Cranston Chatter

A patriotic Eagle Scout project

Nicholas Bombardier, of Troop 66 Garden City, will be holding a citywide collection of old and tattered American Flag’s for his Eagle Scout Merit Badge project. He is a 17-year-old and a junior at Cranston High School West.

In conjunction with Benny’s, he will be collecting flags on June 10 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Benny’s store located at 148 Atwood Ave.

The flags will then be honorably retired in a Ceremony, open to the public, to be held on June 17 at 10 a.m., located at Boy Scout Camp Champlin, 223 Scituate Ave. Starting June 4 there will be a drop-off box located inside the Atwood Ave. store for those unable to make the June 10 date.

Register for Cranston Kids Summer Program

Registration for Cranston Parks & Recreation Kids Summer Programs - The Cranston Parks and Recreation Summer Programs registration for this summer is now being held at the Parks and Rec Department, located at 1090 Cranston St.

Support the Cranston East Music Department

Cranston East Music Department will hold a Spaghetti Dinner on May 26 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Cranston East Cafeteria. Dinner includes: spaghetti, meatballs, salad and bread; dessert and coffee will be served after the concert.

Join us for dinner before the Spring Music Department Concert and then find your seat for the Spring Showcase featuring all the CHSE musical groups.

Admission is $10/adults and $8/students; 6 and under free of charge. For further info, please contact Candace Shuman at 401-378-4392 or Jean Ruggieri at 829-8206.

Need help accessing or getting food?

Everyone needs a little help from time to time. If you, or someone you know, need nutritional assistance, CCAP’s Food Bank can help.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 12 percent of Rhode Islanders, 51,000 households, are food insecure, meaning they are often unsure where their next meal will come from due to lack of resources. The most severe conditions associated with hunger are reported by 4.7 percent of our state’s residents, 20,000 households.

Call CCAP today to learn more about CCAP’s Food Bank which is located at 311 Doric Ave. (lower level). Food Bank Hours: Mon - Fri, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and on Wednesdays 4 to 6 p.m. For more information, please call 467-7013.

History of the Cranston Police Department

The history of Cranston’s police department will be the subject of the next open meeting of the Cranston Historical Society, on May 16 at 7 p.m. at the Governor Sprague Mansion, 1351 Cranston St.

The speaker for the evening will be James Ignasher, a retired police officer and the author of a book about the police department’s history. Mr. Ignasher is active in the Smithfield Historical Society and in several New England historical associations. He received an award from the Rhode Island Press Association for his writing, which includes other books and articles about local history. His illustrated talk will trace the history of the police force in Cranston. 

A social hour with refreshments will follow the meeting, which is open to members and guests. For more information please call Mary Mierka at 944-9226.

Ocean State Toastmasters meeting next week

Ocean State Toastmasters will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, May 16 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Warwick City Hall, 3275 Post Road. Regular meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month.

The club is one of some 13,500 in Toastmasters International, a nonprofit, educational organization devoted to the development of public speaking and leadership skills. The organization has approximately 280,000 members in 116 countries.

Founded in 1963, Ocean State Toastmasters is one of the oldest clubs in Rhode Island. For more information, contact Robert Rogers, vice president of membership, at 782-7637 or Robert_Rogers@acm.org.

Free self-defense classes at Bochner’s Self-Defense

Free self-defense workshop for moms will be held at Bochner's Self-Defense, 855 Dyer Ave. on May 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

They will be celebrating moms and all they do by bringing a free workshop on how you can keep yourself, and your children safe, at home, in the parking lot, and anywhere life takes you. Family (adults and children 10) are welcome!

You will learn and present yourself strong and confident, so that any adversary will see you, and know you are not someone to be messed with. You will also learn simple, easy, and practical defenses that will help you get out of threatening scenarios safely. Call 943-4100 for more information.

RI Dream Center 5K Walk/Run

The RI Dream Center will be having a 5K Walk/Run 4 Hope on May 13 at Cranston High School West. Please come out and enjoy a day of family fun while helping those in need in our community. There will be free food, entertainment, paint facing and much more. Registration is $20 per person.

Registration is held from 7 to 8 a.m. with the 5K starting at 8 a.m. Registration includes a free t-shirt and refreshments. Visit www.ridreamcenter.com/run-4-hope-.html for more details.

At the Senior Center

Take a chance with the Cranston Department of Senior Services’ RSVP Division’s Annual 15 Week Club Fundraiser. Tickets are $15 with 18 chances to win. There will be $25 prize drawn each week for 15 weeks. The Grand Prizes will be drawn on week 15 with the first-place prize of $250; second place prize of $175 and third place prize of $100. Tickets available at the Cranston Senior Enrichment Center, 1070 Cranston St. from 9 am to noon. Proceeds to help the Cranston RSVP Programs.

Reminiscence Group: “Remembering the Past” will be held on May 12 and June 9 at 9:30 a.m. Join with facilitator Jennifer Kevorkian for this new program at the Center. Reminiscence is “a free-flowing process of thinking and talking about our experiences to reflect on and recapture events of our lifetime.” Are their benefits to reminiscing? Experts on aging say that our outlook improves when our past is reviewed. Remembering the past can bring a great deal of satisfaction and fun to everyone.  We all live in the present, yet we continue to carry our ‘past” so join in on the second Friday of each month so you can reminisce a bit. What are the topics…whatever you want…first jobs, favorite games as kids, first TV, places we lived, holiday traditions, where were you when a major event took place; the topics are endless.

The 90 Celebration will be held on May 17 at 10 a.m. Are you 90 years or older? Do you know someone who is? Mayor Allan Fung and the Cranston Senior Enrichment Center will host the annual 90 Celebration. We would like to invite any Cranston resident who has reached the milestone age of 90 years or older.  If you know someone who would like to receive an invitation please call us at 401-780-6216.

Mother’s Day Luncheon will be held at the Center on May 12 at 11:30 a.m. Suggested donation is $3 per person. Join in for a wonderful luncheon honoring “Mothers” and grandmothers, godmothers, aunties etc. The chefs have worked hard to prepare a “special” luncheon for this special day. While enjoying your meal you will be entertained by the one and only, Bud Pistacchio.  Make your reservations early call 780-6134.

The New Hope Art Gallery at the Senior Center will feature “Behind the Scenes with the Director & Artists” on May 17 and June 14 at 1 p.m. Do you like art?  Do you know about the New Hope Art Gallery in Cranston? When and how was it established? What does it take to coordinate an art gallery? On May 17 Ricky Gagnon, Director/Curator & Artist will tell you how the gallery got started and answer the above questions. Exhibiting artists will also be on hand to introduce us to their art forms. On May 17, there will be pencil drawing, charcoal, acrylics, mixed media, furniture art and cardboard creations and on June 14 they will present collages, photography and mixed media.

The Eyes Have It! will be held at the Cranston Senior Center on May 17 at 10 a.m. with guest speaker, Dr. William Andreoni. Back by popular demand, Dr. Andreoni will identify some of the risk factors and symptoms of specific eye diseases and explain some of the steps that you can take to prevent and treat some of these diseases that often affect adults as the eyes ages.

There are volunteer opportunities at the Center including: Green Seniors who are volunteers that will be trained to present workshops on recycling and hazardous waste. These workshops will be presented at the Center and at our local senior housing facilities. Volunteers are also needed as Scam Prevention Consultants who are needed to provide workshops on scams that target older adults. These volunteers will be trained with the necessary information and materials to provide workshops at the center and at senior housing manors.

There will be free art classes on May 22 and May 23 from 9 to 11 a.m. provided by The New Hope Art Gallery. The Cranston Department of Senior Services’ RSVP Advisory Board is sponsoring free art classes at the center. Artists with The New Hope Art Gallery will offer these classes. Space is limited!  Register now by calling 780-6000.

Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive

Rhode Islanders will have a chance to help neighbors in need through the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive on May 13, coordinated by the National Association of Letter Carriers.

Simply leave a bag of healthy, non-perishable food items near your mailbox early that morning and your letter carrier will pick up your donation and deliver it to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank where it will be distributed to food pantries throughout the state.

Most-needed items include canned soups and vegetables, peanut butter, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, canned beans, tuna, and healthy cereals. As always, the food collected will be sorted by volunteers who check for use-by dates and damaged packaging.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the event, a national effort to fight hunger.

Across the country, partners supporting Stamp Out Hunger include the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), United States Postal Service (USPS), National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA), AFL-CIO, AARP Foundation, UFCW, United Way, Valassis, and Valpak.

Free electronic waste dropoff

Join Indie Cycle, LLC at the Cranston Public Library's Central Library for this free e-waste recycling event on May 13. Stop by between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. to dispose of your electronic waste responsibly and for free.

Wondering what you can bring? Follow these guidelines: computers, laptops, monitors, routers, PDA's, cell phones, mice, keyboards, inkjet printer, toner cartridges, CD/DVD players, radios, televisions, network equipment, wires, stereo equipment, telephones, microwaves, small household appliances and acid lead batteries including auto/marine and back-ups.

A $10 Disposal Fee will be charged for: Laser-jet printers, air conditioners, dehumidifiers and other coolant containing devices.

Not accepted are light bulbs, single-use batteries, tapes/disks, glass, or any hazardous materials such as paint or broken TV tubes

The Central Library is located at 140 Sockanosset Cross Road, Cranston, R.I., 02920.

WCGC observes Arbor Day

The Western Cranston Garden Club planted a flowering cherry tree at the Eleanor Slater Hospital in observance of Arbor Day on Friday, April 28. Club members in attendance were: Clara Ruzzo and Ines DiBiasio, Co-Chairman; Paula Munko, Linda Alves, Karen Cipriano and Pat Davis. Also in attendance were therapeutic recreational staff along with patients assisting the tree planting.  

Paula Munko, read the beautiful poem, 'Trees' by Joyce Kilmer.  She also talked about the importance of trees in the environment and the first Arbor Day, celebrated in Nebraska on April 10, 1872. At present all 50 states and many countries around the world observe Arbor Day. To submit your news from the community, e-mail Meri R. Kennedy at CranstonChatter@aol.com.