Welcome to TIVERTON 1st!

Tiverton 1st is a grassroots community organization open to all who support preserving our quality of life in Tiverton by maintaining both our community and school services in a fiscally-responsible way, and promoting cooperation, compromise and community pride.
Membership is open to all Tiverton residents who are at least 18 years old & support Tiverton 1st's principles & goals (non-residents or those under 18 years old are welcome to join as non-voting members). There's no membership fee.Just email your name, address, phone # and email address to: Tiverton1st@cox.net.
You can also request to become a "Tiverton 1st Friend"& join our confidential email list.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

THANKS FOR MAKING FIRST-EVER TIVERTON 1st EVENT A HUGE SUCCESS

A tremendous thanks to everyone who made Friday's Tiverton 1st event such a success. Despite rainy weather, over 100 people attended the event, enjoying some excellent local musicians, getting info about T1, and meeting the candidates T1 will be recommending for the Nov. 6 election (see list below). 

It was exciting to hear the positive feedback & enthusiasm people have to be part of an effort to work together to make Tiverton the best community possible. 

Special thanks to Gloria Crist for coordinating the event, Russ Smith & Sandywoods, Cooper Pallasch & Ava Erickson, all the candidates who joined us, & all who attended. And thanks to the musicians who donated their time & talents: Christopher James Farias, Gary Farias, Ryan Connearney, & Justin Marra. Check them out online or at their next local show; you won't be disappointed. 

Now we work until Nov. 6 to make sure we keep "Tiverton 1st".

Brian Medeiros

Tiverton 1st Coordinating Committee

TIVERTON 1st LOCAL CANDIDATE RECOMMENDATIONS / NOVEMBER 6 ELECTION



Thursday, September 27, 2012

FIRST-EVER TIVERTON 1st BENEFIT EVENT THIS FRIDAY AT SANDYWOODS


A reminder that our first-ever Tiverton 1st benefit event is tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 28). From 7pm -10pm, we will present "An Evening of Local Singer/Songwriters" at Sandywoods Center for the Arts (43 Muse Way, next to Bulgarmarsh Park), with all proceeds benefitting Tiverton 1st's efforts in support of the election on November 6 of local candidates who will best exemplify Tiverton 1st's principles of community, cooperation and compromise. Doors open at 6:30pm.

The concert will feature Christopher James Farias, Gary Farias, Ryan Connearney, & Justin Marra. Tickets are $10 at the door, and the event is B.Y.O.B. and snacks. Tiverton 1st coordinators and members will be available for anyone looking for more information about this new community group, or interested in joining. In addition, Tiverton 1st will announce the candidates for Town Council, School Committee & Budget Committee that we will be recommending to voters and supporting in the upcoming election. The candidates were selected by the T1 Coordinating Committee based on responses to a questionnaire, as well as candidates' previous experience, words and actions regarding town issues. Most of these candidates will be in attendance on Friday.

In keeping with our concept of neighbors working together to help neighbors, we will also be collecting non-perishable food items at tomorrow night's event. Especially good are staple foods such as rice, peanut butter, canned soup, cake mixes, canned fruit & canned pastas. These will be donated to the East Bay Community Action Center.

Tiverton 1st is a grassroots community organization open to all who support preserving our quality of life in Tiverton by maintaining both our community and school services in a fiscally-responsible way, and promoting cooperation, compromise and community pride. Full membership is open to all Tiverton residents who are at least 18 years old and support Tiverton 1st's principles and goals. Non-residents or those under 18 years old who support Tiverton 1st's principles and goals are welcome to join as non-voting members. There is no membership fee for joining Tiverton 1st. Only Tiverton 1st members will have the ability to comment on the Tiverton 1st Facebook page and blog, and receive members-only email updates. Those who prefer to follow Tiverton 1st anonymously, without becoming members, can request to be added to our confidential email list and receive email updates as "Tiverton 1st Friends" (all who were on the CURB email list are now on this list).

Tiverton 1st is a registered Political Action Committee, and welcomes contributions from individuals who want to support Tiverton 1st and our recommended candidates. Per state law, contributions must be in the form of a personal check, and the names of all contributors will be public, although the amount of the contribution will not unless it exceeds $100. 

We're excited about this first-ever Tiverton 1st event, and appreciate the efforts of all who've come together to make it happen. This is what community, and Tiverton 1st, is all about. We're also excited about our outstanding slate of recommended candidates, and this community-wide effort to preserve and improve Tiverton. We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow evening.

Brian Medeiros
Tiverton 1st Coordinating Committee

Friday, September 21, 2012

MOVING TIVERTON FORWARD TOGETHER.....TIVERTON 1st - TIVERTON PROUD!


Our parents always told us that actions speak louder than words. It's become clear to many in Tiverton that the importance of cooperation, compromise, and community pride in town government has somehow become lost on some, based on their words and actions. Tiverton residents, you have an opportunity to be actively engaged in shaping the future of your community, and to be the voice for the change that you are seeking.

Tiverton 1st is a non-partisan grassroots community group that is dedicated to promoting a positive community-based vision for Tiverton. We support preserving our quality of life by maintaining both our community and school services in a fiscally-responsible way. We are also committed to promoting cooperation, compromise, and community pride.

It was our pleasure to welcome over 60 community members at the Tiverton 1st launch meeting on September 9. The input that we received from those in attendance, along with those that were not able to attend, has led to the continued molding of the mission, vision, and structure of Tiverton 1st. Yes that's right, Tiverton 1st is being built by, and with the input of, its members. Through this feedback, we were then able to develop candidate questionnaires that were recently mailed to all 34 candidates seeking election this November.

Our questions focused on the issues, principals, and values that are the priorities of Tiverton 1st. Topics included were: expanding our tax base, improving communication, balancing containing costs and taxes, Sakonnet Bridge tolls, supporting a budget that is responsible for all of Tiverton, and the primary role of the position they seek. In order to receive a recommendation from Tiverton 1st, candidates will have to demonstrate through their responses, along with consideration of their prior public or community service, and any stated positions made on issues affecting the Tiverton community, that they embody and embrace the principals of Tiverton 1st and have the vision necessary to move Tiverton forward together.

We will be hosting our first community event at Sandywoods Center for the Arts on Friday, September 28 from 7-10pm featuring Gary Farias, Christopher James Farias, Ryan Connerary, and Justin Marra. Tickets are $10 at the door, and proceeds benefit Tiverton 1st. Come out and enjoy some exceptional entertainment and celebrate our community. Tiverton 1st will also be announcing our candidate recommendations that evening.

To obtain more information about Tiverton 1st, contact us either at Tiverton1st@cox.net, on Facebook at Tiverton 1st, on our blog at www.Tiverton1st.blogspot.com, or spend time with us on September 28. We request your input and we encourage your involvement. Step up Tiverton. Together, we can positively move our community forward!

Linda Larsen
Tiverton 1st Coordinating Committee Member

Thursday, September 13, 2012

TIVERTON 1st CANDIDATE QUESTIONAIRE

The Tiverton 1st Coordinating Committee will be sending out a candidate questionaire this weekend to all candidates for Town Council, School Committee & Budget Committee. If you have a question you think should be included, please post it here or email it to Tiverton1st@cox.net . The Committee will consider recommending candidates who will best support our pro-community principles, based on answers provided, as well as past words and actions of candidates. The Coordinators are: Linda Larsen, Phil Schuyler, Gloria Crist, Deb Janick, and Brian Medeiros.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

COMMUNITY EVENT: A COUNTRY DAY AT PARDON GRAY


Event:  "A Country Day at Pardon Gray"
Date: Sept. 15, 2012; rain date Sept. 16
Time: 10 to 4
Cost: Parking $5; Activity Bracelet for Kids $5. Any proceeds will protect habitat for wildlife and trails for the public.  
(Volunteers sought for noon - 2pm slot)

The Burma Shave signs are up along Pardon Gray Preserve on Main Road - a sure sign the Tiverton Land Trust is gearing up for "A Country Day at Pardon Gray" on September 15.  Since the first fair in 2001, families have enjoyed children's games and activities, exhibits and demonstrations, grilled BBQ and pie a la mode, music and hayrides, and the marketplace of artists, crafters and other vendors.

This year the community can:

Operate a working model of the Rose Island Lighthouse.   Grind corn, play drums and see bows and arrows, furs and cultural objects from the Haffenreffer Museum's Natives of SE New England collection.  Watch the Flying Wings perform precision remote control aerial stunts. 

Listen to music by Gary Farias, Bocheck, Sibling Rivalry and Tiverton HS Strings.  Decorate pumpkins.   Take a hayride.    Make bird nesting boxes with Tiverton HS woodworking students for minimal cost of materials.  Climb a truck.  Talk to members of the RI 2nd Regiment in Revolutionary War military dress, to the larger than life Max Man from RI Resource & Recovery, and to McGruff.

Watch Granger Jerome's honeybee colony in action.  Find cosmic objects through the ASSNE Astronomical Society's huge telescopes.  Have your soil tested or ask a Master Gardener a question.  Get up close with a rescued horse, cow, goat, alpaca, sheep, duck and kittens. 

See the NEATTA antique tractors and Tractor Pull competition, and Wires and Fires antique fire trucks.   Shop the art and craft vendors.  Watch or enter your dog in the Pooch Parade. Have your face painted by Girl Scouts and Tiverton Library Teen Council.  Take photos of your kids behind cut-out farm props. 

Watch kids try old fashioned games like sack races, bean bag toss, and horse shoes, catch magnetic fish in pools, guess by touch what's in the nature mystery box, water the Garden Club's historic garden.   See a training sailboat from Tiverton Yacht Club.  Try your hand at an art activity with South Coast Artists.

Make giant bubbles. Learn about the new Tiverton Library, local public services, and Rhody Milk. Play "Can you Find It" with the Tiverton Historical Society. See Police and Fire Department vehicles and demonstrations. 

Savor a low cost lunch of sausage, onions and peppers on torpedo rolls or other BBQ treats, homemade pie topped by Gray's ice cream, cold beverages, Coastal Roaster coffee, and cotton candy.

The Tiverton Land Trust is a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to preserving the rural character and scenic beauty of Tiverton, RI for generations to come. 

Monday, September 10, 2012

TIVERTON 1st LAUNCHES

Thanks to everyone who attended & participated in last night's Tiverton 1st kick-off meeting. About 60 people attended, in addition to about 25 who expressed an interest but had schedule conflicts. It was great hearing everyone's ideas and views, and seeing the enthusiasm to be part of an effort to bring people together & make Tiverton better for all.

Anyone who wasn't able to attend but is interested in joining Tiverton 1st or just getting more information can contact us at tiverton1st@cox.net, or visit the Tiverton 1st Facebook page.

It was a great launch for T1. Now we begin working together towards a positive outcome in the Nov 6 election.

Brian Medeiros

Sunday, September 9, 2012

TIVERTON 1st KICK-OFF @ 6:30p TONIGHT

A reminder that the kickoff meeting for Tiverton 1st is tonight @ 6:30p at Sandywoods. It shouldn't run any longer than an hour. It's primarily a chance to discuss this new community group and how it will work going forward, and to hear everyone's ideas and feedback.  


Remember that Tiverton 1st is a work in progress & can become what we all choose to make it. Together we have the chance to have a positive influence in Tiverton. We don't have to accept the way things have been, or the idea that one group can only improve its situation at the expense of another. We need a Tiverton that works for all of us, that focuses on "we" and not "I". We can each play a part in putting Tiverton 1st.

Brian Medeiros
Tiverton, RI

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

TIVERTON 1st INTRODUCTORY MEETING: SUN. SEPT. 9 @ 6:30p at SANDYWOODS


Tiverton 1st, a new community-focused group, is up and running. An introductory Tiverton 1st meeting is scheduled for Sunday, September 9 @ 6:30p at Sandywoods. It's open to anyone interested in joining Tiverton 1st, or just in getting more information.

Tiverton 1st is a true non-partisan, grassroots community organization open to all who support preserving our quality of life in Tiverton, by preserving both our community and school services in a fiscally responsible way, and promoting cooperation and community pride. In addition to providing accurate information and facilitating discussion of issues, Tiverton 1st will also be endorsing and supporting community-minded candidates for local office. The goal is to offer voters a clear choice: between the positive and cooperative path forward we believe most Tiverton residents want, or the divisive and self-serving course some advocate. 

Everyone's thoughts and ideas are encouraged, on Facebook or confidentially by emailing to curbtiverton@cox.net .
TIVERTON 1st...TIVERTON PROUD!