COUNCIL CONNECTION

ON THE TRAIL WITH TY:
SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES & 95 PINE STREET

Recently I visited 95 Pine Street (the old Richardson School) and met with numerous agency directors and volunteers serving there. I was very impressed and want to help these agencies continue to serve area residents in this central location. The City of Attleboro is the landlord and has an ultimate goal of selling 95 Pine St. I want these agencies to continue their great work and am doing all I can to support them. Hearings are still being held by the City Council and the next date is August 20th at City Hall, 7 pm. Please come and support the following agencies renting space at 95 Pine Street. They need your support!

95 Pine Street is busy these days with a variety of social services like:
1. The Attleboro Area Interfaith Collaborative.
2. Mass Hire (Career Center).
3. Pave Your Path.
4. Self-Help
5. St. John’s Clothing Center.
6. St. Vincent de Paul.
7, Vincentian Re-Entry Program
8. WIC.

While there are still four rooms available on the second floor, 95 Pine has served approximately 14,000 people in need of assistance during the past year. In addition, 25,350 meals have been served to local citizens, totally approximately 40,000 times people have been helped in some capacity. This is impressive and shows the great interest by our citizens.

The benefits to the local economy are immense…. and the value attached to these serves is over $2.4 Million Dollars.

Here’s how these organizations help you and your neighbors …
1. Attleboro Interfaith Collaborative (Food for Friends): Emergency Meals, Transportation, Homelessness Assistance, Access to Free Legal Services, Sturdy Hospital Chaplaincy, and much more.
2. Mass Hire: Unemployment Assistance, Job search tools, 6th highest job placement of the 28 Mass Hire sites in our state.
3. Pave Your Path: Resume preparation, Interview prep, Financial Counseling, Life Skills Prep. – Goal: Break the Circle of Poverty, Build Self Sufficiency.
4. Self Help, Inc. – Food Assistance/pantry,
5. St. Johns’s clothing center: footwear, outerwear, clothing.
6. St. Vincent de Paul: Rent Assistance, Gas/Electrical Assistance, Bus passes, Uber rides, GED exam fees, emergency food deliveries and much more.
7 Vincentian Re-Entry Program: Supports people returning to our community after incarceration, food and gas vouchers, transportation assistance, paid admit to sober houses, etc.
8. WIC: The second busiest program at 95 Pine. Helps woman, infants and younger children with nutrition, healthy foods, counseling,

These programs are essential to the well-being of our citizens! Thank you for all the good that you are dispensing every day!

All My Best,
Ty Waterman, City Councilor At-Large

On the Trail with Ty

ON THE TRAIL WITH TY

Today I met a third World War 2 Veteran, a 91 year old who fought in the battle of Okinawa, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, before retiring from the military in 1966. He was tired of war.

But now this North Main Street citizen is scared for another reason. He supports his wife and maintains his house of 50+ years on a fixed income in an era of rising property taxes.He asked what I planned to do to help him financially?

I told this World War 2 vet that I supported a tax freeze/tax break for older seniors who had limited assets. I told him that a bill is sitting in the statehouse, sponsored by Rep. Jim Hawkins, to allow Massachusetts cities and towns to craft their own property tax policy for senior homeowners. This bill would essentially allow Attleboro’s city council to decide the age, asset and income limitations for seniors to gain a tax break.

So I told him and his angry wife that, "Yes, I will support a tax break for them. even if it means I personally have to pay $100-$200 more per year to help elderly seniors keep their homes."

He thanked me and shook my hand. And I told him my handshake is my word.

On the Trail With Ty: June 1 and 2

WARD ONE VETS – SOUTH ATTLEBORO

John (Corrigan) and I had a fascinating weekend at the doors in South Attleboro this weekend! Fascinating. (John travels with me when I am in my car in lieu of riding my bike.)

1. We reconnected with Ted Ouellete on Brown Street. Ted is approaching his 99th birthday, does his own cooking and home chores, goes out shopping with his 91 year old brother who lives a few blocks away, still drives, and looks in good shape. Ted is a WW2 Navy Veteran who drove the landing craft in the European Theatre, including the invasion of Anzio (Italy?). A soft-spoken gentleman and lifetime Attleboro native, Ted graduated from the "old" high school on County Street and worked 55 years as a press operator in an Attleboro jewelry shop.

2, Today we listened to Raymond Brogan, also a 98 year old WW2 veteran, who lives on Robinson Street in the house he built many moons ago. Ray was in the first wave of the Marines invasion of Guadelcanal (not sure of the spelling) and the battle of Okinawa. His memory is extremely vivid as he described hitting the beaches and running through rings of fire with heavy casualties. The Marines (1st division) were stranded on the beach, and left alone without food, until finally they were rescued by another invasion by the Army. Ray lost a lot of friends in the Marines. He returned to his native Attleboro and worked for many years in the vicinity of Texas Instruments, for a company making engines for nuclear subs. He was a supervisor and responsible for the performance of many an atomic sub. In his leisure time, Ray and his loving wife traveled thousands of miles in their schooner, with a beautiful photo lining his walls.

Ran ran into Donald Trump at least three times over the years, observing Mr. Trump threatening his first wife with his fist, and later on threatening a young teenage dock hand, also with his fist, when Ray anchored his boat at the same port as our erstwhile President.

On one occasion, Ray was told to leave his mooring next to Mr. Trumps huge yacht….so Donald could turn his yacht around and bring a lady friend (Barbara Streisand) back out to sea. Apparently Mr. Trump had a way of getting his way even then. Ray had to vacate the premises so Mr. Trump could also vacate the premises. Ray wryly noted: "Donald Trump knew a lot of powerful people and got his way even back then."

Ray talked to us for two solid hours today and we could have listened to his life experiences all night.

Both of these gentlemen, Ted and Ray, are wonderful representatives of Our Greatest Generation! I feel blessed that they both want to support my candidacy and put up my signs on their property this fall.

I wish Theophile (Ted) Ouellette and Raymond Brogan could ride in a special WW2 veterans car in Attleboro’s 4th of July parade this year.

Thank you, Ted … Thank you, Ray. You are the true American heroes1

A great day for Attleboro!

I am proud to live in Attleboro and in Massachusetts. We had a powerful ceremony to honor our LGBTQ friends and neighbors today at City Hall, despite technical problems with the microphone and misplacing the key that raises the LGBTQ flag! The flag will go up on Monday.

It was great to welcome Jax Adele back to Attleboro for a day as the MC of this special event. Every speaker ranging from Jax to Senator Paul Feeney to Mayor Paul Heroux gave thanks for our LGBTQ community.

I believe the core values of honesty, kindness, empathy, and compassion were alive at City Hall today!

Thank you for all the LGBTQ friends I’ve been able to make. While our world remains far from perfect, we have evolved into a far more accepting society than we lived in when I entered Planet Earth back in 1948.

To my LGBTQ friends and neighbors …. thank you for helping me become a more accepting, understanding human being. We are evolving in a positive direction!

All My best –
Ty

Ty Waterman

 

Photo courtesy of Marilyn Powers