“In anticipation of the upcoming winter storm projections for tomorrow, all New Bedford Public Schools and administrative offices will be closed on Tuesday, February 13, 2024.

No afterschool activities. No NBHS Evening Extension Registration. Essential staff, such as custodians and facilities personnel, are required to report as scheduled.

No school tomorrow – Feb. 13
No hay clases mañana – 13 Feb.
Não há escola amanhã – 13 Feb.
Ka ten skola manhan – 13 Feb.
Pa gen lekòl demen – 13 Feb.
Tz’apem tijob’al chiweq’ – 13 Feb.”-New Bedford Public Schools.

• Alma del Mar Charter School will also be closed.
• Global Learning Charter School will be closed.

NEW BEDFORD – Narcotics detectives have placed a local man under arrest following a drug raid at his residence.

On Saturday, February 10th, Detective Jonathan Miranda concluded an investigation into a cocaine distribution operation being conducted out of an apartment on Phillips Ave. The target of the investigation was 35-year-old JARROD ALVES.

During a search warrant execution at his apartment, ALVES was found to be in possession of over 157 grams of cocaine and 80 grams of fentanyl, as well as Xanex, Ecstasy, and mushrooms. ALVES was also found to have digital scales and packaging materials used in the processing of narcotics to prepare them for street-level sales. In addition, over $2400 in cash was seized from the apartment as a result of it being proceeds from illicit drug activity.

ALVES was placed under arrest and charged with a number of offenses including trafficking in cocaine, trafficking in fentanyl, and possession with intent to distribute classes A, B, C, D, and E. He was previously convicted of possession with intent to distribute class A in 2014, making this a subsequent offense that can carry stiffer penalties.

At the time of this arrest, ALVES was on probation out of Bristol Superior Court. He has a history of convictions for a variety of charges including firearm offenses, assault with a dangerous weapon, resisting arrest, and assault and battery on a police officer.

February is Children’s Dental Health Month! Here are 5 tips for keeping your kid’s smile shining bright, from Dr. Sean & South Coast Smiles in Dartmouth.

Let’s face it: Our little ones’ pearly whites are prone to tooth decay, one of the most common chronic but preventable childhood diseases in the U.S. Not to worry!

Aside from silly socks, giveaways, and a whole lot of comic book knowledge, SouthCoast pediatric dentist Dr. Sean Ghassem-Zadeh and the kid-friendly, experienced team of 20+ years at South Coast Smiles in Dartmouth has got your child’s back (and bite!).

South Coast Smiles photo.

As Best Pediatric Dental Clinic winner of the 2023 SouthCoast Community’s Choice Awards, and with 180+ 5-star reviews, you can trust South Coast Smiles as your local pediatric dentistry experts.

1. Start a Routine Early: Once those first baby teeth appear, brush them with an infant toothbrush and a tiny dab of toothpaste the size of a grain of rice, increasing to pea-size by age 3. Get the whole family involved in a brushing & flossing party. Maintaining good dental hygiene is easy when it’s a daily vibe! We’re also here to make brushing a positive experience with different techniques to try.

2. Promote Healthy Eating: Limit sugary snacks and drinks, and opt for a well-balanced diet with fruits, veggies, and calcium-rich foods. Encourage your little guppy to drink plenty of water, especially after eating. This helps rinse away food particles and neutralizes acids in the mouth, reducing cavity risk and staining.

3. Nurture New Habits: Thumb-sucking, pacifier, and nail-biting habits impact dental development and alignment. When your child succeeds in quitting, tell Dr. Sean or your hygienist for a special reward! For little athletes playing contact sports, make a habit of using a mouthguard to protect those chompers from injury!

South Coast Smiles photo.

4. Watch & Lead by Example: Kids aren’t pros at brushing until about 6 or 7 years old. Make sure they’re hitting all tooth surfaces, and show them how it’s done! Let your mini-me see their hero (you!) happily brushing, flossing, and visiting the dentist regularly.

5. Don’t Skip Check-ups: Regular visits to a pediatric dentist are key for monitoring oral health and preventing or addressing any concerns early on. Many parents don’t know it’s time to call for an appointment with Dr. Sean if your child’s first tooth appears by 6 months, or around their first birthday.

Book an appointment today! Call (508) 997-2400 or visit www.SouthCoastSmiles.com. Serving Dartmouth, New Bedford, Fall River, Fairhaven, and beyond, South Coast Smiles specializes in pediatric dentistry for infants, kids, and teens, and offers quality pediatric dental services like:

• Preventive care for long-term dental health, including regular cleanings, fluoride treatments, and dental sealants

• Common dental procedures like fillings, crowns, and extractions

• Special needs dentistry, including behavioral management for autistic children and those with down syndrome, sensory conditions, or anxiety

• Dental emergency care

__________________________________________________________________

South Coast Smiles
92 Faunce Corner Road, Suite 150,
North Dartmouth, MA, United States, 02747

Phone: (508) 997-2400
EMail: frontdesk@southcoastsmiles.com
Office hours are Monday – Thursday: 8:00am to 4:30pm

Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084204024030
Website: southcoastsmiles.com/

“PARKING BAN STARTS AT MIDNIGHT: We’ll have updates later today as we prepare for tomorrow’s storm, but we wanted to give everyone a heads up that there will be a parking ban in effect starting at midnight tonight.

While the snow emergency parking ban is in effect, parking is permitted on the north side of all streets going east and west, and is permitted on the east side of all streets going north and south. The permitted side of the street is typically the side opposite of the fire hydrants.

Stay tuned for more details.”-City of New Bedford.

“In late 2023 a complaint was received form NH Fish and Game reference an unlicensed Falconry operation located in Pepperell MA.

MEP worked with MassWildlife, NH F&G, and USF&W and it was determined that a Massachusetts resident had been falsely claiming NH residency in order to circumvent the Falconry rules of the Commonwealth for the previous 4 years. Four Raptors were seized from the location (2 Harris Hawks, a Gyrfalcon, and a deceased Peregrine Falcon). The Peregrine was killed by the Gyrfalcon as a result of improper caging facilities.

Charges were filed in District Court to include Illegal Possession of Raptors (x3), Illegal Possession of Species of Special concern (to wit Peregrine Falcon), Failure to Report Death of Falconry Bird, Illegal Transportation (x4), Improper Caging Area (Mews), False Statement to Procure License.

In court the defendant agreed to:

• $500.00 donation to state Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program
• Defendant must take Hunter Education Class
• Any permit issued by MassWildlife is immediately suspended and Defendant can not procure one for three calendar years

As a result of Massachusetts entering the Wildlife Compact the Defendant can be suspended in 48 other states. The surviving birds have been rehomed with licensed Falconers. The deceased Peregrine will be utilized for educational purposes.”-Massachusetts Environmental Police.

Massachusetts Environmental Police photo.

Your Theatre Inc. Announces Cast for CRIMES OF THE HEART at the Steeple Playhouse Opening March 1, 2024.

Your Theatre, Inc. director Brienne Riccio of New Bedford has cast six area actors in Beth Henley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning CRIMES OF THE HEART. This is the third major production for Your Theatre’s 77th Season. This production is generously backed by Production Supporters HarborOne Bank and Southcoast Health.

The cast includes Katie Gregory, Zara Lemieux, Danny Sallom of New Bedford, Adriana Misteroni of Dartmouth, Moses Galarza of Fairhaven and Richie Oliver of Lakeville. The production is stage managed by Lauren Helley of Dartmouth, with costumes by Sydney Hawes and Aydan Sullo of New Bedford, set dressing by Mark P. Fuller of New Bedford, lighting and sound design by Timothy Helley of Dartmouth, props by Honey Bee Puder of Dartmouth, set design by Lauren Helley of Dartmouth and technical direction from Lawrence R. Houbre, Jr. of New Bedford.

Your Theatre photo.

On stage cakes provided by Alie Lacasse of New Bedford. This show will not be your grandmother’s CRIMES OF THE HEART but it will certainly be one to remember. Director Brienne Riccio’s version will feature actors performing roles in drag to echo what Roger Ebert referred to as the line that “exists somewhere between parody and melodrama.” This “love letter to the South” will satisfy your nostalgia, tug at your heartstrings, and tickle your funny bone.

For the first time in a decade, the three Magrath sisters are back together in their hometown of Hazelhurst, Mississippi. Lenny, the eldest, never left Hazelhurst; she is the caretaker of the sisters’ cantankerous Old Granddaddy. Meg, the middle sister, left home to pursue stardom as a singer in Los Angeles, but so far has found happiness only at the bottom of a bottle. And Babe, the youngest, has just been arrested for the murder of her abusive husband, Zackery Bottrelle.

Under the scorching heat of the Mississippi sun, past resentments bubble to the surface in this Pulitzer Prize-winning tragicomedy, and each sister must confront the consequences of her own “crimes of the heart.”

Your Theatre is grateful for the generous support of Bank 5, sponsor of the theatre’s current 77th season. This is their twelfth year of strongly supporting the arts at Your Theatre, Inc.

Your Theatre photo.

CRIMES OF THE HEART runs two weekends in 2024: Fridays and Saturdays, March 1-2 and 8-9 at 7:30 p.m.; and Saturdays and Sundays, March 2-3 and 9-10 at 2:00 p.m. Performances are at the wheelchair accessible Steeple Playhouse, 159 William St. in downtown New Bedford. The accessible entrance is located on the east side of the building facing City Hall.

This will be the entrance for all patrons for this show. Ample parking is available in the city lot at the corner of 6th and William, and metered street parking is free nights and weekends.

Tickets are General Admission $25; Seniors, Students and Military $22. All seats are open seating; call 508-993-0772 or email boxoffice@yourtheatre.org Your Theatre is proud to participate in the Card to Culture program, a collaboration between the Mass Cultural Council and the Department of Transitional Assistance, the Women, Infants & Children (WIC) Nutrition Program, and the Massachusetts Health Connector, by broadening accessibility to cultural programming. Admission for EBT, WIC, and
ConnectorCare cardholders, is up to 2 tickets per eligible card for each Regular Production. Admission rate is $5.00 per person.

____________________________________________

ABOUT YOUR THEATRE, INC.
Your Theatre, Inc. is a non-profit, volunteer, community theater group in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Founded by Mary A. Smith in 1946, the theater has been in continuous operation since, and produces four to seven shows each season.

The artistic and leadership team of YTI strives to create and celebrate the arts with the Southcoast community in an inclusive theatre environment. We are committed to providing an accessible, community-oriented opportunity for anyone interested in theatre and embracing individuals from all walks of life.

We acknowledge, welcome and respect people of all races, ages, ethnicities, abilities, religions, gender identities and sexual orientations and the invaluable gifts they bring to the theatre experience. Your Theatre, Inc. is a proud member of the League of Historic American Theatres. More information at www.YourTheatre.org.

ABOUT STEEPLE PLAYHOUSE
Steeple Playhouse is a community arts center with Your Theatre, Inc. as its resident community theater group and is located at 159 William St, New Bedford MA. A prominent downtown New Bedford landmark, the steeple appears on the city seal. Built in 1829 as the First Baptist Church, it came to be known as the “Birthplace of Robert’s Rules of Order”.

Purchased in 2017, Your Theatre, Inc worked with a local preservation organization, Waterfront Historic Area LeaguE (WHALE), to renovate the historic space and turn it into a fully functional community arts center called Steeple Playhouse. The facilities include a flexible theater which will seat up to 160 as well as a black box theater on the lower level. Wheelchair accessible, Steeple Playhouse is open for outside rentals. We are another vital catalyst in New Bedford’s continued cultural renaissance.”

A New Bedford resident’s dash-cam captured a car driving on the wrong side of the highway, stop, and complete a three point turn in front of oncoming traffic. They sent the dash-cam footage in to New Bedford Guide with the following caption,

“On Rt.140 this morning someone decided it would be a good idea to drive on the wrong side of the highway. They realized it and did a three-point turn to go back in the right direction. Luckily, my daughter had a dash cam to capture this stupidity.” The video was sent in by Paul DeSousa.

Wrong way drivers cause between 300-400 deaths per year in America. Just a few months ago, on Christmas night, a wrong way driver killed a family of three in Somerset, Massachusetts. A stark reminder that although nobody was hurt in the following video, this could of been a devastating situation.

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“Candida auris (C. auris) is a type of yeast that can cause severe illness and spreads easily among patients in healthcare facilities. It is often resistant to antifungal treatments, which means that the medications that are designed to kill the fungus and stop infections do not work.

Symptoms
C. auris can cause infections in different parts of the body such as in the bloodstream, open wounds, and ears. The symptoms depend on the location and severity of C. auris infection. Symptoms may be similar to symptoms of an infection caused by bacteria. There is not a common set of symptoms specific for C. auris infections.

Colonization
People can get C. auris on their skin and other body sites without getting sick or having an infection. You may hear healthcare providers refer to this as ‘colonization.’ Someone who is colonized can still transmit C. auris onto surfaces or objects that they contact, which can then spread it to other patients.

IBSA Foundation photo.

Diagnoses (Testing and Screening)
There are two ways that a healthcare provider can see if a patient is infected or colonized with C. auris.

• Colonization screening– a healthcare provider swabs the patient’s skin by rubbing a swab near the armpits and groin and sends the swab to a laboratory for testing.

• Clinical specimen testing– If a patient is showing symptoms of an infection of unknown cause, a healthcare provider may collect a clinical sample, like blood or urine. They usually test for many types of infections including those caused by bacteria and the results may show that the patient has C. auris.

Retesting patients infected or colonized with C. auris is not recommended and should not be used to change infection control measures because it does not ensure that the patient no longer has C. auris on their skin or other body sites and will not spread it to others.

Not a Threat to Healthy People
In general, C. auris is not a threat to healthy people. CDC typically does not recommend screening or testing family members. Family members should use alcohol-based hand sanitizer or wash their hands before entering and leaving a patient’s room and before and after contact with the patient or a patient’s medical devices.

If a family member or someone else with frequent contact with a patient with C. auris needs to receive care at a healthcare facility, they should tell the healthcare provider.

Patients and family members should talk to a healthcare provider or the facility’s management if they are concerned about infection protection and control.

Risk Factors
C. auris mostly affects patients with severe underlying medical conditions and requiring complex medical care. Patients with invasive medical devices like breathing tubes, feeding tubes, catheters in a vein, or urinary catheters tend to be at increased risk for getting C. auris and developing an infection.

Healthy people without these risk factors, including healthcare workers and family members, have a low risk for getting infected with C. auris.

Resistance and Treatment
C. auris is often resistant to commonly used antifungal medications, most C. auris infections are treatable with a class of antifungal medicines called echinocandins.

However, some C. auris strains have been resistant to all three main classes of antifungal medicines, meaning none are able to treat the infection. In this situation, multiple antifungal medicines or newer antifungals may be used to treat the infection.

Patients who are colonized (have C. auris detected on their body but do not have symptoms of infection) should not be treated with antifungals for C. auris. There is no evidence that this prevents sickness.

Outcomes
C. auris can cause a variety of infections from superficial (skin) infections to more severe, life-threatening infections. C. auris is the most dangerous when it causes invasive infections, such as bloodstream infections. However, many of the patients who become sick with C. auris are usually already very sick, which makes it hard to know how much C. auris contributed to their death.

Preventing Spread
Patient care goes beyond treating or managing an illness or condition. Sick patients face added risks of getting new infections in healthcare settings, even when staff follow prevention guidelines.

If a patient is colonized or infected, healthcare providers take special steps to prevent the spread of C. auris, including placing the patient in a room separated from those at risk, cleaning the rooms with special disinfectant products, and wearing gloves and gowns to deliver care.

Healthcare facilities should be informed if an incoming patient has ever:

• Tested positive for C. auris, with or without symptoms.
• Was exposed to another patient with C. auris.
• Was in a facility where an outbreak was occurring.

Patients with C. auris often continue to have it on their skin or other body sites for a very long time, whether or not they ever have symptoms. In most situations, these measures to prevent spread continue the whole time the patient is in the facility. However, some facilities, like some nursing homes, determine prevention measures on a case-by-case basis and based on the facility’s policy.”-CDC.

You can read the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s C. auris Fact Sheet here and their Colonization Fact Sheet on how it spreads here. You can download a 2-page PDF to read and share here.

WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH LATE TUESDAY NIGHT:
Models are predicting as little as one inch and as much as ten inches, here is the worst case scenario.

* WHAT…Heavy snow possible. Total snow accumulations of 4 to 8 inches possible. Winds could gust as high as 50 mph.

* WHERE…In Massachusetts, Southern Bristol and Southern Plymouth Counties. In Rhode Island, Washington and Newport Counties.

* WHEN…From late Monday night through late Tuesday night.

* IMPACTS…Travel could be very difficult. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute.

As this further develops we will continue to update.

“DARTMOUTH, MA – On Friday, February 9, 2024, at approximately 2:38 a.m., Dartmouth Police Officer Caden KEHOE attempted to stop a 2007 Toyota Corolla on Old Westport Road after learning that it had been reported stolen.

After the vehicle began to accelerate in an obvious attempt to elude police, Dartmouth Police Sergeant Paul O’DONNELL successfully deployed a tire deflation device used to release air slowly over a safe period of time.

Though the vehicle continued to attempt to elude police with the deflated tires, it eventually came to a safe stop on Hathaway Road near Tradewind Street, where the operator, identified as Janessa QUINO, 21, of Brayton Avenue, Fall River, was arrested and charged with receiving a stolen motor vehicle, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, and failure to stop for the police.”-Dartmouth Police Department.

Dartmouth Police Department photo.