On Friday Night, Bishop Stang High School opened its home Football slate versus Old Rochester Regional High School. However, a packed house and a winning home record weren’t the only goals the Spartans set for the evening.

Junior, Finley DeMarco of Wareham, reached out to Athletic Director Nate Greene with a request leading up to the home opener: to honor our country’s veterans, active military, and first responders by dedicating the game to “Folds of Honor.” Folds of Honor is an organization that provides scholarships to the spouses and children of fallen or disabled military and first responders.

Veterans, active military, and first responders received free admission into the game where they joined the teams on the field during the singing of the national anthem. The DeMarco Family set up a Folds of Honor table behind the endzone to sell t-shirts and accept donations to the foundation. Although the Spartans didn’t emerge victorious in their efforts on the field, their efforts off the field certainly paid off – raising $1,414 for Folds of Honor.

We hope to continue to honor the families of those who serve our country with Folds of Honor games for years to come. If you’d like to learn more about the foundation, visit https://foldsofhonor.org/about-us/

A fall Paper Shredding Day is on Saturday, September 30, 2023, from 9:00 a.m. to noon, or until the shred truck fills up. All are welcome; there is no residency requirement. Individuals may bring up to two boxes of paper. The event is at the New Bedford High School parking lot, 230 Hathaway Boulevard, New Bedford. Enter from Parker Street.

“Identity theft is a growing concern. Everyone must be vigilant in protecting personal information. Shredding your documents is an excellent way to protect yourself and your family, NBCU is proud to sponsor these community shredding days.” said Berta Varao, President & CEO at NBCU.

The shred truck can only hold a certain amount of paper, so the limit of two boxes allows Paper Shredding Day to serve more people. The event will end when the shred truck is full; it is possible it may be before noon. Each box should weigh no more than 30 to 40 pounds. Paper clips and staples do not need to be removed, but please remove paper from folders and binders.

When each participant reaches the shred truck, staff will remove boxes from the trunk of your vehicle, empty them into a recycle bin and return boxes to participants. The recycle bin is emptied into the Shred-it truck. Shred-it is certified by the National Association for Information Destruction and adheres to their stringent security practices and procedures. For safety purposes, participants are not able to watch the destruction of their paper.

Shredding confidential documents helps to prevent identify theft, protect personal information, and prevent valuable resources from being sent to the landfill. The shredded paper will be recycled into new products such as paper towels.

The event is sponsored by NBCU and held in partnership with the City of New Bedford, the Town of Dartmouth, and the Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District.

For more information, please visit gnbrrmdistrict.org, call the Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District at (508) 979-1493, or email Marissa@gnbrrmdistrict.org.”

Mayor Jon Mitchell announced on social media Monday afternoon that there are 15 apartment units under construction at the old “Holy Family High School” in New Bedford. He noted that this is another part of “the city’s efforts to create new housing for our residents”.

The building is a former Catholic high school that has been closed for more than 30 years, and is located in the city’s West End, just up the hill from downtown New Bedford.

City of New Bedford photo.

According to the developers, “this project will be one of the first affordable historic renovation projects in the city in over a decade, and will turn a blighted, boarded up property into a valuable community asset.”

The project will house 15 units, five of which being “restricted income” housing. Of the 15 units, there will be 4 studio apartments and 11 one bedroom apartments.

Mayor Mitchell toured the facility and pointed out the natural light and beautiful views the property will be offering. He believes, “this is a property that people will have a tremendous amount of interest in.”

This project is one of several newly constructed apartments as of late as demand for housing seems to be rising in the New Bedford area.

“Mayor Jon Mitchell is bolstering the fire code enforcement resources of the Fire Department with additional staff in the Department’s Fire Prevention Unit (FPU) and an increase in regular inspections in high-risk neighborhoods, including multifamily dwellings with three or more units, boarding and lodging houses, and treatment facilities. Under the plan, the FPU will be able to conduct 200 more inspections of high-risk properties per quarter over the current level of inspections.

Likewise, beginning this month, the Fire Department will expand its public awareness efforts, with the launch of a city-wide educational campaign to increase public awareness of fire safety. Community engagements will include enlisting interpreters to provide fire safety education to non-English speaking residents, attending neighborhood and civic group meetings, interacting with business leaders, along with radio and television appearances. A dedicated Fire Safety Educator will provide instruction on a variety of educational topics including fire safety, babysitter safety classes, dormitory safety training for teenagers, senior citizen fire safety along with CPR, defibrillator, first aid, and fire extinguisher training.

“The Department has a well-earned reputation for being highly proficient in emergency response, but we have always known that there were significant opportunities to complement that emergency response capacity with prevention initiatives,” said Mayor Mitchell. The addition of a dedicated Code Compliance Supervisor and a Fire Safety Educator now gives the Department the necessary resources to take their prevention efforts to the next level. The expected increase in inspection activity, as well as the improved public awareness of fire risks, are going to make our City safer for everyone.”

The new investments in Fire Prevention mark the second expansion of the FPU under Mayor Mitchell. In 2020, Mayor Mitchell assigned two additional code compliance inspectors to the Fire Prevention Bureau to meet the increasing demands of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 148 Section 26F which requires any residential occupancy to be inspected and protected by working smoke detectors upon sale or transfer of the property.

The additional Fire Prevention investments announced today will allow the City to return critical inspection initiatives that had been suspended for nearly twenty years. Due to budgetary constraints in 2005, the dedicated inspector position was phased out. Today’s announcement allows the City to return to enforcing compliance with this key section of Massachusetts law. Beginning this month, the new Code Compliance Supervisor will work in conjunction with Building Inspectors to ensure dwellings with three or more apartments are protected with working hardwire smoke alarms. The Code Compliance Officer will also conduct inspections in buildings with a history of fire code violations and fire, are not owner-occupied, and in areas of the City with a greater occurrence of structure fires.

“Once a building or occupancy is brought into compliance with any fire code or law, the challenge is maintaining that compliance. Having an inspector dedicated to enforcement “at high-risk properties” is going to make these buildings much safer going forward,” said Fire Chief Scott Kruger.

Fire Chief Scott Kruger also emphasized the key role fire safety education can have in shaping daily habits that reduce fire risk, noting “Most fires start with some type of human involvement whether it’s carelessness, an intentional, or unintentional act. Whether you’re a building owner, tenant, at home, school, or work, we all need the knowledge to prevent fires and to understand how to respond when one occurs.”

“Last week, I sent a letter to Governor Healey outlining concerns of Sutton Public Safety Officials in regards to her plan to house migrants at the Red Roof Inn in Sutton.

Attached to the letter was 143 pages of police reports from incidents at the hotel, a June 6, 2023 letter from her Executive Office of Public Safety stating the hotel’s 911 system was not compliant with state code and was “endangering your guests, employees and the public,” and an email from Sutton’s Fire Chief about SFD’s inability to fight a potential fire at the motel due to the lack of a public water source.

Ryan Fattman photo.

Today, those safety fears turned into reality: six local fire departments were deployed to the hotel when a fire broke out during a cooking incident. The fire resulted in three individuals receiving medical attention and fire damage to the second floor of the motel.

I was en route to the Red Roof Inn to meet with Town Officials and the National Guardsmen deployed by the Healey Administration when the fire broke out. I arrived as several local Fire Departments responded to the call. I could not be more proud in witnessing the calm and organized response of Chief Belsito, the Sutton Fire and Police Departments, and local public safety officials from throughout the Blackstone Valley.

I also can not adequately express my anger with the Administration’s failure to conduct public safety due diligence necessary to protect the stakeholders involved in this migrant shelter crisis.

Ryan Fattman photo.

People’s lives, from vulnerable migrants to our first responders, have been jeopardized by the lack of forethought and preparation by the Commonwealth in taking on this issue. This is unacceptable. It’s my sincere hope that this fire will serve as a wake up call to the Healey Administration to take the concerns of local Public Safety Officials, and the migrants they are hosting, seriously.”-Ryan Fattman.

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From MassFiscal.org:

Governor Healey’s politically motivated policies could very easily have cost people their lives yesterday.

If Massachusetts had the capacity to take care of these people, we wouldn’t be warehousing them in unsafe hotels in remote, rural parts of the state. Before yesterday’s fire, the Governor was warned by local legislators Senator Ryan Fattman and State Representative Joseph McKenna of the problematic situation. The Governor ignored their warning, and a fire broke out that put many in danger. The Governor needs to stop playing politics and call on President Biden to secure the southern border.

“Following a fire at a dilapidated hotel in Sutton, MA that is now being used by the state to house the massive influx of migrants pouring over the country’s open southern border, the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance warned Governor Maura Healey that next time, the consequences could be much worse.

Ryan Fattman photo.

“Governor Healey’s politically motivated policies could very easily have cost people their lives yesterday. If Massachusetts had the capacity to take care of these people, we wouldn’t be warehousing them in unsafe hotels in remote, rural parts of the state. Before yesterday’s fire, the Governor was warned by local legislators Senator Ryan Fattman and State Representative Joseph McKenna of the problematic situation. The Governor ignored their warning, and a fire broke out that put many in danger. The Governor needs to stop playing politics and call on President Biden to secure the southern border. This lack of leadership is having many negative consequences,” said Paul D. Craney, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance.

The near-disaster at the Sutton hotel comes just days after Senator Fattman and Representative McKenna penned a letter to the Governor outlining several public safety concerns with the site, including a non-functioning 911 phone system and concerns from the Sutton Fire Chief that the hotel was too far from water main access in the case of a blaze. The letter also pointed out that the Healey administration’s own Executive Office of Public Safety had cited the hotel in both May and June over the non-compliant 911 system and stated they were, “endangering your guests, employees and the public.”

“People’s lives, from vulnerable migrants to our first responders, have been jeopardized by the lack of forethought and preparation by the Commonwealth. This is unacceptable. It’s my sincere hope that this fire will serve as a wake up call to the Healey Administration to take the concerns of local Public Safety Officials, and the migrants they are hosting, seriously,” stated Senator Fattman in a post on his office’s Facebook page.

“This is just the latest in a string of political theatrics designed to placate Healey’s political base rather than addressing the underlying problem behind the overwhelming flood of migrants that have maxed out the Commonwealth’s capacity to absorb. Instead of actually addressing the root cause of the problem, which is a failure of Democrat’s immigration and border policies, Governor Healey has been play-acting at a response. She’s declared a state of emergency, but has taken no emergency actions with the declaration. She’s mobilized the national guard, but has them acting as hospitality workers instead of deploying them to assist at the border. There simply aren’t enough places to house all of these people and no number of soldiers are going to fix that issue if they’re staying here in the Commonwealth,” noted Craney.

“We’ve repeatedly said this issue was going to get much, much worse if we continue down this track and we’re already beginning to see that. Yesterday people were hurt and many could have lost their lives. It’s time for Governor Healey to stop the political theater and take meaningful action that will address this crisis where it is happening—at our country’s unsecured southern border,” closed Craney.”-MassFiscal.org.

Ryan Fattman photo.

Ryan Fattman photo.

Ryan Fattman photo.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) announced today that West Niles virus (WNV) has been detected in a mosquito collected from Mattapoisett.

WNV is most commonly transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. The mosquitoes that carry this virus are common throughout the state and are found in urban as well as more rural areas. While WNV can infect people of all ages, people over the age of 50 are at higher risk for severe infection.

While the Mattapoisett Board of Health continues to work closely with the MDPH and other agencies, residents may find additional information about WNV and reports of current and historical WNV activity in Massachusetts on the MDPH website: www.mass.gov/dph/mosquito.

“BayCoast Bank, one of the most recognizable names in community banking, continues its strong history of supporting the mortgage, business, and community development lending needs of the SouthCoast. Once again, BayCoast Bank is ranked as a top ten residential lender in total market share in 30 local communities during the first half of 2023.

The Warren Group Inc.1 lists BayCoast Bank as the number one mortgage lender in a number of the following local cities and towns and a top ten mortgage lender in Acushnet, Berkley, Dartmouth, Dighton, Fairhaven, Fall River, Freetown Lakeville, Marion, Mattapoisett, New Bedford, Rehoboth, Rochester Seekonk, Somerset, Swansea, Wareham, and Westport Massachusetts, in addition to Barrington, Bristol, East Greenwich, East Providence, Little Compton, Middletown, Newport, Portsmouth, Providence, Pawtucket, Smithfield, and Warren in Rhode Island.

BayCoast Bank has earned a strong reputation for quality and excellence, becoming a leading, trusted mortgage and business lender in the region. The lending team at BayCoast Bank cares about helping members of the community reach their homeownership and business goals by offering personalized service to suit each customer’s unique needs.

BayCoast’s reputation for being a strong local lender is also highly focused on the community

and community redevelopment projects aimed at improving the overall quality of life in our immediate area. Projects like River’s Edge in Fall River, and the Foss Marine Terminal and National Downtown Club in New Bedford, will help transform our local economy by opening the doors to a host of new business, career, and educational opportunities.

BayCoast’s participation in the redevelopment of River’s Edge, located at 20 Turner Street in Fall River, provides 50 apartments, with both market and affordable rate units, in addition to retail space on the first floor. BayCoast Bank opened one of their newest branch locations at this property last year which overlooks the city’s scenic waterfront.

BayCoast also provided financing support for the Foss Marine redevelopment allowing that space to be transformed into a green energy staging and storage area for the construction of offshore wind turbines. The New Bedford Foss Marine Terminal opened in March 2023, after a year of site redevelopment, and now serves as a new base of operations and terminal logistics facility to support offshore wind projects in Massachusetts and across the northeastern coast of the United States.

“This project has made New Bedford one of the leading locations for the development of renewable offshore clean energy,” said Carl Taber, Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer with BayCoast Bank. “In addition, it will create good jobs, help local businesses that support turbine construction workers, as well as increase revenue for ancillary businesses.”

BayCoast Bank’s financing of the National Downtown Club redevelopment will also help transform New Bedford’s historic waterfront district. The block sits roughly midway between the waterfront and the Whaling Museum and Seaman’s Bethel/Mariner’s Home. The historic building will be completely renovated to support a new restaurant on the highly visible property across from the State Pier. The project will have 28 apartments, with five affordable units, and retail space on the ground level when complete.

“BayCoast Bank is proud to be the community bank that is financing these types of projects,” said Nick Christ, President and CEO of BayCoast Bank. “New Bedford and Fall River have long been the main economic drivers for the SouthCoast, and we are proud to directly support redevelopment projects that will improve our local economy and boost the tourism industry.” “