Myles Forgue, Junior Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 24 New Bedford at Saint Joseph Saint Therese Church, acquired the rank of Eagle Scout on August 7th, 2019, and will be recognized for earning Scouting’s highest distinction on Sunday, November 10th.

He completed his Eagle Scout Service Project at Saint Joseph Saint Therese Parish in New Bedford. The objective of his project was to restore two sets of eroded stairways and beautify the property by cleaning an overgrown playground that previously was a part of the school property. Forgue and a team of local youth leaders successfully executed the project, thereby reinforcing care for elderly parishioners, and restoring a play-space for local children. When asked what inspired him to execute such a challenging service project, Forgue stated, “As a Scout, I feel called to be a student and citizen of the world, always searching for small ways to show great love for the world around me.”

Myles Forgue and local youth cleaning up the playground.

Forgue is an 18 year old senior at Bishop Stang High School who serves as Student Council President. Forgue is also President of the Southeastern Massachusetts Association of Student Councils, which is a regional organization that hosts leadership training and service opportunities for student leaders across Massachusetts. Further, he is an AP scholar and an outstanding leader and citizen who has collaborated with Special Olympics International to promote inclusion.

Myles credits his journey in Scouting with helping him prepare and be ready for the next step in life: “In my perspective, Scout Spirit is the opportunity to grow through cheerful service. Scouting and the National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) have equipped me with the wisdom and will to advocate for student leadership and change.” He intends to pursue a career as a collegiate professor of English Literature and leadership trainer. According to Myles, “I carry my troop’s Motto- LEARN FOR LIFE AND NOT FOR THE MINUTE- every day, and it is especially meaningful as I move on to the next tier of my educational journey.”

The rank of Eagle Scout is the highest rank in the Scouting program. As stated by the Boy Scouts of America on their website, “Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout Rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men. Twenty-one merit badges are required to attain Eagle in addition to the service project. Once attained, the title of “Eagle Scout” is held for life, thus giving rise to the phrase “Once an Eagle, always an Eagle.”

Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, announced that a “Sobriety Checkpoint” will be implemented by the Massachusetts State Police on a Public Way in Bristol County at some point between Saturday, November 2, 2019 into Sunday, November 3, 2019.

The purpose is to further educate the motoring public and strengthen the public’s awareness to the need of detecting and removing those motorists who operate under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs from our roadways. It will be operated during varied hours, the selection of vehicles will not be arbitrary, safety will be assured, and any inconveniences to motorists will be minimized with advance notice to reduce fear and anxiety.

Jeffrey Raposo, 40, of New Bedford was spotted by Pawtucket Police in stole a vehicle in the Stop & Shop parking lot on Cottage Street. He then led police on a high-speed chase throughout the city.

In his attempt to get away from police, Raposo drove dangerously and recklessly endangering the public, police and himself so in the interest of public safety, police called off the pursuit.

Minutes later Raposo crashed the stolen car into a utility pole, and began to leave the area on foot. Police arrived and found the car without him in it, but was picked after a short search and taken into custody.

Jeffrey Raposo was charged with:

• Eluding offers in a motor vehicle in a high-speed pursuit.
• Possession of a stolen vehicle.
• Carrying a prohibited weapon other than a firearm.
• Failing to appear to a summons

The Princeton Review recognized the university for its sustainability and refuse diversion efforts.

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is one of the nation’s most environmentally responsible colleges according to the recently published, The Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges: 2019 Edition. The Princeton Review surveys administrators at hundreds of four-year colleges about their institutions’ commitments to the environment and sustainability. The ranking, which began in 2010, has featured the university for eight straight years.

“This is the 8th year that UMass Dartmouth has made this list, and we couldn’t be prouder of this accomplishment and staying power,” said Jamie Jacquart, Assistant Director of Campus Sustainability and Residential Initiatives. “We have greatly expanded our refuse diversion efforts including food waste, coffee grounds, and even shredded paper. Every little bit that does not go into the landfill and can be used as an input for something else is great.”

As part of its efforts to create a robust ecosystem of sustainable initiatives, in the summer of 2019, the university launched the largest public battery storage system in Massachusetts. The 520 kW system, in combination with other measures, will reduce the electrical load from the grid during peak usage times. The new battery was the latest in a series of campus sustainability infrastructure upgrades, including a 1.6MWh Co-generation plant and 369 kW of solar photovoltaic panels.

In 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) named UMass Dartmouth as the “College/University Partner of the Year” for the 2018 national WasteWise awards. The UMass Dartmouth Dining Services team was recognized for their proper management of purchasing and food production to minimize leftovers. Dining Services also donates unsold, prepared packaged foods weekly during the school year to local liturgical ministries serving the homeless. In 2017, Dining Services unveiled a new program called Meals with Dignity, in which student volunteers work to package meals made with wholesome, leftover food from the dining hall on a biweekly basis and to deliver meals to the on-campus food pantry.

“We salute and strongly recommend UMass Dartmouth to the many environmentally-minded students who want to study and live at a green college,” said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review’s Editor-in-Chief.

Franek noted that college applicants and their parents are increasingly concerned about the environment and sustainability issues. Among the 11,900 teens and parents The Princeton Review surveyed earlier this year for its 2019 College Hopes & Worries Survey, 64% said that having information about a college’s commitment to the environment would influence their decision to apply to or attend the school.

On Tuesday, October 29, New Bedford Police Narcotic Detectives concluded an investigation into a cocaine delivery service operated out of 396 Elm Street in New Bedford.

Detectives executed a search warrant and arrested 58-year old Domingo Perez of 396 Elm Street in New Bedford. Officers seized 59.5 grams of cocaine, 319 Suboxone film strips, 10 Suboxone tabs, 3 Oxycodone tabs, 148 Adderall tabs, 118 Lorazepam tabs, 150 Clonazepam tabs, 60 Alprazolam tabs, 30 Xanax tabs, and 58 Methyphenidate tabs.

Domingo Perez was charged with trafficking cocaine in excess of 32 grams, along with multiple charges of possessing classes B, C, and E drugs with the intent to distribute.

Mr. Perez is due to be arraigned in District Court on Wednesday, October 30, 2019. The lead investigator was Detective Sasha Vicente.

A second person has died of a vaping-associated lung injury, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) announced today. The patient, a woman in her 40s from Middlesex County who vaped nicotine, is among more than 200 suspected vaping-associated lung injury patients that have been reported to DPH since September when Massachusetts began requiring clinicians to immediately report any unexplained lung injury in a patient with a history of vaping to the department.

Earlier this month, DPH reported the state’s first death from a vaping-associated lung injury, a woman in her 60s from Hampshire County who also vaped nicotine.

“I am deeply saddened to learn about the death of a second patient from this lung injury,’’ said Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel, MD, MPH. “While we continue to work with our federal partners to investigate the cause of these vaping-associated lung injuries, we cannot at this time attribute a single substance or product to this outbreak of illness.”

Governor Baker declared a public health emergency on September 24 and temporarily banned the sale of vaping products and devices, in response to the growing number of cases of severe lung injuries associated with the use of e-cigarettes and cannabis and nicotine vaping products in Massachusetts and nationally.

Since the state began mandating the reporting of vaping-associated lung injuries on September 11, DPH has received 204 reports from clinicians of suspected vaping-associated lung injuries. Of those 204 reports, 20 confirmed and 41 probable cases have been reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). DPH will report this second confirmed death from a vaping-associated lung injury to the CDC next week.

Clinicians are asked to report any individual experiencing otherwise unexplained progressive symptoms of shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain, cough, or weight loss, of any severity, and an abnormal chest imaging study, who also reports vaping within the 90 days prior to the onset of symptoms.

Of the 61 Massachusetts cases that have been reported to the CDC, 27 are male and 34 are female. A majority of the cases– 51 percent – are under the age of 30. Thirty percent of the people vaped only nicotine, 39 percent vaped only tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), an ingredient found in marijuana, while 25 percent reported vaping nicotine and THC. DPH’s new online dashboard provides detailed information on vaping cases that DPH has reported to the CDC and is updated each Wednesday.

As a result of the vaping ban, the Commonwealth has implemented a statewide standing order for over-the-counter nicotine replacement products that allow people to access products like gum, lozenges, and patches as a covered benefit through their insurance without requiring an individual prescription.

Individuals who are vaping are encouraged to call the Massachusetts Smokers’ Helpline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit makingsmokinghistory.org or Mass.gov/QuitVaping to connect to treatment.

The following was posted to Mary’s Steamed Cheeseburger’s Facebook page:

“Who would have ever thought a burger joint in NB would be a destination restaurant for vegans and vegetarians, certainly not me.

After much consideration, I have decided to close my restaurant at 288 Union street to concentrate my efforts on opening a small shop specializing in vegan comfort food, a much-needed option in Massachusetts. My business plan is to offer a ‘take and bake’ shop to make vegan options more affordable and offering cooking classes.

We are so proud to be the first restaurant in the area to offer so many vegan/vegetarian menu items that were in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston. We were the first restaurant in the area to offer a vegan brunch, avocado toast, avocado fries, Impossible burgers, house-made fried vegan chicken, house-made vegan pepperoni, meatballs & sausage, house-made vegan mac and cheese and vegan alfredo, dairy-free cheese options as well as house-made vegan sauces and more.

Our last day of full restaurant service will be November 23rd, however, we will be offering many of our vegan options for sale for you to take home and bake. We will post the menu and pick up days within the next week.” – Mary’s Steamed Cheeseburgers.

Bishop Stang High School is pleased to announce the Julie (Stockwell) Letourneau, for the position of Head Girls Basketball Coach. Bishop Stang Athletic Director Dennis Golden remarked, “We are thrilled to have Julie Letourneau head our Girls Basketball program. We believe Coach Letourneau will bring passion, knowledge, and enthusiasm to the program. She has a great basketball resume, and she has a true drive to excel. Coach Letourneau understands the mission of our school, and she has a clear understanding of the role that high school athletics plays in it. She is a positive person, and we look forward to our students having a great experience with her.“

Julie Letourneau is one of the most accomplished female athletes ever to compete for Rhode Island’s Ponaganset High School. A member of the Class of 1996, she helped the Chieftains capture four-straight Division I State Championships, and she finished with 1,080 career points.

Julie (Stockwell) Letourneau.

Julie received a basketball scholarship to Stonehill College, where she earned multiple Northeast-10 Conference and All-America honors, and helped her team advance to the NCAA National Tournament three times. She graduated from Stonehill, with a Bachelor of Arts, in 2000. Following her college experience, Letourneau played professionally in Europe for a year, leading her team to Luxembourg’s Division II national championship.

Letourneau also earned a Master of Arts from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA in 2008. She began teaching in the Southbridge (MA) school system in 2008, and she is currently a fourth-grade teacher in Mattapoisett, at the Old Hammondtown School. Coach Letourneau been involved in coaching youth basketball travel teams since 2013, both for Ponaganset, RI, and for Old Rochester. She has been the Director of the Hoops Basketball Camp in Mattapoisett, and she has been a volunteer coach with Mattapoisett Recreation.

Letourneau and her husband, Craig, have two children, Cameron and Aubrie.

When asked about her feelings concerning leading the Bishop Stang Girls Basketball Program, Letourneau said, “I am excited to have the opportunity to coach at Bishop Stang. One can really feel a sense of community here. I am excited to share my experience and knowledge of the game. I am also excited to try to make the high school basketball experience memorable both on and off of the court for the players.”

“At 4:49 p.m. on October 22, the New Bedford Fire Department received a 911 call reporting a structure fire at 354 Coffin Ave. Command Unit 1 arrived three minutes later and reported a working structure fire. Ladder Company 4 arrived shortly thereafter. Based on a review of radio traffic among responding units, it was determined that units responded in under 6 minutes, consistent with the national standard for fire response time according to the National Fire Protection Association.

Upon arrival at the scene, Lieutenant Kevin Cormier along with Firefighter Christopher Mount, of Ladder Company 4, conducted a search of the three-family dwelling and were able to quickly locate and evacuate the lone occupant of the residence.

The Fire Department’s ‘blackout’ policy had no effect on the time of arrival of the first fire apparatus, because Ladder Company 4 was dispatched from the nearest fire station, Station 8, which was staffed and operating at the time of the fire. The ‘blackout’ of an individual unit does not necessarily result in the closure of a fire station. It is the role of Ladder Companies to conduct search and rescue at the scene of a fire.

The investigation into the cause of the fire is still under investigation but the focus is on an accidental cause. The fire has resulted in one fatality, and the New Bedford Fire Department extends its sincere condolences to the victim’s family.

The Joint investigation is being conducted by the New Bedford Fire Department Investigation Unit and Police along with State Police assigned to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.”

A 52-year-old Taunton man who strangled and stabbed his live-in girlfriend this past March was sentenced to serve four to six years in state prison last week in Fall River Superior Court, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

Michael Correia pleaded guilty to indictments charging him with armed assault to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and strangulation/suffocation.

On March 2, 2019 at approximately 5 am, a Taunton Police officer was traveling in the area of Colonial Donuts on Broadway when he observed a Chevrolet Impala parked in the middle of the street with both of its back doors open. The officer observed two males outside the vehicle and one of the males was yelling for help. The male yelling for help was pointing at this defendant and yelling, “He stabbed her. He stabbed her. He tried killing her.”

The officer looked inside the vehicle and saw the female victim in the rear passenger seat with blood all over her shirt and face. She yelled “He stabbed me” and pointed at the defendant. The defendant, who was shirtless and covered in blood, circled back toward the vehicle and moved toward the officer. The defendant ignored repeated commands to stop and continued to approach the officer, stating, “I don’t care.” The officer was forced to deploy his Taser and the defendant fell to the ground. While on the ground, the defendant yelled and gestured at the victim.

The male who was yelling for help stated that he was driving southbound on Broadway when he noticed the victim on the left side of the street running from the defendant, who had a kitchen knife in his hand. The victim tried to get into his vehicle but was chased around the car by the defendant. At one point, the defendant threw the knife at the victim, but it missed her. He then circled around the car and picked up the knife.

By this time, the victim was able to get in the rear passenger seat and attempted to lock the doors but couldn’t do so before the defendant was able to make his way into the rear driver’s seat. The witness told police he then saw the defendant stab the victim in the backseat. The witness heard the defendant state, “I’m going to kill you” and heard the victim respond, “I love you, why are you doing this.”

The witness, at this point, struck the defendant twice on the shoulder, knocking the knife out of his hand. The witness then retrieved the knife, but while doing so noticed that the defendant was now strangling the victim. After securing the knife, the witness once again got into the backseat and pulled the defendant off the victim. The defendant then began searching for the knife, at which point the police officer arrived on scene.

After receiving treatment for her injuries, the victim told police that he boyfriend had become enraged because she was receiving Facebook Messenger notifications on her phone. She stated that he began strangling her inside their apartment to the point where she lost consciousness. When she woke up, the defendant was standing over her with a knife and he started to stab her in the back. The defendant then stabbed himself in the neck. The victim then ran out of the apartment for help.

During a sentencing hearing before Judge Raffio Yessayan, Assistant District Attorney Carolyn Morrissette argued that the defendant should serve six to eight-and-a-half years in state prison, to be followed by three years of supervised probation and court-ordered batterers counseling. The defense, however, requested a more lenient two to four year state prison term to be followed by three years of supervised probation. Judge Yessayan sentenced the defendant to serve four to six years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised probation. The judge also ordered the defendant to undergo batterers counseling.

“This is an outrageous act of domestic violence that resulted in the victim being attacked in an apartment and the back of a vehicle, in the presence of the driver. I commend the driver for coming to the victim’s aid and preventing more serious injuries or death. This defendant clearly presents a danger and needs to be kept off the street,” District Attorney Quinn said.