The Buttonwood Park Zoo is saddened to announce the death of Grace, one of the Zoo’s two female bison; Grace was 19 years-old. Over the last few weeks the Zoo’s animal care team observed Grace’s lack of appetite and deteriorating health. Zoo veterinary staff performed exams and blood work but after several weeks of continued issues it was determined that Grace’s quality of life would not improve and the difficult decision was made to humanely euthanize her.

Grace was one of three bison that were brought to the Zoo in July of 2000. Sarah, George and Grace were all originally from the Alta Vista Farm in Rutledge, MA. According to Assistant Zoo Director, Shara Crook, “Grace was named for her graceful exit from the trailer into the bison habitat; upon exiting the trailer she stumbled but gracefully caught herself and kept right on moving.”

Zoo Director, Keith Lovett stated a necropsy has been performed on Grace to determine the exact cause of her declining health and expects the results to be back in the next few weeks. Lovett says, “Bison are an iconic North American species and the Zoo has a long history of caring for these majestic animals. Grace will be sorely missed by both Zoo guests and Buttonwood staff.”

During her time at the Buttonwood Park Zoo Grace gave birth to three bull calves, Yazhi in 2002, Bogart in 2004 and Charlie Brown in 2005. All three were sired by George. Grace at almost 19 years-old surpassed the life expectancy of bison which is between 10-15 years in their wild range.

Bison became the national mammal of the United States in 2015 when Congress passed the National Bison Legacy Act. Bison are listed as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). Bison numbers declined in the 1800s due to hunting; today bison population numbers remain low even with conservation efforts and national protections.

New Bedford’s Department of Parks, Recreation & Beaches is inviting New Bedford students to enroll in April Staycation Fun Week – a week of engaging activities at the Andrea McCoy Recreation Center during school vacation week. April Staycation Fun Week runs 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., from Monday, April 16 through Friday, April 20.

The enrollment fee for the program is $100 per week for New Bedford residents and $150 per week for non-residents. Throughout the week, students will participate in engaging educational and recreational activities. A morning snack and lunch will be provided daily. This year, the program Staycation Fun Week is also offering a separate program of model boat building with Community Boating Center, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. for students ages 10 and up.

Interested parents may register their children at the Andrea McCoy Recreation Center, located at 181 Hillman Street. Parents may also reserve a seat for their child by visiting www.nbprb.com to register online.

For more information regarding the February Staycation Fun Week, spring registration or other programming, contact the Recreation Manager, Dave Ponte at david.ponte@newbedord-ma.gov or call (508) 961-3015.

Police arrested a driver Sunday, March 25 after he struck two police cruisers and a vehicle that had been stopped at Route 18 South and South Street at about 9:37 p.m.

Mariano Ixcuna, 41, of 505 Ashley Blvd., New Bedford, was charged with unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, text messaging while driving, failure to make a lane change to avoid a stopped emergency vehicle and a warrant arrest.

Police had stopped a vehicle in the right lane of Route 18 and South Street when a vehicle traveling south struck two cruisers involved in the vehicle stop. One of the cruisers then struck the vehicle that had been stopped.

Officer Michael Doyle was standing at the stopped vehicle and, blinded by the cruiser’s emergency lights, did not see the approaching vehicle. He was pushed out of the way of the oncoming vehicle by Officer Alan Faber. Officer Faber and Officer Alberto Silva were able to jump out of the vehicle’s path to safety.

The airbags in Ixcuna’s vehicle deployed upon impact. Ixcuna, the operator of the stopped vehicle and the officers were not injured.

Ixcuna told police he was looking for his cell phone and was reaching down to grab it when he struck the cruiser.

Due to the expected temperature drop for this evening the overflow at 71 Division Street will remain opened tonight. All inquiries can be forwarded to Sister Rose House and 1-800-homeless.

Mayor Mitchell will hold neighborhood office hours for the month of March this Tuesday, March 27 from 5:30 p.m. -7:00 p .m. at G & S Pizza, at 2840 Acushnet Avenue.

Mayor Mitchell announced he would set aside time each month to hold office hours in city neighborhoods so that residents could meet with him outside of normal business hours and in their own neighborhood.

In his State of the City this year, the Mayor announced that a new format of office hours would be established, inviting residents to join him for dinner at local restaurants in different neighborhoods of the city. G & S Pizza will be the first dinner event – and the Mayor is buying.

City residents are invited to attend the neighborhood office hours to meet with Mayor Mitchell directly and share their concerns and ideas, as well as a few pizzas. The sessions are open to all New Bedford residents, no advance appointments are required and meetings with the Mayor will be done on a first come, first served basis.

Need a local example of why voting matters? This past Saturday, 2% of Freetown’s population got their way and banned marijuana retail sales in town.

In a special election on Saturday, the town of Freetown voted to prohibit the sales of retail marijuana by 24 votes. If 13 voters voted the other way, Freetown would have allowed marijuana retail sales.

Unofficially, 414 of the 5,855 registered voters decided the outcome with 219 voting to prohibit retail sales and 195 voting to allow dispensary licenses to be issued at 20% of the amount of liquor store licenses.

This photo was posted by the Freetown Police Department on their Facebook page at 6:44pm with the caption: “Staff at the Special Town’s Election reports that are no lines! It’s a good time to cast your vote!”

While ‘free’ is in the name, Freetown allowed 7% of registered voters to prohibit something that will be legal statewide this spring. According to the 2010 census, there are 8,870 people residing in Freetown, which means 4% of Freetown’s population the election. With 219 voting winning the day, that means 2% of the population pushed prohibition on the town.

Apathy ruled the day this weekend and Freetown will miss out on a booming industry (although they will have one of the largest grow facilities in New England). The irony is that Freetown supported legalizing recreational marijuana in Massachusetts in 2016 and voted to build a 130,000 square foot grow facility, but voters said: “let’s grow it and smoke it, but just don’t sell it in my town.”

Mark this Freetown special election down as a lesson in the importance of voting. I’m certain the people who didn’t spend 5 minutes to vote will spend hours on social media complaining about the results. I’m looking forward to sharing this article with them.

Good detective work by the New Bedford Police Department led to the arrest Saturday, March 24 of Mark Demelo, 43, for robbing the Bank 5 on 160 County St. in New Bedford on March 19.

Demelo is charged with robbing the bank at about 1:42 p.m. March 19. He fled on foot and then entered a vehicle. No weapon had been shown and no injuries were reported.

Thanks to video security systems at the bank and in the surrounding areas, detectives were able to identify the vehicle that Demelo entered shortly after fleeing the bank.

Further investigative work by detectives located the vehicle Saturday, March 24 outside a residence on Dudley Street. Police learned that Demelo had been staying at a residence on the street and, after a search warrant was executed on that address, found clothing where Demelo was staying that matched the description of clothes the bank robber was wearing at the time of the crime.

He was arrested and charged with unarmed robbery.

How often do you hit a major pothole? The following was posted in the New Bedford Political Group on Facebook:

“This pothole was reported a week ago. Took out two tires yesterday on Peckham St. Off Acushnet Ave. hopefully my rims and suspension ok. No car all weekend. Reported to the city and find out 3 other cars damaged yesterday after mine. One with front end damage. I’m a homeowner without a lot of reserves and use my car for work. I hope the city makes good when I send the bill in. It was unavoidable with oncoming traffic and deceptive in depth.” – Gina Andrade

You can report potholes to the City of New Bedford here.

Have a local story to share? Email mike@newbedfordguide.com.

By Rev Eric Paul Dorman

In response to the homeless shelter OP/ED that made the statement that the homeless shelters ‘are just support chambers for alcoholics, crack addicts, and heroin addicts. You guys give them a nice warm bed, a hot meal, a place they can do their drugs.”

First of all, where is the humanity in that statement? To paint homelessness with a broad brush is simply ignorant and non-informed, not all of the homeless are alcoholics, crack addicts and heroin addicts. There are far more homeless people that have no support after having major financial or personal crisis’ not to mention the many families that are homeless where drug use is not the reason for their situation.

What about our homeless veterans who are not addicts? Did you know their number of homelessness is growing? What about the families that have had a major financial or personal crisis from losing employment and can’t afford rent or who lost housing due to fires or tragedies? Did you know that women (who don’t use drugs and commit crimes) and children have a significant homelessness rate? Did you know that according to the National Coalition on Homelessness, families with children make up 41% of homeless people? How about family homes in New Bedford, your neighbors; that are “support chambers for alcoholics, crack addicts and heroin addicts” where the parents or family are trying to get help for their loved ones who are addicted? Homeless shelters are needed to keep homeless people safe.

Sounds like the homeless shelters are doing you a favor by opening their doors so that the people who are concerned about the homeless committing crimes can sleep at night knowing that they’re not wandering the streets of New Bedford at night.

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Women in World Jazz performed at the New Bedford Downtown Library Meeting.

“Women in World Jazz presents an educational performance for the whole family featuring an international ensemble of all-female performers showcasing music from around the world. The concert features musical styles from Cuba’s cha cha to Cape Verde’s Coladeira as well as songs from Israel, Brazil and Japan, mixed in with jazz favorites. The ensemble’s goal is to give the audience a taste of different cultures from around the globe through the expression of music and dance. Each performer has an extensive background in music education and performance in the New England area.”

Video by Arjenis Marcial.