Bishop Stang High School and the Greater New Bedford Catholic Elementary Schools joined together for a Shakespeare performance. On February 8, 2018, the Bay Colony Shakespeare Company performed an abridged version of Romeo and Juliet at Bishop Stang for the freshman and sophomore classes as well as the seventh and eighth graders from All Saints (New Bedford), Holy Family Holy Name (New Bedford), St. Francis Xavier (Acushnet), St. James St. John (New Bedford) and St. Joseph (Fairhaven). Following the 75-minute performance, actors participated in a “talk back” with students, deepening understandings and answering questions.

Bridget Borque, Stang English teacher, commented on the collaboration between Bishop Stang and the Greater New Bedford Catholic Elementary Schools. “As educators, we all recognize how daunting Shakespeare’s language can be for our students, but also how important it is for them to be exposed to his works. Our main goal became to provide resources for our GNBCS students so they could continue building a connection with Shakespeare and his language. Because of the communal relationship between the GNBCS, we were able to look into the audience and know all of our students had the tools needed to watch and appreciate the play with confidence.”

Bay Colony Shakespeare Company’s Education Director, Thomas Grenon, is a 1979 graduate of Bishop Stang High School. The Company will visit Bishop Stang again in March to perform Macbeth for the junior and senior classes, and Grenon will also conduct a Master Class for the Bishop Stang Theater Company.

PAY: $11.00hr – $13.09hr

Assists Police Officers with administrative duties.

Maintains and files records, operates office machines, answers telephones, receives complaints, enters and indexes official documents, prepares routine reports, prepares and tabulates facts and figures for statistical purposes, and performs similar duties of an administrative rather than an enforcement types.

Shall not carry arms, nor shall he/she have any power of arrest other than that of an ordinary citizen.

Must be a New Bedford resident for the duration of employment. Cadet must be (eighteen) 18 years old. Employment is terminated on the Cadet’s 25th birthday.

High school graduate or GED equivalent. Possession of a valid Massachusetts driver’s license and good driving record.

Must be willing to work nights, weekends and holidays.

For application/complete job description, please visit www.newbedford-ma.gov or contact the Personnel Dept., 133 William St., Room 212, 508-979-1444. Applications will be accepted until a suitable candidate is found. EEO

New Bedford has a residency requirement.

New Bedford Police arrested two people with lengthy criminal histories Sunday in connection with a vehicle break-in at McDonald’s at 486 County St. and the theft and subsequent use of stolen credit cards.

Betsy Lambiase, 49, of 347 So Second St., New Bedford, was charged with breaking and entering into a vehicle, receiving a stolen credit card and improper use of a credit card over $250 after she broke into a vehicle at McDonald’s at 486 County St.

This arrest comes 10 days after she was arrested Feb. 15 and charged with armed robbery for robbing a man at knifepoint in the 700-block of Purchase Street.

She has a lengthy criminal record, including 46 adult arraignments in Massachusetts.

She was released without bail by Judge Robert Ovoian following her Feb. 15 arrest despite her lengthy record. She is being held on $500 bail by Judge Bernadette Sabra following Sunday’s arrest. Lambiase has not made bail.

The second person arrested in connection with the Feb. 25 break-in, Jesse Ray Rebelo, 38, of 119 Griffin Court, New Bedford, was charged with receiving a stolen credit card, improper use of a credit card over $250, furnishing a false name, and on two warrant arrests.

Rebelo also has a lengthy criminal record, including 35 adult arraignments. He served time in prison for unarmed robbery, possession of a firearm, threats and armed robbery.

He is being held on $1,000 bail by Judge Sabra. He has not made bail and his next court date is March 19.

New Bedford Police gang unit took a Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun and a large-capacity magazine loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition off the streets Monday and made an arrest after locating a firearm on a person stopped for a traffic offense.

Zahkuan Sweeting-Bailey, 18, of 23 Independent St. Apt. 3rd, New Bedford, was charged with carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a large capacity firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition.

The gang unit stopped the vehicle that Sweeting-Bailey was riding in after it was observed in a near-collision in the area of County and Kempton streets. Police stopped the vehicle and located a firearm on Sweeting-Bailey.

The arrest was made at 7:39 p.m. He is being held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing March 5.

New Bedford Police narcotics unit arrested three people Monday after an investigation into a cocaine distribution service out of 18 Holly St. Apt. 2.

A search of the residence yielded 10 grams of crack cocaine, digital scales, packaging materials and about $4,000.00 in cash.

Arrested were: John James Duarte, 45, of 18 Holly St. Apt. 2, New Bedford, on charges of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute subsequent offense and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

Duarte has a previous conviction in New Bedford District Court for dealing cocaine in 2014.

Curtis Britto, 29, 263 Reed St., New Bedford, possession of class B substance with intent to distribute, possession of class B substance with intent to distribute, subsequent offense.

He was convicted of dealing heroin in 2013.

Angela Dussault, 28, 18 Holly St. Apt. 2, New Bedford, possession of class B substance with intent to distribute, conspiracy to violate drug laws.

I am a law-abiding American and will never, NEVER give up ANY of my firearms, especially my AR-15s.

HOWEVER, I will support a national law limiting the sale of firearms with a capacity of more than 6 rounds and using a detachable magazine to persons age 21 and above who have either passed an NRA safety program, are a veteran of the United States Armed Forces or are a police academy graduate.

A person under 21 may use one of these firearms only in the company and supervision of the authorized owner of high capacity firearms, i.e., parent or guardian. However, I would not support such a law until all school districts and police departments utilize trained mental health counselors who use a protocol developed by the American Psychiatric Association to identify at risk individuals in our schools and communities. This can be done with local, country and state agencies feeding all info and tips into a federal agency which will assess and acts upon threats of violence using the appropriate law enforcement and mental health organizations.

HIPAA laws must be changed to allow for sharing of mental health records when it becomes a matter of public safety.

Lastly, every school in America needs an armed response program of some form immediately implemented to protect our children because the next five “school shooters” already have their guns and ammunition. They must be put on notice that a trained person in that school will kill them before they hear the first siren heading towards that school.

We need all three parts to make it work.

Please like and share this so we can make a start to protecting our kids.

– ‎Christopher Villeneuve

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released its annual data today on graduation and dropout rates across Massachusetts, citing New Bedford’s improving dropout rate among the top five urban districts of the Commonwealth, noting that New Bedford High School “had 98 fewer students drop out in 2016-17 than in 2011-12, a 57 percent decrease.”

New Bedford High School’s 2017 four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate has increased to 72.0%, the highest in the 11 years that the state has officially documented graduation rates for all districts. The 2016 four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate was 70.9%, which has risen steadily from a low of 61.4% in 2010.

The graduation rate is growing or holding steady for key subgroups, including African-American/Black students at 70.6%, with Hispanic/Latino students showing a 6.1% increase, from 59.4% to 65.5%. The graduation rate for White students rose 2% from 76.2% to 78.2%.

The four-year dropout rate at New Bedford High School decreased 1.7% from 4.4% in 2016 to 2.7% in 2017. The district’s high schools also showed a 3.3% decline from 6.8% in 2016 to 3.5% in 2017.

The data also underscores areas of continued focus for improvement. While the 4-year adjusted graduation rate for females at New Bedford High School shows a 5.7% increase, from 76.2% in 2016 to 81.9% in 2017, the 4-year adjusted rate for males during the same period has decreased -4.7% from 66.8% in 2016 to 62.1% in 2017.

Superintendent Pia Durkin lauded New Bedford High School’s increasing graduation rate, which rose 1.3% from 2016 to 2017 to 72%, the highest rate since the state began recording in 2007, but also noted that “clearly, the data shows there is more work to be done in the disparity of graduation rates of females to males. We will continue to focus intensely on engagement strategies and on multiple pathways to graduation in order to close this gender gap as well as provide broader opportunities for all New Bedford students and their futures in this community.”

Mayor Jon Mitchell said, “Increasing the graduation rate is a major objective in our school improvement effort, and it’s encouraging to see continued progress on that front.”

Headmaster Bernadette Coelho said, “Our graduation rate continues to increase and is further testament to our continued progress at NBHS, but we must continue the work to ensure that every student graduates and is fully prepared for college or other post-secondary opportunities.”

A 43-year-old Hyannis man who, while heavily intoxicated, was clocked driving in excess of 120 miles per hour along Interstate 195, was sentenced to serve three to four years in state prison, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

Benjamin Carpenter pleaded guilty last week in Fall River Superior Court to a multi-count indictment charging him with Fourth Offense OUI, possession of Fentanyl with intent to distribute-subsequent offense, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and driving with a revoked license-habitual traffic offender.

On March 19, 2016 at around 9:45 pm, Massachusetts State Police clocked the defendant’s vehicle driving 120 miles per hour on Route 195 East in New Bedford. The defendant’s vehicle was followed and eventually pulled over in Fairhaven. While pulling his vehicle into the shoulder, the defendant could be seen throwing a bag out the driver’s side window. The bag, which was retrieved by state police, contained just under 10 grams of Fentanyl. The defendant’s blood alcohol level at the time of his arrest was .20.

During a sentencing hearing before Judge Thomas McGuire, Assistant District Attorney Matthew Friedel argued that based on the defendant’s prior three convictions for OUI and his habitual traffic offender status, he should be sentenced to serve three-and-a-half years in state prison. The defendant, however, requested a more lenient two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half year state prison term. Judge McGuire, after hearing from both parties, sentenced the defendant to serve a three to four year state prison term and placed him on probation for two years. The probation term will not begin until the defendant is released from prison.

“The defendant engaged in extremely ‘outrageous’ operation of a motor vehicle while highly intoxicated that put the lives and safety of the public at risk,” District Attorney Quinn said. “The defendant has prior drunken driving convictions that justify the state prison sentence to both punish him and protect the public. In addition, he was in possession of the very dangerous drug, Fentanyl.”

The City of New Bedford is kicking off a parking and transportation study of the Downtown and the Waterfront.

In a joint effort between the city’s Traffic Commission and Harbor Development Commission, the City is undertaking an assessment of the parking needs of an extended downtown area and portion of the waterfront. The study is being undertaken by Stantec Consulting Services, and is jointly funded by MassDevelopment and the City.

Stantec will review and analyze existing parking conditions including parking inventory, utilization, policies, management, regulations, and pricing, and analyze the parking supply and demand compared to existing land uses. The Parking Study will help ensure that the parking system is consistent with the City’s revitalization goals.

Community input and public participation are essential in determining the needs of the community. Stantec and the City of New Bedford will be utilizing a variety of stakeholder meetings, public events, and an online survey to gather feedback from residents and businesses.

Community outreach is beginning with an online parking survey, where public input on personal parking habits is being sought: how and where motorists use City parking facilities, and ways in which the City might improve parking are among its chief elements. The survey will be available to the public through March 6, 2018 and is available at: www.newbedford-ma.gov/ParkingSurvey

The City and Stantec will also be holding two public workshops on Tuesday, March 6, 2018. The first is from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and will consist of a roving tent downtown between Purchase Street (north of Union Street) and Custom House Square. The second workshop is from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the conference room of UMass Dartmouth’s Star Store campus at 715 Purchase Street.

For more information, please contact City of New Bedford’s Department of Planning, Housing & Community Development at (508) 979-1488 or visit the City’s website at www.newbedford-ma.gov.

The seven people arrested Saturday night by Massachusetts State Police following their dangerous and reckless operation of motorcycles and ATVs on Route 93 are identified as follows:

1. ADERITO MONTEIRO, 28, of Randolph, charged with: negligent operation; failure to stop for police; disorderly conduct; marked lanes violation; driving an unregistered ATV; driving an uninsured ATV.

MONTEIRO allegedly drove his ATV toward a State Trooper and Boston Police officer on the Exit 18 off-ramp to Massachusetts Avenue. He suffered a minor foot injury after a Trooper discharged his weapon during the incident. MONTEIRO was transported to Boston Medical Center, was treated for a small laceration to his foot, and was released the same night. He was taken to a State Police Barracks and booked.

MONTEIRO was held at the State Police-Tunnels Barracks on $10,000 cash bail. He will be brought to Boston Municipal Court for arraignment today.

2. CHRISTOPHER CABASSA, 31, of Lawrence, charged with: failure to stop for police; negligent operation; disorderly conduct; wrong way violation on a state highway; marked lanes violation; unlicensed operation; no inspection sticker; resisting arrest; and careless operation in a tunnel.

3. WILLIAM SULIVERAS, 29, of Methuen, charged with: failure to stop for police; negligent operation; disorderly conduct; wrong way violation on a state highway; marked lanes violation; resisting arrest; and careless operation in a tunnel.

4. SHANE FEIN, 21, of North Attleborough, charged with: failure to stop for police; negligent operation; disorderly conduct; marked lanes violation; driving an unregistered motor vehicle; driving an uninsured motor vehicle; unlicensed operation; wrong way violation on a state highway; and careless operation in a tunnel.

5. GUSTAVO ARCENO-ROSA, 22, of Saugus, charged with: failure to stop for police; negligent operation; disorderly conduct; marked lanes violation; driving an unregistered motor vehicle; wrong way violation on a state highway; and careless operation in a tunnel.

6. JOSUE HIDALGO, 23, of Worcester, charged with: disorderly conduct; resisting arrest; and conduct endangering a person or property.

7. EDGAR DOSSANTOS JR., 30, of Quincy, charged with: failure to stop for police; reckless operation; disorderly conduct; and resisting arrest.

Defendants CABASSA, SULIVERAS, FEIN, ARCENO-ROSA, HIDALGO, and DOSSANTOS were bailed from MSP Barracks following their arrests and are expected to be in Boston Municipal Court tomorrow.

The group’s dangerous operation of their vehicles jeopardized the safety of members of the public and responding police officers. Numerous 911 calls were received throughout the day Saturday by citizens reporting the riders’ erratic, negligent, and reckless operation.