Open House
The Halliwell Community Garden invites the public to an Open House scheduled for Tuesday, April 26 at 6 p.m. Learn about how the garden is set up and run, how the harvest is shared among volunteers and others in the community, and how you can participate in this year’s garden.
People of any gardening level of expertise or physical ability are encouraged to participate. If you have questions, contact Ann Lilley at [email protected].
Sunflowers for Ukraine
Gator’s Pub and artist Angela Rondeau will host a, “Sunflowers for Ukraine” paint night on Tuesday, April 26 from 6-8 p.m. A portion of sales will be donated to Krakow Deli to join in their efforts to help the refugees of Ukraine. Rondeau will also collect personal hygiene items to donate, with anyone who brings an item entered in a special raffle. No experience is necessary.
The cost is $40 per person and space is limited. Call or text Rondeau at (401) 696-7757 or guarantee spots by PayPal at https://www.PayPal.me/throughmymomseyes
Northman 5K
The Northmen 5K will be held Saturday, April 30 stating at 9 a.m., a run/walk race, organized by North Smithfield High School senior Calla Puccetti as part of her senior project. The event will support Operation Stand Down, a non-profit organization aiding homeless and at-risk veterans in Rhode Island.
The race will start and finish at Veterans Memorial Stadium with a route along Providence Pike. To register, visit https://www.raceentry.com/northmen-5k/race-information.
Library announces free programs
The North Smithfield Public Library would like people to know about the following new free services available.
Tutoring: Through the AskRI.org website, Rhode Island residents can access the tutoring service, Tutor.com. As stated on their website, “Tutor.com provides online, on-demand academic tutoring, homework help, and test preparation to kindergarten through 12th grade students, plus early college students and adult learners. Tutor is available 7 days a week from 2 p.m. – 10 p.m.”
Users can choose to remain anonymous as it is not necessary to create an account to use the site. Once a subject area and grade level have been chosen, the user is connected to an appropriate tutor. Other services include study prep for SAT, GRE and AP exams and the ability to submit a paper for review.
Genealogy: The National Archives recently released the official 1950 US Census records. Data collected can vary from decade to decade and in 1950, people were asked about their employment – “What was this person doing most of last week – working, keeping house or something else?”, “What kind of work was he doing?”, “What kind of business or industry was he working in?” and their residence – “Is this house on a farm (or ranch)? and “Is this house on a place of three or more acres?”
Using the site can be addictive for those wishing to learn more about their family history. The records are searchable, however, the index was created by OCR – optical character recognition – and the results aren’t perfect. The Archives welcomes volunteers who would like to help transcribe names listed in the census to provide more accurate results to searchers.
If you are unable to find your ancestor listed, try scribbling the name on a piece of paper and see how many ways it could be viewed. For example, Connor might be indexed as Comar. Also, if you find who you are looking for in an earlier census, note the neighbors listed. You might find your ancestor by entering the neighbor’s name.
Educational fun: Lastly, a reminder that thanks to funding by the North Smithfield School Department, residents can borrow a STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics – kit for one week. Themes include birdwatching, star gazing, weather forecasting, coding, and more.
Library hours are Mon.-Thurs. 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Fri. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; and Sat. – until June 12 – from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Saturday hours will resume in September. For more information visit the library website at www.nspl.info or call (401) 767-2780.
Town meetings
The North Smithfield Senior Citizen Advisory Committee will hold a meeting on Monday, April 25 starting at 9 a.m. at Scouter’s Hall at 13 Main St. The agenda is here.
The North Smithfield Personnel Board will hold a meeting on Monday, April 25 starting at 6:30 p.m. at the North Smithfield Police Station at 575 Smithfield Road. The agenda can be found here.
The North Smithfield Zoning Board will hold a meeting on Tuesday, April 26 starting at 7 p.m. at Town Hall at 83 Greene St. The agenda is here.
The North Smithfield Budget Committee will hold a meeting on Thursday, April 28 starting at 6 p.m. at Town Hall at 83 Greene St. The agenda is here.