Taunton, Massachusetts News & Information - Taunton, MA - Bristol County

Archives - June 1, 2009 - June 16, 2009

Local Soldier and Family Make Radio Appearance Before His Middle East Deployment

June 16, 2009 - Somerset, MA - The lives of three people will change dramatically over the next few years. Hear how this Thursday, June 18th at 10 a.m. on WSAR 1480 AM.

Originally from Taunton and a 2004 graduate of Wareham High School, U.S. Army PFC Christopher Charette is being deployed to Afghanistan. Before he departs for the Middle East, Chris, his wife Cheri and son Christopher Jr. will be guests on Mid Morning Bristol County with George Colajezzi.

Hear first hand how the Charette family will deal with Chris's deployment and how Cheri will have to cope here at home. You can call in and talk with Cheri and Chris about this life changing experience during the show at (508) 673-1480.

Don't miss a soldier and his family's compelling story.

7^th Annual Women's Golf Outing

June 16, 2009 - Taunton, MA - The Taunton Chamber’s 7^th Annual Women’s Golf Outing will take place on Friday, June 19, 2009 at The Back Nine Club in Lakeville. This year’s premiere sponsor is Sovereign Bank. End your week having fun!

Two golf pros will be offering free lessons at 11:00 a.m. during a pre-golf clinic. Registration is at 11:45 a.m. and the shotgun start is at 12:30 p.m. New this year is a cheese & wine reception that will take place during the raffle hour. For those of you who do not golf, you can attend the reception only for $40. This social hour is your chance to unwind, network, win raffle prizes, and indulge in hors d‘oeuvres and cocktails.

The cost is $100 per person or $360 per foursome. Included are free lessons with a golf pro, green fees and ½ cart, lunch, gift bag, free Golftini drink, wine & cheese reception, and a unique networking opportunity. Players can sign up as a single, twosome, threesome, or foursome.

For more information or to register, please contact the Chamber at 508-824-4068. Hole sponsorship and prize donations are greatly appreciated!

Taunton Area Chamber of Commerce Summer Celebration

The cost to attend this event is $20 for Chamber Members and $30 for Non-Members. For more information or to register, please contact the Chamber office at 508-824-4068 or e-mail info@tauntonareachamber.org.

Click here to see more local events

Morton Federal Credit Union Awards Scholarships

(Left to Right) Morton Federal Credit Union Board member Dawn Lima, Board Chairman Harry Lemieux, senior Sarah Hackett, senior Tim Viall, and Board member Denise Turner.

June 8, 2009 - Taunton, MA - Morton Federal Credit Union recently awarded six $500 scholarships to local high school seniors that will attend college in the fall. The recipients were Sarah Hackett of East Taunton, Patrick Gray of Dighton, Jessica Greco of Taunton, Megan Page of Taunton, Tim Viall of Taunton and Adam Souza of Assonet.

For more than ten years, Morton Federal Credit Union has awarded over $30,000 in scholarships to Taunton area students. Scholarships are available to any credit union member, and any member of their immediate family, pursuing secondary education.

2009 MIAA Softball South Div. 2 Finals
Coyle & Cassidy 1, Ashland 2 

Click here to see complete local 2009 MIAA Baseball and Softball scores

A Good Woman (Fiction)
Author: Danielle Steel
Review by Shirley Hogan

About the Author
Danielle Steel is probably one of the most popular authors today. She is an international author and has sold over 580 million books. A few of her best sellers include- One Day at a Time, Rogue, Honor Thyself, Amazing Grace and many other novels. A very special novel is His Bright Light about the life and death of her son.

Annabelle Worthington, a nineteen year-old socialite, born and raised into New York society, lived on Fifth Avenue and in Newport, Rhode Island. To everyone else her life seemed perfect until the sinking of the Titanic when her life becomes forever changed. Her volunteer work takes precedence and she finds herself in the worst conditions, nursing the poor. In doing so, she finds her passion lies in medicine.

After what seems like an idyllic marriage, her life goes into a downward spiral, not being able to reveal her husband’s secrets and the end of her marriage. Annabelle flees from New York after being shunned by everyone and throws herself into the horror of WWI. Annabelle finds her true calling and begins her new life in Paris. Becoming a doctor and then a mother, with her past almost forgotten, she is now ready to return for one more visit home to New York. No longer ashamed, she regains her self-respect.

Danielle Steel has done a beautiful job in this novel describing images and historical detail. This novel is not her usual as it takes you in many directions and is never boring. I find her fortitude inspiring to move ahead against all odds.

I rate A Good Woman four and a half out of five stars.

Please email me at: shirley@tauntonweb.com. I may include your comments in my next review.

Click here to read all of Shirley's reviews.

25th Annual Heritage Day of Portugal

June 5, 2009 - Boston, MA - The president of the Portuguese Parliament, Dr. Jaime Gama, visited Boston Tuesday to give the keynote address in the 25th annual Heritage Day of Portugal at the State House, as 16 people from throughout the Commonwealth were presented with the Portuguese Heritage Award.

"It was truly an honor to have Dr. Gama travel all the way from Lisbon to be with us here today, for this 25th anniversary event," said Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton, chairman of the event.  "But it was also an honor to be able to recognize the many people who were here today for their contributing to the Portuguese community in Massachusetts."

The ceremony was held in the House of Representatives chamber to award Heritage Day of Portugal Medallions to people nominated by members of the Portuguese-American Legislative Caucus and by other legislators.

Pacheco presented Heritage medals to John and Ed Correira, brothers from Taunton, and Elizabeth De Jesus Rodrigues of Taunton.

The Correiras, owners of Correira Insurance Agency, were honored for their many charitable contributions to the community. The brothers established the Taunton Landlord's Association that serves to educate landlords and tenants, and also work with Pro-Home, a group that helps to develop affordable housing. John Corriera serves on the board of the YMCA. Ed Correira serves on the Board of the Greater Taunton Charitable Association. Both contribute a great deal of time and money to many other local causes.

Senator Pacheco with Elizabeth de Jesus Rodrigues

Elizabeth de Jesus Rodrigues, the daughter of immigrants from Portugal, has shown a dedication to carrying on the language and culture of Portugal. She graduated from Brown University with a Bachelor's degree in Portuguese and Brazilian studies with a concentration in Portuguese literature and went on to complete a Master's degree in education at Endicott College. Elizabeth also studied and taught at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, where she received a certificate to teach Portuguese. She taught in the Escola Oficial Portuguesa in Taunton, and has taught Portuguese in the middle schools and in the high school in Taunton,  where she is currently the Curriculum Supervisor for Foreign Languages.

"These three people, who I am proud to know, exemplify Portuguese-American values by their dedication to the community and their contributions to the larger society," said Pacheco.

At the ceremony, the Select Chorus from Taunton High School, under the direction of Steven Lagarto, performed the national anthems of the United States and Portugal.

After the ceremony, a celebration was held in the Great Hall, where there was a wide range of Portuguese dishes served by the, Bristol Plymouth Regional Technical school, the Diman Regional Vocational Technical school, the New Bedford Regional Vocational school, and by the restaurant of the Hudson Portuguese Club, the Portugalia Restaurant of Cambridge and the Tabacaria Acorean Restaurant of Cambridge.

The Artesanato da Amism Associacao Municipos displayed embroidery, beadwork and basket weaving from Lagoa and the other islands of the Azores. Grupo Folclorico Madeirense S.S. Sacramento from New Bedford performed Madeiran folklore dances.

Senator Pacheco with Edward A. Correira (left) and John W. Correira (right)

Area H.S. Seniors Receive Scholarship Awards

June 3, 2009 - Taunton, MA - Going off to college will be a bit easier for eight area high school seniors thanks to Columbia Lodge #540 Order Sons of Italy in America and its charitable arm, Columbia Cultural Trust.

Jessica Greco, Taunton High School will be attending Syracuse University; Melanie Violette, Taunton High School will be attending University of Massachusetts Dartmouth; Ryan Palardy, Mansfield High School will attend the College of William and Mary; Elyse Doherty, Taunton High School will attend Wheaton College; Kelsey Gay, Dighton-Rehoboth High School will attend Bentley College; Daniel Noons, Dighton-Rehoboth High School will attend Bryant University; Jessica Capobianco, Coyle and Cassidy High School will attend University of Vermont and Samantha Lacouture, Coyle and Cassidy will attend Providence College.

The eight were honored for their scholastic achievement with a dinner at the Columbia Cultural Center. Chairman of the Columbia Cultural Trust, David T. Gay and Columbia Lodge #540 president, Richard Simmons handed out the scholarships totaling $6,000.

To date, Columbia Lodge #540 and the Columbia Cultural Trust have awarded more than $21,000 in scholarship monies to worthy students in the area.

(Left to right) - Richard Simmons, president, Columbia Lodge #540; Jessica Greco, Taunton High School; Melanie Violette, Taunton High School; Ryan Palardy, Mansfield High School; Elyse Doherty, Taunton High School; Kelsey Gay, Dighton-Rehoboth High School and David T. Gay, chairman, Columbia Cultural Trust. Receive their scholarships at the annual awards dinner at the Columbia Cultural Center.

Also receiving scholarships, but not pictured; Daniel Noons, Dighton-Rehoboth High School; Jessica Capobianco and Samantha both from Coyle and Cassidy High School.

Coyle & Cassidy 8, Bellingham 0

June 3, 2009 - Taunton, MA - Coyle & Cassidy Softball shutout Bellingham 8-0 in the 2009 MIAA South Division 2 semi-finals yesterday.

The Warriors (14-6) will face number 1 seeded Ashland (20-0) in the finals at Taunton High School. Game date and time will be announced soon.

Click here for complete local 2009 MIAA Baseball & Softball Tournament results and schedules.

Taunton Council On Aging Newsletter

Click Here for the June 2009 Newsletter

You can always find the latest Taunton Council on Aging Newsletter by clicking the "Senior News" link.

Elder Conference: "Knowledge = Prevention" this 
Thursday at Wheaton College

June 2, 2009 - Norton, MA - The Bristol County District Attorney's Office is proud to announce that an Elder Conference - "Knowledge = Prevention" will take place on Thursday, June 4, 2009, at Wheaton College in Norton from 9:00AM to 2:00PM in the Emerson Dining Hall. This event is a kick-off to District Attorney Sutter's commitment to provide elders, and the community, with prevention information to combat elder abuse. Free tickets will be provided by your local council on aging office to those elders who can not afford the nominal $5 registration fee. Through the remainder of the year, District Attorney Sutter plans to visit many of the county's senior centers and council on aging locations to deliver his message about knowledge equaling prevention. The District Attorney's Office is collaborating with the Attleboro Senior Center to bring this important message to elders in the northern Bristol county region.

District Attorney Sutter will give opening remarks at the event while two top prosecutors discuss the many different forms of elder abuse including: identity fraud, financial exploitation, scams, physical, sexual, and psychological abuse. Elders and other conference attendees will learn how to recognize warning signs of abuse, how to report abuse, how cases are prosecuted, tips to prevent abuse and victim rights.

"I said when I was campaigning that the District Attorney's Office needed to do more to protect our county's most vulnerable: our children and our seniors. This program is a part of that mission," District Attorney Sutter said.

In addition, Bristol County Register of Probate, Gina DeRossi, will present information about services offered at the Registry of Probate and Family Court which include wills, guardianships, restraining orders and other matters. 

Community resource tables will be at the conference and staffed by representatives from the following organizations:  Bristol Elder Services, Community Visiting Nurses Association, Executive Office of Elder Affairs, New Hope, Norton CVS, Private elder law attorneys, Secretary of the Commonwealth, and South Coastal Counties Legal Services. Representatives will be available to provide information and answer questions about their organization and the services they offer.

There is a $5 registration fee, which can be paid at the door. Pre-registrations are encouraged and can be made by contacting Cecelia Porche at the District Attorney's Office (508) 961-1984.  Free tickets at local council on aging offices are available to those elders who can not afford the registration fee. A continental breakfast and lunch will be served. Transportation arrangements may be available through the local Council on Aging, GATRA (508) 222-6106, Foxfield Taxi (Tara Robinson, 508-553-3000) and Community Care-A-Vans (Richard Letson, 508-223-1672, ext. 29). A sign language interpreter will also be available.

Door prizes will be given away and include the following:  AAA road assistance kit, emergency kit, CVS gift cards, Stop & Shop gift cards, floral arrangements, private attorney consultation and restaurant gift certificates.

Seating is limited.  For registration information and questions, please contact Cecelia Porche at the District Attorney's Office, (508) 961-1984, or the Attleboro Council on Aging at (508) 223-2222, ext. 3316.

Click here for the event flyer.

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