Friday, November 30, 2012
Supporters of Bob Lamoureux are concerned his job is in jeopardy.
The future is uncertain for Bob Lamoureux, Seekonk's superintendent of public works. The Board of Selectmen is expected to vote next week on whether to begin negotiations on renewing his contract with the town. Some supporters are concerned that a majority of the board is not interested in keeping him. Several residents contacted Seekonk Patch about the issue. They may attend next week's meeting to show support for Lamoreux. Former Selectman Bill Rice will air a tribute show for Lamoreux on TV9 today at 1 p.m. and again on Saturday at 6 p.m. "I am simply giving a voice to the many, many residents who appreciate Bob's good works and commitment to Seekonk," Rice wrote in an email to Patch. Lamoureux did not respond to an email from Patch for…
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Dave Parker at first refuses to apologize to Seekonk Executive Assistant Anne Rogers for alleged slander because he says he did not slander. He later offers the apology.
The dispute between Seekonk Selectman Dave Parker and Anne Rogers, the town's executive assistant, came to an end Wednesday night when he apologized for allegedly slandering her at the May 30 Board of Selectmen meeting. It is not clear if Parker's apology was genuine because he said more than once during Wednesday night's selectmen meeting that he had no reason to offer an apology. "I am more than willing to apologize if I said anything that was an attack on her," said Parker in response to Selectman Bob McLintock's statement that it appeared Parker would not apologize. "If you know what I said [on May 30], then you know full well it was not an attack on her." Rogers alleged that Parker slandered her May 30 when he read out loud email …
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
The Attorney General's Office needs more time to review an article approved at the recent Seekonk Town Meeting that would prevent selectmen from serving on other town boards.
Seekonk's legal consultant is certain a town meeting-approved article that prevents selectmen from serving on other local boards conflicts with local and state laws, but the state Attorney General's Office is not sure. In a letter issued last week about its review of the June town meeting, the state agency wrote to Town Clerk Jan Parker that it approved all the articles passed at the meeting except for the one about limiting selectmen's power. The letter states that the office needs more time to review the measure, and would have an answer by Sept. 24. The article was drafted by former Selectman Bill Rice, who collected more than 160 signatures to get the item on the town meeting warrant. He said that it is a "misuse of power" for …
Monday, June 18, 2012
The issue is on the Board of Selectmen's Wednesday agenda.
Either a grievance hearing or a discussion about a grievance hearing will take place at the Seekonk Board of Selectmen meeting on Wednesday, reliable sources told Attleboro-Seekonk Patch. Town Administrator Pam Nolan notified Selectman Dave Parker last week that the grievance filed against him by Executive Assistant Anne Rogers would be discussed during executive session at the next selectmen meeting. Parker responded that he wanted the discussion to take place in public, which is allowed to happen if he requests it because the grievance is against him. The agenda for Wednesday's meeting was not available on the town website as of Sunday night. Rogers said at the June 6 selectmen meeting that Parker "went after my reputation, my character…
Friday, June 8, 2012
Bill Rice submitted his resignation Friday morning.
Bill Rice has resigned from the Seekonk Board of Selectmen. He submitted his resignation Friday morning. "Effective at about 11:30 a.m. today I have resigned," wrote Rice in an email to Attleboro-Seekonk Patch. "I will make no other comment. Take it as it is." The first-term selectman was frequently in conflict with his colleagues in recent months on various issues, including his attempt to prevent selectmen from serving on other boards. On the day he quit, the town's legal consultant issued an opinion that a town meeting article he submitted to create the prohibition conflicted with the town charter and state law. Several Town Hall observers speculated this may have influenced Rice's decision to leave. "I was developing a good working …
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
The session will also include a joint meeting of the selectmen and members of the School, Finance and Capital Improvement committees.
Seekonk residents will have an opportunity to comment on the proposed 2012-13 town budget at the Board of Selectmen meeting on Wednesday. The selectmen will vote on the $43.9 million financial plan (which is attached to this article) after the hearing. The final budget vote will take place at the June 11 town meeting. The Wednesday session will also include what is called a "Quad Board meeting," featuring the selectmen as well as members of the School, Finance and Capital Improvement committees. Among the topics scheduled to be discussed is the formation of a five-member committee "to explore consolidation of [town] services." Other items on the agenda for the quad meeting include: The session will begin at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, which is …
Friday, May 11, 2012
The two spent the most money in this year's Seekonk Board of Selectmen campaign.
They missed the deadline, but Gary Sagar and Bob Blanchard managed to submit the finance report on Wednesday that covers the final days of this year's campaign for two Seekonk Board of Selectmen seats. The two men, who ran as a team, were the top spenders in the contest. The duo collected $250 from Warwick resident Philip Carter in the final week prior to the April 2 election. Sagar also added $2.87 this week to put the campaign at a zero balance. The team spent $720, including a $100 donation to the Seekonk Veterans Memorial Gift Fund. Sagar and Blanchard spent $3,226 in the first period of the campaign, according to the statement submitted in March. The total spending of $3,946 was significantly higher than the next biggest spender …
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Four young Seekonk residents receive citations for their actions following the discovery of a man who gassed himself in public.
But not for the response of four young Seekonk residents, a local tragedy could have turned into something much worse last week. State Rep. Steve Howitt and Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson honored the young locals on Wednesday at the Board of Selectmen meeting with citations. The young men—Matthew Stanley, Correy Hammond, Branden Cordeiro and Andrew Sawyer—were riding bikes behind the old Showcase Cinemas on Fall River Avenue when they came across a sealed a vehicle containing a Rumford, R.I. man who had killed himself with the deadly homemade gas hydrogen sulfide. The young men contacted authorities, who arrived to neutralized the chemical compound, which did not harm any other person. "For them taking that action really did prevent …
Friday, May 4, 2012
Seekonk selectmen request a legal opinion whether a measure that would prevent them from serving on other town boards in most cases can be placed on a town meeting agenda.
Whether a proposal to prohibit selectmen from serving on other boards in most cases can be placed on a June town meeting agenda could depend on a lawyer's interpretation of the laws of Seekonk and Massachusetts. The selectmen voted 3-2 Wednesday to seek legal advice on whether a petition featuring more than 100 signatures forced them to put the measure before town meeting voters. Selectman Bill Rice, with the help of activists, collected the signatures to get the item on the agenda for the special town meeting (which will take place on the same night as the annual town meeting). Town Administrator Pam Nolan said more than 100 signatures on the petition were certified by the town clerk, exceeding the threshold required by the town charter. …
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Seekonk Selectman Bill Rice wants he and his colleagues on the town's top panel to be prohibited from serving on other boards.
A proposal to prevent Seeekonk selectmen from serving on other local boards might not need the support of town leaders to get on the agenda for the June town meeting. A petition for the proposal, started by Selectman Bill Rice, is circulating among residents. Rice needs to collect at least 100 valid signatures from Seekonk residents to get the measure on the agenda. Selectman Dave Parker proposed at last week's Board of Selectmen meeting that an item be placed on the town meeting agenda that would prohibit members of Seekonk's top panel from serving on other boards unless the board was in danger of not having enough people to meet a quorum. A majority of the BOS (Parker, Rice and Francis Cavaco) supported placing the item on the agenda, …
Carol Bragg
10:20 am on Saturday, December 1, 2012
"Patience and kindness ...." Where can I buy some of that? Why, it's free. It's stored in each of us in the capacity we were given at birth to love: Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes … more ›