Then Again...What Do I Know?
Local commentary by Roger Bouchard as published in the Woonsocket Call on
September 2, 2010
Providence
A good friend and an unforgettable voice in the Northern Rhode Island community has passed away. Donna Gallant, a North Smithfield native, and long-time member of the WNRI family, died this week. Donna loved people, loved selling radio time and was a champion of the broadcast medium. During her 27-year career with the station as on-air host, sales executive and then sales manager, she was known to local business owners and advertising agencies for getting their message on the radio. Donna's signature sultry voice was featured on hundreds of radio spots as clients demanded that only Donna could deliver their message. She loved all things local - especially Autumnfest and the Milk Fund. She worked behind the scenes to raise money for the Milk Fund charity and was the originator of the Milk Fund Auction conducted on WNRI and cable television from 1984 to 1999. Always involved in community events, Donna found time to participate in the Woonsocket Mardi Gras and was the people's choice for queen in 1999. Donna was an excellent radio announcer. In 2000, we teamed up and started the radio program Daybreak Southern New England. She created the format and the program is still on the air today.
Donna moved to Maine six years ago, but was able to stay connected to her community and continue her radio work with telephones, fax machines and computers. Cancer claimed her life in the end, but while she was here, she brought energy, excitement and persistence to her work. A wife, a mother (and she loved her dogs) and an important member of the community, Donna always had a smile and a compliment for everyone she met. She personified the American work ethic; she always met the goal and got the job done. I - we all - will miss her and not forget her. A complete obituary with family and memorial information will follow shortly in local papers. Woonsocket 
Deborah Gist, Rhode Island ’s education commissioner, visited WNRI yesterday and talked on a variety of issues. On Race to the Top grant, the 75 million dollars will be used on teacher professional development, building curriculums and transitioning to international benchmark standards to “create the best public school system in America .”
Gist singled out charter schools as offering families educational alternatives.
Charter schools are the breeding grounds of innovation and creativity.
Gist says other school districts like Boston , Houston and Washington , D.C. have already made improvements in their systems. Citing Garden Grove , California as a system with low income students with English proficiency problems, innovative instructors improved high school graduation rates higher than the state average. When asked about Woonsocket schools, she conceded the system “has made some progress in recent years and has some momentum but there is certainly a long way to go.” Gist noted the 60% graduation level is certainly something the community should be concerned about. As to Gist’s ultimate goal as commissioner of education, she seeks “educator excellence” to produce the best quality of teaching possible. Gist spent the rest of the morning touring public schools in Woonsocket.
Woonsocket Congressman Patrick Kennedy came to Thundermist Health Center to give thanks to Pfizer Pharmaceuticals for giving free medication to patients who are low income eligible. That story was nicely covered by reporter Russ Olivo in a Call front page story Tuesday. But Kennedy’s visit also offered a glimpse of what Kennedy may do in the future. Several times in his 25 minute speech to the Thundermist gathering, Kennedy referred to November 8 as the 50th anniversary of his uncle, John F. Kennedy, being elected president in 1960. The young president unveiled his “New Frontier” program of civil rights initiatives and the space program leading to moon exploration. Using that November date as a stepping stone, Kennedy hinted that Sunday November 7th he and his sister may announce a program to explore the last frontier in brain science-neuroscience. Neuroscience, the study of the nervous system, examines brain systems that causes stress, brain cancer, stroke, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and other illnesses. Calling this a personal issue, Kennedy was emotional as he referred to his father’s fight with brain cancer and I am sure he was thinking about his own mental health issues as he called neuro medical research the new civil rights issue of the future. Kennedy declared liberating people from disabilities is the wave of the future. We look forward to that November date to see what Kennedy has in mind. Roger’s odds and ends Nearly one out of every seven Rhode Islanders gets food stamps (now debit cards) now, as a combination of high unemployment, expanded eligibility and stepped-up outreach has doubled enrollment in the federally funded program. A record 146,338 Rhode Islanders received food stamps in July, or nearly 14 percent of the state’s 1 million residents· TF Green Airport news: Did you know TFG has the best on time arrival and departures of all US airports? Did you know TFG was ranked by Travel & Leisure magazine as one the top five US airports calling it the picture of competence? Houston is the best airport and New York ’s LaGuardia is the worst. Boston ranks as fifth worse. The Landmark Hospital deal still gives the new buyer 3 more weeks to pull out. But if they do not and the department of health and the attorney general approve, Landmark will have been saved. Expect Thudnermist Health Centers to be part of the new deal. Want to buy a TV station? After announcing several weeks ago Channel 6 went into receivership now we learn the station is on the sales block. With 88 employees, buyer is hoped for by year’s end. The Cardi brothers are getting ready to open a mattress retail store in the East Woonsocket area. The company is testing the waters in the region. |
ROGER BOUCHARD is general manager of radio station WNRI. His column appears every Thursday in the Woonsocket Call. He can be reached at rogerwnri@prodigy.net.
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