial balls.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee hosts 10 official inaugural balls. One of them is Eastern Inaugural Ball for guests invited by Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Here's a list of events through Wednesday.

Fire departments in Coventry, Foster and Tiverton will share more than $214,000 in federal funding to buy new gear and equipment, U.S. Senator Jack Reed fo Rhode Island announced today.

Coventry's the Hopkins Hill Fire Department will get nearly $60,000 to buy 37 sets of structural firefighting gear. With the 18 sets the department has already purchased, all 55 firefighters are now equipped with "gear that is 100 percent compliant and up to date," Hopkins Hill Fire Chief Frank Brown said.

Tiverton will receive more than $35,000 for a system that will vent the exhaust from engines parked in the station, reducing firefighter exposure to the carcinogens in diesel fuel emissions.

The Foster Center Volunteer Fire Company will receive more than $118,000 to buy a brush truck to replace one bought in 1986.

Each February, Reed offers a workshop to help fire departments apply for the Assistance to Firefighters Grants. He said he has helped R.I. fire departments secure at least 129 awards totaling more than $12.5 million.

By Tracy Breton
Journal staff writer

NEW YORK -- Martha "Sunny" Crawford von Bulow was eulogized today in the same church where she married her second husband, Claus, who was charged by Rhode Island prosecutors with sending her into an irreversible coma for nearly 28 years by injecting her with insulin.

The hour-long memorial service, held at the Brick Presbyterian Church on the city's upper East Side, attracted a crowd of about 150 family members, friends and private duty nurses who cared for Mrs. von Bulow for the many years she was in a persistent vegetative state.

Mrs. von Bulow died Dec. 6 in a nursing home on the Upper East Side of New York.

Claus von Bulow, who was acquitted at a second trial of twice trying to murder his heiress wife, was not present.

The daughter he had with Sunny, Cosima von Bulow Pavoncelli, who now lives near her father in London, told a British newspaper that he would not be attending the service, and that she felt his presence might attract a media circus.

The funeral was attended by all three of Mrs. von Bulow's children, two of them from her first marriage, and her nine grandchildren, some of whom read scripture at her service. The ceremony did not attract a media horde. The only reporters present were Dominick Dunne, who wrote about the von Bulow case for Vanity Fair magazine, and a reporter for The Providence Journal. The family had banned cameras inside the church.

>> Continue reading: "Sunny" von Bulow eulogized at N.Y. memorial service

The first item of new business for tonight's Chariho Regional School Committee is listed as: "Acceptance of the Resignation of William Felkner from Chariho School Committee."

But Felkner has not resigned. In fact, he obtained a temporary restraining order on Jan. 2 from Superior Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson, who told the school committee to consider him a full-fledged member until it has properly advertised and voted on unseating him, and requiring the school district to invite the state Attorney General's office to rule on whether it has the authority to remove him.

A spokeswoman said the Attorney General's office had received notice of the matter but had not taken any action.

Thompson will review the case on Thursday.

Schools Supt. Barry Ricci said yesterday that a packet of materials for tonight's meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. in the Chariho Middle School library, was delivered to Felkner last week.

He was not sent a packet before the meeting on Nov. 18, a day after he was sworn in as a member of the Hopkinton Town Council.

He was also denied a seat at the meeting table, and when he followed the School Committee members into a smaller room for an executive session, the session was canceled. Because he refused to relinquish his seat on the committee, a Richmond patrolman was asked to escort him out.

Tonight's agenda item was worded by Chariho school solicitor Jon M. Anderson, Ricci said, citing Anderson's position that "Mr. Felkner tendered his 'virtual resignation' when he accepted the office of member of the Town Council and disqualified himself from serving on the School Committee."

Ricci and School Committee Chairwoman Holly Eaves meet on Tuesdays to put together the agenda.

Anderson's argument is outlined on page 15 of a brief he gave to the School Committee:

"Pursuant to the obligations imposed in the break-up section of the Chariho Act," the two offices are inherently incompatible because Mr. Felkner's fiduciary duties to his different constituencies intersect but do not overlap and because the Town Council exercises revisory power over Chariho by having the power to exit from it."

Felkner argues that he was duly elected to both offices, that his constituents are the same and that they want him to look out for Hopkinton's interests on the three-town regional school board. Hopkinton's charter has rules against holding more than one town office, but whether a position on a regional school board is considered a town office can be argued either way.

One member of the School Committee, former chairman William Day, is planning to attend even though he was held overnight for observation after yesterday's fire at Canonchet Cliffs II. Day, a lieutenant in the Hope Valley-Wyoming Fire Department, was released from South County Hospital around noon today, said his wife, Barbara Day. He'll be at the Chariho meeting, she said. "He wouldn't miss that."

Expecting highs in the teens and lows near zero between Thursday and Sunday, the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency has issued an advisory for coping with the cold.

First, monitor the media to keep up with weather conditions. In case the power goes out, you will need a battery- or crank-operated portable radio, as well as flashlights, extra batteries, a first aid kit, bottled water and nonperishable food.

Check your fuel, keeping at least a half tank in your car and making sure you have enough heating fuel and an alternate form of heat that does not rely on electricity.

Make sure your car is winterized. Carry a Winter Survival Kit that includes blankets, extra clothing, flashlight with spare batteries, a candle, waterproof matches and a can for melting snow to drink. Also carry non-perishable foods, windshield scraper, shovel, sand, tow rope and jumper cables.

When extreme cold hits, the state advises everyone to minimize outdoor activities, especially the very young and very old, and to keep pets inside or sheltered in some way.

People should dress in several layers of lightweight clothing, rather than a single layer of heavy clothing. Outer garments should be tightly woven and water repellent.

Frostbite is a danger for fingers, toes, ear lobes and the tip of the nose. Wear a hat, boots and mittens instead of gloves. Cover your mouth with a scarf to protect your lungs. Frostbite causes a loss of feeling and a pale appearance in skin. If symptoms are detected, seek medical help immediately. Slowly rewarm the affected areas as you await medical assistance.

Hypothermia can occur in extreme cases. The warning signs are uncontrollable shivering, memory loss, disorientation, incoherence, slurred speech, drowsiness and apparent exhaustion. If the person's temperature drops below 95 degrees, seek immediate medical care. If medical assistance is not available, slowly warm up the person, body core first, wrapping them in a blanket or using your own body heat.

Do not warm the extremities first, because this drives the cold blood toward the heart and can lead to heart failure. Do not give the person alcohol, coffee, tea or any hot food or beverage. Instead, give warm liquids.

If the power fails and you must use a fireplace, wood stove or space heater, take the necessary safety precautions. Keep a fire extinguisher handy and make sure everyone knows how to use it. Test smoke alarms.

If you lose your heat, seal off unused rooms by stuffing towels in the cracks under the doors. Cover windows with extra blankets or sheets. Keep eating to fuel the body's own heating system. If your refrigerator loses electricity for an extended period, foods can be kept cold in a snowbank outside.

To keep pipes from freezing, wrap them in insulation or layers of newspapers, covering the newspapers with plastic to keep out moisture. Allow a trickle of hot and cold water to run from a faucet that is farthest from your water meter or one that has frozen in the past. This will keep the water moving so that it cannot freeze. Learn how to shut off your water if a pipe bursts.

The same should be done in the homes of elderly or disabled relatives and neighbors. Check on them.

If you keep a dog outdoors, make sure it has shelter in a dry, draft-free doghouse that is large enough to allow the animal to both sit and lie down comfortably, but small enough to retain body heat. The floor should be elevated a few inches from the ground and covered with cedar shavings or straw. The entrance should be turned to face away from prevailing winds and covered with a flap of heavy waterproof fabric or heavy plastic.

High winds and excessive rains in July and August have qualified Rhode Island farmers for natural disaster benefits, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture said today.

Washington and Providence counties have been designated as primary natural disaster areas because of losses caused by excessive rain and high winds from July 23 through Aug. 31, 2008. The state's three other counties also qualify because they are close to the designated areas.

Bonnie E. Burr, acting state executive director for the Farm Service Agency in Rhode Island, said the designation allows farmers who meet eligibility requirements to apply for low-interest emergency loans.

Farmers have until August 31 to apply for loans to help cover their losses. Each loan application will be considered based on the extent of losses and the farmer's ability to repay.

Other programs designed to help eligible farmers recover from adversity include the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program, the Emergency Conservation Program, Federal Crop Insurance and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.

Interested farmers may contact the local USDA Service Center for more information on eligibility requirements and application procedures.

The Farm Service Agency is in Suites 40 and 49 at 60 Quaker Lane, Warwick.The phone number is (401) 828-3120

A snow storm expected tomorrow will probably hold off until 7 or 8 p.m. and then deliver as much as an inch of snow an hour through Sunday morning.

"People should plan to use common sense and alter their travel plans," said Neal Strauss, a meterologist at the National Weather Service in Taunton, Mass.

The storm is expected to dump five to 10 inches of snow on southern New England, according to the weather service.

Two areas of moisture, one coming east from the plains and one moving northeast from Arkansas, are likely to meet over most of New England tomorrow evening.

Conditions should become hazardous overnight, Strauss said. The weather service has issued a storm watch, meaning that meterologists expect at least six inches.

Rhode Island's only ski area, Yawgoo Valley Ski and Sports Park has plenty of snow, and offers skiing, snowboarding and tubing.

"We'll have it all groomed," said Max de Wardener, owner of the park on Yawgoo Valley Road in Exeter.

PROVIDENCE -- A workshop on buying a foreclosed or distressed-sale house will focus on avoiding some of the risks that could turn a potential bargain into a financial disaster.

First-time buyers hoping to acquire a foreclosed property might underestimate the cost of repairs needed before they can occupy the house. The community organization SWAP (Stop Wasting Abandoned Property) will offer information that can help potential buyers avoid foreclosure themselves.

The SWAP workshop, from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at 459 Pine St., Providence, is sponsored partly by a grant from Citizens Bank.

More classes are planned. For information, call (401) 272-0526