What makes Cranston great?

Mayor Allan Fung and his fiancée Barbara Ann Fenton are holding a Facebook contest. While 24/7 Wall Street has named Cranston as one of the top 50 cities in which to live across the entire country, we all have different reasons for thinking that is so. Many think of Garden City’s renaissance, or the fantastic restaurants in Knightsville. The mayor and his fiancée want to hear from Cranstonians – what makes city one of the best in America? 

From now until St. Joseph’s Day (March 19), post a picture of your favorite aspect of Cranston, with the hashtags #Cranston and #Top50CityInTheUSA, and tag Allan Fung on Facebook so it can be viewed for the contest. The mayor and his fiancée will choose three finalists that members of the community will vote on, and the favorite will win dinner with Fung and Fenton.

CPR/First Aid training at St. David’s

St. David’s on the Hill Preschool will be holding Heartsaver CPR/First Aid training for a fee of $40 on March 13. The First Aid portion of the program will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m., followed by the Heartsaver CPR portion of the program from 2 to 2:30 p.m. Training is provided by A-1 Corporate CPR, and certification is valid for two years. Class space is limited. St. David’s Preschool is located at 200 Meschanticut Valley Parkway in Cranston. For more information, visit stdavidspreschool.weebly.com or contact preschool director Dina Buscher at 401-944-5377 or stdavidspreschoolri@verizon.net. The Health Fair has been rescheduled for a later date due to a scheduling conflict.

10th annual Irish/Italian Dinner

On Saturday, March 12, Woodridge Congregational Church, located at 546 Budlong Road, will hold its 10th annual Irish/Italian Dinner offering two seatings – 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Celebrate the spirit of St. Joseph and St. Patrick with this all-you-can-eat gathering, with a menu featuring corned beef, cabbage, pasta, sausage, meatballs, and more. Coffee and dessert are also included. Adult tickets are $12 per person, while tickets for children ages three to 12 are $5 and children under three are admitted free of charge. Reservations are necessary and may be placed by calling Woodridge at 401-942-0662 or emailing woodridgechurch@verizon.net.

There will also be a collection for Harrington Hall men’s homeless shelter in Cranston during the event. The following items are needed: small travel toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, disposable razors, sunscreen or spray, cough drops, Band-Aids.

Do you know one of Cranston’s ‘Dirty Dozen’?

Nominate a filthy site for the West Bay Land Trust’s “Dirty Dozen” Earth Day clean-up contest. The trust is looking for a favorite Cranston spot that needs a little TLC. The proposed site must be public and in the city of Cranston. A stretch of roadway, a park, or a community space all would qualify. Last year’s locations were the Pawtuxet River Trail and Cranston bike path. When you suggest a site, your name will be entered into a raffle. The winner will receive a $25 gift card to Durfee’s Hardware and free garden plot rental in the Edgewood Community Garden at Cherry Woods for 2016. Email your suggestion to westbaylandtrust@hotmail.com or visit our Facebook page at Edgewood Community Garden at Cherry Woods. Feel free to send a photo of your nominated site.

The cleanup will take place on April 23 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. More details to follow.

Academic News & Notes

Congratulations to Sara Olson of Cranston, who has made the dean’s list for the fall semester 2015 at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. She is a freshman majoring in exercise science and pre-physical therapy.

Congratulations to Maggie Dunleavy and Shaynah Ferreira, both of Cranston, for being named to Emerson College’s dean’s list for the fall 2015 semester.

Congratulations to the following Cranston residents who made the Dean’s list at Emmanuel College: Mollie Bourne, Kyla Burke, Samantha Camardo, Gwendolyn Colando, Aria Maggiacomo, Elyse Moretti, Rachel Piccirillo, Jaime Struminsky, and Michael Vannini.

Congratulations to the following Cranston residents who made the dean’s list at Rochester Institute of Technology for fall semester 2015: Lisa Castore, who is studying in the graphic design program, and James Moretti, who is studying in the software engineering program.

Congratulations to Karissa Dimascio of Cranston, who earned a spot on the president’s list at Southern New Hampshire in Manchester. She is studying for her BA in psychology with a concentration in child and adolescent development.

Sarah Alam has been notified that she was the recipient of the prestigious Gabelli Presidential Scholar Award for Boston College. She received a full four-year tuition scholarship valued at $50,480 per year. The college only awards 15 of these full rides to accepted students.

Cranston residents have been named to the fall 2015 dean’s list at Roger Williams University in Bristol. Congratulations to Aria Procaccini, an accounting major; Alexandria Ruggieri, an architecture major; Maikao Vang, an architecture major; Ashley Zannini, an architecture major; Faisal Almowisheer, a criminal justice major; Janine Petracca, a psychology major; and Kayla Khanjari, a public relations major.

Pet Photos with the Easter Bunny

There will be Pet Photos with the Easter Bunny on March 13 at Pet Supplies Plus in Garden City to benefit ADOPT (Animals Depend On People Too). The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Children and adults are welcome in the photos, too. The donation is $20 for two different photos, which can be reproduced. You may also come in for photos with or without a pet. Photography is being provided by Gene Hutnak Photography, and no reservations are required.

Spring Concert Series

Welcome spring with lively jazz, performed by local musicians, at the William Hall Library on alternating Saturdays, beginning March 26. Shows begin at 2 p.m., and are free and open to the public. This lively series is sure to chase away the remaining winter blues. On March 26, Classics Five Jazz Quartet; on April 9, Ten Strings; on April 23, The Aristocats. For more information, call the library at 401-781-2450 or visit cranstonlibrary.org.

Bringing the world to RI

Cranston resident Everett McCurdy is bringing the world to Rhode Island, one international teenager at a time. McCurdy is an area representative of the ASSE International Student Exchange Program, whose primary goal is to contribute to international understanding by enabling foreign students to learn through active participation in family, school, and community life.

McCurdy will be interviewing families in the area to host exceptional high school students from Europe, Asia, the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Middle East, and Scandinavia. Again this year, the ASSE Program is proud to also include students from the republics of the former Soviet Union on its roster. These students stay with volunteer host families for one academic school year and arrive with insurance and their own spending money.

For more information, contact Everett McCurdy at 401-481-2533 or visit host.asse.com.

Ocean State Toastmasters to meet

The Ocean State Toastmasters hold regular meetings on the first and third Tuesday of each month from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Warwick City Hall, 3275 Post Road.

The club is one of some 13,500 in Toastmasters International, a non-profit, educational organization devoted to the development of public speaking and leadership skills. The organization has approximately 280,000 members in 116 countries.

For more information, contact Gail Clarke, vice president of membership, at 401-884-2065 or ghclarke@verizon.net.

Pagano Foundation offers grants to youth sports organizations

The Lt. Jim Pagano Foundation will be granting up to $5,000 to four youth sports organizations in Cranston for the 2016/2017 calendar year.

The foundation’s board will accept applications from 501(c)3 organizations only, and will give special consideration to thoughtful, creative, and innovative legacy programs, programs that give recognition to Lt. Jim Pagano, and will be fiscally sustainable for the future. Further considerations will include the potential impact of the program/project and the number of people who will benefit; the ability of an organization to obtain necessary additional funding to implement a program or project, and to provide ongoing funding after the term of the grant is expired; and how closely the proposal aligns with the mission of the Lt. Jim Pagano Foundation.

“We have been so blessed to have such generous community support honoring Jim’s legacy over the past few years,” said Lisa Pagano, sister and president of the foundation. “It is so gratifying to join together with friends and family each year and give back to the organizations he loved, especially in youth sports. Everyone who knew Jim knew of his love for good sportsmanship and the joy of healthy competition as functions of important character-building, and we are thrilled to award these grants to our Cranston sports community in his memory.”

The grant application may be downloaded from the foundation website at jimpaganofoundation.com/apply-for-a-grant, and must be submitted no later than March 31 to qualify for funds. Grant decisions will be made prior to April 30. Any inquiries may be directed to Rose Pagano at arpagano@verizon.net.

The Lt. Jim Pagano Foundation makes charitable grants to individuals, groups and/or organizations that improve the quality of life for children, and foster character building and a strong foundation for their future. By funding these programs the foundation hopes to develop future heroes and leaders who will in turn do the same in their communities. Please visit jimpaganofoundation.com.

Comedy benefit for Heart Walk

A Funny 4 Funds comedy event to benefit the American Heart Association Heart Walk will be held Friday, April 1, at the Cranston Country Club, located at 69 Burlingame Road in Cranston. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., and the show begins at 8:30 p.m. Light fare will be provided, and a cash bar will be available. There will also be raffles and a 50/50 drawing. Tickets are $40, and may be obtained by contacting Melissa Fowler at 978-835-8267 or melissa.a.maxwell@gmail.com.

Did You Know?

Daylight saving time will come a little later than usual this spring. We’ll move our clocks forward one hour at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 13. Because daylight saving time kicks in the second Sunday of March, this year is just about as late as it can start. It won’t start this late again until 2021, when we will spring forward on March 14.

Daylight saving time means we lose an hour of daylight in the morning but gain it back in the evening. In Syracuse, the sun will set Saturday, March 12, at 6:08 p.m. On Sunday, sunset will be 7:09 p.m. (Source: Daylight Savings Fun Facts)

Daylight saving time this year will end Nov. 6. It used to end in late October, but the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 pushed it back to the first Sunday of November.

To submit your news from the community, email Meri R. Kennedy at CranstonChatter@aol.com. Photos in jpg format are accepted and news can range from community events, promotions, academic news and non-profit events. Email today and see your news in our column in the Cranston Herald. Please include a daytime telephone number in case we require any further information. Be sure to check out our website at www.cranstononline.com.