Serving North Smithfield, Blackstone and Woonsocket
JANUARY 9-15, 2014
FREE
Breeze
The valley
like ol' blue eyes
felines on display
Frank Sinatra tribute performance
this Sunday in Glocester. LIVING
Ragdoll Fanciers Winter Cat
Show is this weekend. PAGE 12
@
"Like" us on
Hamilton
gives School
Department 30
days to provide
legal budget
valleybreeze.com
Search for The Valley Breeze Newspapers
Bundled up and ready to slide
By SANDY SEOANE
Valley Breeze Staff Writer
By SANDY SEOANE
Valley Breeze Staff Writer
sandy@valleybreeze.com
NORTH SMITHFIELD –
Town Administrator Paulette
Hamilton told the School
Committee Monday night she's
giving them 30 days to rework
their budget into one that complies with the 4 percent state
cap on increases.
And she questioned why the
board submitted a document
that calls for an illegal, 15 percent increase in the first place.
The administrator was reacting to the "draft" submitted by
the department in December
that showed expenditures
totaling more than $27 million, a 15 percent increase
from the current fiscal year.
The School Department first
presented the budget to the
public in November, saying
the document - which included
the addition of new programs
and services, plus an increase
of $550,412 in salaries and
$934,705 in benefits - was just a
"starting point." But as the charter-mandated budget deadline
approached, none of the proposed spending was removed.
"The North Smithfield School
See BUDGET, Page 19
Change, growth
ahead for newly
purchased Landmark
Medical Center
sandy@valleybreeze.com
WOONSOCKET–
California-based Prime Health
Services now officially owns
Landmark Medical Center,
ending more than five years of
uncertainty with the purchase,
finalized on the last day of
2013.
And over the next several
months, change is coming to
the long-struggling facility, as
the promised investments, in
areas from staffing to equipment, fall into place at Rhode
Island's first
for-profit hospital.
"We've been
very fortunate
that not only
the employees
and the physicharest
cians have
remained loyal
to us while we went through
our special mastership period,
but the patients continued to
use our facilities and have confidence in us," said Landmark
President Richard Charest.
"Now that we're beyond that,
See LANDMARK, Page 8
No. Smithfield voters may consider
partially appointed school board
By SANDY SEOANE
Valley Breeze Staff Writer
sandy@valleybreeze.com
Valley Breeze photo by David Wuerth
Timothy Rainville, of Woonsocket, carries his son Jacob, 2,
up the hill at Globe Park. The Woonsocket park was busy last Friday
afternoon with people sliding down the hill after the new snowfall.
See more photos on page 7.
Dep r
essed?
Anxi
ous? Str
essed?
• Short term counseling
• Long term therapy
• Anxiety, depression
• Substance Abuse Counseling
• Children, teens, adults
Children often have symptoms of
Depression & Anxiety such as poor
concentration, low self esteem, low
energy & frequent sadness.
Children • Adults • Couples • Families
Now Accepting New Patients
Most Insurances Accepted
NORTH SMITHFIELD
– Joining what seems to be a
growing local trend, the North
Smithfield Town Council
may ask voters to decide in
a November ballot question
Looking to
Sell Your Stuff?
Let us help.
NEW! Pay only $10 for ads for
Items for Sale valued at $200 or less.
3 weeks, only $25.
Visit valleybreeze.com, or call 334-9555
weekdays. Deadline, Tuesday at 3 p.m.
Anthony Taraboreli
l,
LI , CDP
CSW
1 Soc alSt eet W oonsoc
i
r
,
ket RI 02895
,
4018298838
©2014 Breeze Publications Inc.
whether at least some of the
town's school board members
should be appointed.
The change, proposed by
Town Administrator Paulette
Hamilton, would see the Town
Council to appoint one member, and the administrator to
appoint another of the five
See SCHOOL, Page 11
