The Bellingham Bulletin July 2010 : Page 1
T ulletin ~ Read The Bulletin online at www.BellinghamBulletin.com • Become a Bulletin friend on Facebook! Bellingham’s Hometown “Good-NewsPaper” Bellingham Bulletin Since 1994 Volume XVI, Issue 10 Bellingham’s hometown newspaper since 1994 Bellingham knows how to throw a birth-day party for America. But the planning the town does for the July 4 celebration involves lots of detail and well-coordinated teamwork. Maybe that’s why thousands attend the event annually and thoroughly enjoy the festivities as a family affair. This year’s celebration, slated for Sunday, July 4, will feature a concert at the high school football field at 7 p.m. followed by fireworks starting at 9:30 p.m. and lasting 25 minutes. “Souled Out,” a pop music group, will perform at the concert, and Ocean State Pyrotechnics will stage the fireworks. Face painting will be conducted by the Belling-ham Arts Council, and Outback Steak House will supply food, cooked by its personnel. All proceeds will be donated to the high school band, chorus and color guard. “People look forward to the event and there’s a real sense of community,” said Denis Fraine, Bellingham’s Town Adminis-trator. “Our July 4 celebration has developed a reputation as being one of the best in the area.” The reason is simple. Three depart-ments—Police, Fire and DPW/Parks and Recreation—work diligently to ensure that every detail is covered. When it comes to the public’s safety, these departments get high marks for getting vehicles parked, making sure no alcohol is present, controlling traf-fic, monitoring debris from the fireworks, cleaning up trash and maintaining crowd behavior. “The roles that Fire, Police and DPW/ Parks and Recreation play are vital to the success of July 4,’’ Fraine said. “About 25-30 people give up spending the holiday with their families to work the holiday.’’ Roland Arcand, who’s been with the De-partment of Public Works for 47 years and has served as Recreation Superintendent for 25, has worked during the previous 10 Postal Patron Bellingham, ma 02019 July 2010 PRST-STD U.S. Postage P A I D Bellingham BULLETIN Permit No. 107 Bellingham, MA Business in Town! Still FREE! Direct-Mailed to every Home & 1 JULY 2010 Teamwork Ensures Success for Bellingham’s July 4 Fete town, Ranieri ensures full coverage by hav-ing an engine and rescue vehicle parked at North Street for the southern part of town and the engines at the fire station on Black-stone Street to handle any problem on the northern side. A first-aid station will be available on the road between the library and the football field. The Citizens Emergency Response Team will be prepared to handle that venue. Captain Gerry Corriveau has worked Tuite, Bellingham branch manager of Charles River Bank. The other sponsors, not represented in the photo above, are Wal-Mart, International Power and Nextera Resources. celebrations and is well aware of the roles his department must play. “We assist with parking,’’ Arcand said. “People may start arriving at 4:30 p.m. to get a favorable place. There’s parking at the Middle School lot and adjacent fields, at the high school, and at the DPW. The library parking lot is reserved for handicapped people. There’s no parking on Blackstone Street and we eventually close it when all the lots fill up. We make sure there are signs that point out parking and also inform motorists about detours.’’ Arcand’s department also installs a tem-porary fence to keep visitors away from the fireworks area. Fireworks are set off in the fields behind the high school. “We also take care of the cleanup after the event,’’ Arcand said. “We provide the trash barrels. Families do a good job of policing themselves and their children in disposing of trash.’’ Fire Chief Richard Ranieri has a variety of responsibilities, dealing with the fireworks, the company that supplies them, the debris and fallout, and the first aid and fire protec-tion, both at the festivities and throughout the town. “We issue the permit to the firm that con-ducts the fireworks presentation,’’ Ranieri said. “They must be licensed by the State Fire Marshal’s Office. And we check that those working for the company are licensed. We get a detailed listing of the size of the shells. If they’re too large, then that becomes a safety issue.’’ If it is windy, then the fireworks debris can become dangerous, creating brush fires in wooded areas or even landing on the roofs of one of the nearby schools. “Two of our staff are assigned to monitor the fallout of the debris,’’ Ranieri said. Because fire-safety coverage is needed not only at the July 4 site, but also all over “Serving all your tree needs” Pruning, Storm Damage, Aerial Bucket & Bobcat Services Stump Grinding, PLOWING & more... Licensed & insured• Free estimates 1-508-958-0747 ~ FRiDaYS ~ FiSh & ChipS 1/2 lb. Haddock & Hand-Cut French Fries SCallOpS & ChipS Now Serving Hersheys® Hard Ice Cream Nous parlons Francaise 15 N. MaiN St. BelliNghaM, Ma 02019 Open Mon-Sat, 11–9pm; Sun, 12–8 Buy 1 Large Ice Cream, Get 1 Kiddie Size FREE! Member, Bellingham Business Association Cannot be combined w/other offers; one coupon per visit. Expires July 31, 2010. hot Dogs • Burgers Wings • hand-Cut Fries homemade Onion Rings Willow tree Farm® Chicken Salad CLIP ’N SAVE Buy 2 Hot Dogs, Get Sm. Order Fries FREE! DOG HOUSE WEINER CO. DOG HOUSE WEINER CO. Cannot be combined w/other offers; one coupon per visit. Expires July 31, 2010. Seven sponsors have combined to generate $26,000 for Bellingham's July 4 celebration. Above are (l–r) Mark Hebert, project manager of W/S Development; Mike Szczepan, Auburn division manager of Allied Waste/Republic; Lois Seymour, branch manager of Rockland Trust; and Mike nine of the 10 last holiday celebrations and considers the role of police twofold—crowd control and traffic. “It’s well known that no alcohol is permitted,’’ Corriveau said. “We have less trouble because people attending understand that. We assign staff in the Easy Street, Potter Circle area behind the fields where the fireworks are set. In the past, there have been parties in that area where we had to respond, and parking there gets congested. Families must tell any guests to get into that area early. We’ll block Easy Street in case we need to get emergency Jamison Mendall Tree Removal JULY 4 FETE – cont. on pg. 6 BULLETIN photo by Pauline Hamwey
Teamwork Ensures Success for Bellingham’s July 4 Fete
Bellingham knows how to throw a birthday party for America.<br /> <br /> But the planning the town does for the July 4 celebration involves lots of detail and well-coordinated teamwork. Maybe that’s why thousands attend the event annually and thoroughly enjoy the festivities as a family affair.<br /> <br /> This year’s celebration, slated for Sunday, July 4, will feature a concert at the high school football field at 7 p.m. followed by fireworks starting at 9:30 p.m. and lasting 25 minutes. “Souled Out,” a pop music group, will perform at the concert, and Ocean State Pyrotechnics will stage the fireworks. Face painting will be conducted by the Bellingham Arts Council, and Outback Steak House will supply food, cooked by its personnel.<br /> <br /> All proceeds will be donated to the high school band, chorus and color guard.<br /> <br /> “People look forward to the event and there’s a real sense of community,” said Denis Fraine, Bellingham’s Town Administrator.<br /> <br /> “Our July 4 celebration has developed a reputation as being one of the best in the area.” The reason is simple. Three departments— Police, Fire and DPW/Parks and Recreation—work diligently to ensure that every detail is covered. When it comes to the public’s safety, these departments get high marks for getting vehicles parked, making sure no alcohol is present, controlling traffic, monitoring debris from the fireworks, cleaning up trash and maintaining crowd behavior.<br /> <br /> “The roles that Fire, Police and DPW/ Parks and Recreation play are vital to the success of July 4,’’ Fraine said. “About 25- 30 people give up spending the holiday with their families to work the holiday.’’ Roland Arcand, who’s been with the Department of Public Works for 47 years and has served as Recreation Superintendent for 25, has worked during the previous 10 celebrations and is well aware of the roles his department must play.<br /> <br /> “We assist with parking,’’ Arcand said.<br /> <br /> “People may start arriving at 4:30 p.m. to get a favorable place. There’s parking at the Middle School lot and adjacent fields, at the high school, and at the DPW. The library parking lot is reserved for handicapped people. There’s no parking on Blackstone Street and we eventually close it when all the lots fill up. We make sure there are signs that point out parking and also inform motorists about detours.’’ Arcand’s department also installs a temporary fence to keep visitors away from the fireworks area. Fireworks are set off in the fields behind the high school.<br /> <br /> “We also take care of the cleanup after the event,’’ Arcand said. “We provide the trash barrels. Families do a good job of policing themselves and their children in disposing of trash.’Fire Chief Richard Ranieri has a variety of responsibilities, dealing with the fireworks, the company that supplies them, the debris and fallout, and the first aid and fire protection, both at the festivities and throughout the town.<br /> <br /> “We issue the permit to the firm that conducts the fireworks presentation,’’ Ranieri said. “They must be licensed by the State Fire Marshal’s Office. And we check that those working for the company are licensed.<br /> <br /> We get a detailed listing of the size of the shells. If they’re too large, then that becomes a safety issue.’’ If it is windy, then the fireworks debris can become dangerous, creating brush fires in wooded areas or even landing on the roofs of one of the nearby schools.<br /> <br /> “Two of our staff are assigned to monitor the fallout of the debris,’’ Ranieri said.<br /> <br /> Because fire-safety coverage is needed not only at the July 4 site, but also all over Town, Ranieri ensures full coverage by having an engine and rescue vehicle parked at North Street for the southern part of town and the engines at the fire station on Blackstone Street to handle any problem on the northern side.<br /> <br /> A first-aid station will be available on the road between the library and the football field. The Citizens Emergency Response Team will be prepared to handle that venue.<br /> <br /> Captain Gerry Corriveau has worked nine of the 10 last holiday celebrations and considers the role of police twofold—crowd control and traffic. “It’s well known that no alcohol is permitted,’’ Corriveau said. “We have less trouble because people attending understand that. We assign staff in the Easy Street, Potter Circle area behind the fields where the fireworks are set. In the past, there have been parties in that area where we had to respond, and parking there gets congested. Families must tell any guests to get into that area early. We’ll block Easy Street in case we need to get emergencyVehicles there. Two police officers will be stationed at each of the three entry gates to the football field and all coolers and bags will be searched.’’ After 10 years of Bellingham’s hosting the celebration, traffic seems to be wellcontrolled.<br /> <br /> Corriveau notes that there’s no parking on South Main Street and Blackstone Street. That’s designed to allow people to leave without difficulty. Motorcycles are used to control parking.<br /> <br /> “We ask for patience when people are leaving the event,’’ Corriveau said. “It takes time to disperse thousands of people. My experience is that if patience is employed, most go home happy.’’Experience has played a big role in Bellingham’s July 4 success. As Ranieri points out, it wasn’t always smooth. “The first year we had more people than we anticipated,’’ he said. “After that year, our evaluations retained the good things and we altered what didn’t work well.’’ Board of Selectmen Chairman Jerry Mayhew has always been impressed with the way the town handles July 4.<br /> <br /> “I have nothing but the highest praise for all those who plan the event and give their time and money,’’ said Mayhew. “Hats off to all involved, whether businesses or individuals, who do a magnificent job making our “Happy Birthday America” party a success.’’
