Saturday, March 26, 2011
Chairwoman Mele talks about her time on the Johnston School Committee board, her years volunteering and working at St. Thomas Regional School, and her commitment to children.
Janice Mele is the chairwoman of the Johnston School Committee and has been so for the past four years. JohnstonPatch had the opportunity to sit down with Chairwoman Mele and get a little insight on what her job entails and some of the trials and tribulations that come along with it. When asked why she wanted to run for school committee, Mele responded: “I’ve always wanted to do it. I did run 10 years ago – unsuccessfully, (and) lost by 32 votes.” Mele sad she's passionate about helping children and bettering their lives through the decisions made at the committee. She expressed a strong feeling of taking each decision and weighing it over before making a call. “I really enjoy helping children," Mele said. "I’ve been involved in improving …
Saturday, March 12, 2011
The Johnston resident earned the BSA's top award for volunteers.
He's moved a few times, due to his career as a systems engineer, but Joe DelPonte has never really been too far away from the Boy Scouts of America. After growing up in Scouts and living in Alabama for a time, DelPonte had just moved back to New England in 1987 when he went looking for social opportunties for his son, Jonathan. "So here's this first-grader with a Southern drawl, moving into a new school in the middle of the school year, and all of the kids have their groups already — we were looking to figure something out for him," DelPonte recalls of the relocation to Lexington, Mass. After considering sports — many of which weren't meeting during the winter — DelPonte says: "It hit me that Cub packs meet year-round, and I said, 'Let's …
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Costa serves as administrative assistant and property manager at Pell Manor on Plainfield Pike.
For many people and their families, the prospect of growing older leads to lots of anxiety — Where will they live? What if they need assistance, but not a nursing home? Carol Costa, administrative assistant for Johnston Housing Authority and property manager for JHA's Pell Manor on Plainfield Pike, seeks to provide answers. "One of the big efforts we make for our elderly disabled is what we call 'live in place,'" Costa explains. "That means they get to live in a safe environment — it keeps them healthy, and it keeps down costs." Costa also says that people with elder relatives should encourage them to apply for JHA help — "even if they don't think they'll need it" — as soon as they turn 62. "There's a three- to six-year-waiting list, so I …
41.834731
-71.480012
Johnston Housing Authority
8 Forand Cir, Johnston, RI
/articles/johnstonpatch-meets-carol-costa-johnston-housing-authority
1876988
/locations/3581602
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Marissa Levesque is the founder of Pink-Surance, an organization geared toward funding genetic testing for women at high-risk for developing breast or ovarian cancer.
Marissa Levesque is the founder of Pink-Surance, a non-profit organization focused on supporting the education and empowerment of women who have or at risk for breast cancer. Levesque personally went through a preventative treatment, having a bi-lateral mastectomy after finding herself positive for breast cancer from a simple blood test. “After sharing my history and my story, others started sharing their history and their story,” said Levesque. “After they shared their story, they often followed up with ‘I would get tested, but I don’t have health insurance’” Because the average cost of these blood tests cost $3,300, genetic testing is not available to all women. They are often left footing the bill on their own — or never knowing the …
Marissa Levesque is the founder of Pink-Surance, an organization geared toward funding genetic testing for women at high-risk for developing breast or ovarian cancer.
Marissa Levesque is the founder of Pink-Surance, a non-profit organization focused on supporting the education and empowerment of women who have or at risk for breast cancer. Levesque personally went through a preventative treatment, having a bi-lateral mastectomy after finding herself positive for breast cancer from a simple blood test. “After sharing my history and my story, others started sharing their history and their story,” said Levesque. “After they shared their story, they often followed up with ‘I would get tested, but I don’t have health insurance’” Because the average cost of these blood tests cost $3,300, genetic testing is not available to all women. They are often left footing the bill on their own — or never knowing the …
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Debra Sgambato hosted Education Commissioner Deborah Gist on Feb. 14.
When state Education Commissioner Deborah Gist paid a call to Johnston on Feb. 14, her first stop was the third-grade classroom of Debra Sgambato, where Gist witnessed the kind of innovative teaching strategy that could serve as a model for other schools around the state. It was a fitting tribute to Sgambato (no, she's not related to the Sgambatos who run the Yacht Club soda company in Centredale), who's been a teacher for 12 years and worked on the state's teacher support and development committee last year. Just walking into her classroom, a visitor gets the sense that this is a place where learning is — not just "is happening" — this is a place where you know young minds are growing. And, as Principal Sharon Cabral explained, the …
41.837847
-71.486253
Sarah Dyer Barnes Elementary School
24 Barnes Ave, Johnston, RI
/articles/johnstonpatch-meets-debra-sgambato-third-grade-teacher-barnes-elementary-school
1811512
/locations/3447436
arthur moretti
10:03 pm on Wednesday, March 30, 2011
To Johnston Mother, I have refrained from posting here because I am really not one to hide behind a computer if I have something to say. I have known Mario for many years and found him to be a caring respectable person. I decided to respond here because a friend called and said that my name was mentioned in someones article. I do not have control of who is posting what here ,nor do i have the … more ›