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SMITHFIELD – Applauding the large turnout and public involvement in Tuesday night’s meeting, the Town Council voted to table 53 local zoning changes to give residents more time to discuss the effects of the updates with town officials.
Council President Suzy Alba proposed continuing the public hearing until March 16 and encouraged the more than 60 participants on the Zoom meeting to call Town Manager Randy Rossi, Town Planner Michael Phillips, or any councilor for answers to questions.
“Don’t save them until the next meeting two weeks from now,” Alba said, adding that Tuesday’s meeting was one of the most productive meetings she’s been a part of and that she was grateful for the participation.
SMITHFIELD – Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island has opened a new clothing donation bin at 375 Putnam Pike that Town Manager Randy Rossi says will benefit the town in two ways.
Rossi said the BBBS-staffed storefront will prevent donations from piling up around collection bins, and will also stop recyclable materials from going to the landfill, thus bringing savings to the town.
The need for clothing is tremendous, he said, and this is a great opportunity to help others. The nonprofit earns money back when it brings donations to Savers.
BBBS donates to local nonprofits such as Scouting troops and school parent groups. The nonprofit partners with each town, giving 30 percent of net profits back to bin partners.
CORRECTION: The name of Kim Ziegelmayer was misspelled in an earlier version of this report.
Smithfield town officials were in the audience Tuesday when the Anti-Defamation League of New England held an online forum delving into “community responses to hate incidents.”
Dialed in with those officials was Kim Ziegelmayer.
A Smithfield resident, Ziegelmayer is trying to mobilize an energetic community response to racist and homophobic graffiti she encountered near a local hiking trail earlier this month.
The ADL’s forum featured Rabbi Francine Roston, a Montana woman who was targeted by an anti-Semitic troll storm in 2016.
A white nationalist leader, Richard Spencer, helped lead the campaign targeting Roston and other Jews living in the town of Whitefish.
1/20/2021
UPDATE: Three arrested for racist graffiti in Smithfield
Under the Route 116 overpass on the Stillwater Scenic Trail, gray paint covers up racist and anti-tolerant graffiti discovered on the piling last week.
UPDATE – Police arrest three
SMITHFIELD – Police have arrested three juveniles in connection to racist graffiti on the Stillwater Scenic Trail. The youths were charged with malicious damage and conspiracy, according to Smithfield Police Chief Richard St. Sauveur. He said they will be referred to the Juvenile Hearing Board.
SMITHFIELD – A Martin Luther King, Jr. quote, “hatred cannot drive out hate; only love can do that,” echoed through the airwaves over local radio Monday morning as Town Manager Randy Rossi observed the paint covering the racist and anti-tolerant hate speech graffiti that appeared on the support columns of the Route 116 overpass last week.