To the Editor:

This is a story about the Endorsed Democratic Candidate for Ward #3, Camille Vella-Wilkinson and my evaluation of her performance as Council Person.

I will start by stating that a number of years ago a new family moved into the house next door to me and all was well until the warm weather was upon us and I found that they like to burn, God knows what, in a backyard burner. Unknown to me what it was they were burning but many occasions it gave off a black, acidy smelling smoke that sickened myself and any company that I had visiting, this went on night after night at one point in time. One of the nights of the Summer Olympics 6 or 7 summers ago I was awoken around 1:30 a.m. by the smoke detectors going off in my house, I thought that my house was on fire with all the smoke and decreased visibility but it was the people next door having a pool party and a fire to go with it. I would like to add that their fires set off the smoke detectors in my home many times. 

I asked Camille Vella-Wilkinson, if we could get a Nuisance Smoke Ordinance or add something to the standing Open Burning Ordinance, which is a joke that would cover nuisance smoke. People start a fire and burn whatever and as long as they had a stick or long fork with a marshmallow or hot dog on it, then they tell the police that the fire is for cooking and they were not going to put it out as they were within the limits of the law. After many unanswered phone calls and emails that were never replied to year after year I came to the realization that she was going to do nothing for me except ask me to put a sign on my lawn. I was being totally blown off by the person that was elected to represent me and found that the problem was of Ward Wide proportion and that many others had the same complaint and problems with her. She also told me that I was the only person in the whole city that has this complaint about smoke coming from back yard burning which I know is not true.

With that I decided to enter into the Republican Primary for the Ward #3 Council Seat at that point it appeared to me that Camille Vella-Wilkinson had declared war on me. The next time that I called her and of course did not get hold of her in place of a returned phone call what I did get was 5 Police Officers at my home lead by Sgt. John Kelly, a close friend of Camille Vella-Wilkinson’s, and 4 uniformed Officers. I wouldn’t think that from the way people drive 50+ miles per hour on most of our main roads and the failure of many people to stop at a red light or the ones that fly down cut through side streets or just the routine calls that are not answered for an hour or more that we had the resources to dedicate to such a minor matter but it appears that it’s politics as usual in Warwick and some people get serviced, Gestapo like service and some just wait. If the Police Department has such an abundance of resources they should put that effort into solving the incident that involved that fine, wonderful man in City Park and give the family some closure and put that neighborhood’s fear to rest.

 Now after all these wasted years I have been informed that there is an ordinance; Sec.26-41 Nuisance Ordinance Task Force which includes the City Council person from that ward and many other agencies that is in place within the city to handle the kind of problem I have. A problem like mine can also be dealt with by the Zoning and Building Departments. I do not believe that Ms Vella-Wilkinson is aware of such information or I hope she would have passed that information onto me years ago. I was also guaranteed by another councilperson that there is a Nuisance Smoke Ordinance in place and that councilperson told me a copy would be mailed to my home, that was December 10, 2014 and I haven’t seen it yet. During my time on the Fire Department I saw it go from people putting their fires out to “You have no right to tell me to do that” as people became more aware of their rights and that a Firefighter has no enforcement rights when it come to such things.

 On December 8, 2014 Ms Vella-Wilkinson presented her New Open Burning Ordinance and it was pulled just as quickly. It had some very stupid parts to it like closing public highways, shutting down the rail tracks and the funniest on of all was a closure of the runways at the airport. That is one substantial fire to produce that much smoke. All I was asking her to do was get a Nuisance Smoke Policy that would protect the citizens of this city as the police told me there was nothing they could do without an ordinance to go on. It is my belief that Ms Vella-Wilkinson would not work on any legislation that would cost her any votes, as her aspirations are to move upward and onward to the State House and making people extinguish their fires would upset certain voters so just let the people down wind suffer and if it gets real bad just leave your home like I have had to do many times, but that is just my opinion.

In closing and after a case of double pneumonia in the summer of 2013 that almost took my life, I want Thank You Ms Vella-Wilkinson and my lungs want to Thank You as well for nothing. I am sure that no politician or police officer would have to suffer through what others and myself in the city have to do.

 All this mayhem in my and other people’s lives because I was forced to defend myself against an inconsiderate neighbor and I was totally unable to get any relief from my Council Person. We have ordinances that defend me against barking dogs, loud music and the violence of someone ringing my doorbell and running, but toxic smoke, no. When I was a Warwick Firefighter I had a Scott Pack (SCBA) to protect my lungs, at a restaurant or place of public venue I have the state law on my side to protect me from second hand smoke but I have to live with a neighbor that fills my home with smoke to the point that my smoke detectors are activated and no one can do anything to help, something is wrong with that in my humble opinion.

Where there is no Justice… There is no Peace….

Henry T. Williams Jr.

Warwick