To the Editor:
"Civility.” So says the Editorial (Warwick Beacon, Sept. 22, page 14). Really? Is that a fact?
Yes! I was there. And I admit, I was one who was part of the disturbance!
But, how dare a newspaper criticize those citizens, as it did in this Editorial (“…name calling, the four-letter words, the interruptions, the hooting…,” “tactics of thugs…,” “to intimidate…”), when there are a number of examples of public officials doing the same things.
In the last two years, there have been radio news reports that in the General Assembly, some legislators are yelling and screaming at other legislators … while Capitol Police apparently do nothing to stop it! And, some National Education Association (NEA) officials have recently been intimidating citizens in a courthouse corridor, while sheriffs and/or Capitol Police and/or Rhode Island State Police do nothing! (And NEA officials do intimidating at other venues, too!)
What hypocrisy!
Another arrogant message from some arrogant public officials to the citizens, “We want more and more of your tax money, but keep your darn mouths shut!”
John Caruthers
Warwick
yes the way the crowd acted was shameful and not how I teach my children to act. I wish I could say the same for the crowd.
News Release
RI Department of Environmental Management
235 Promenade St., Providence, RI 02908
(401) 222-2771 TDD/(401) 222-4462
For Release: June 5, 1998
Contact: Bob Ballou 222-4700 ext. 4420
Martin Cappelli 222-6768
DEM ARRESTS WARWICK MAN FOR ILLEGAL DISPOSAL OF GASOLINE IN SEPTIC SYSTEM
PROVIDENCE: A Warwick man was arrested today for allegedly disposing of gasoline by pouring it down the drain at his business. Robert Cote, 39, of 12 Social Drive in Warwick, was arrested by DEM Officers at his place of business and arraigned before Judge Walter Gorman in 6th Division District Court in Warwick. He was charged with a single count of unlawfully disposing of hazardous waste. Cote entered no plea, as typically occurs in felony cases. He was released on $5,000 personal recognizance and faces an arraignment in Superior Court on August 14. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail and/or a $5,000 fine. The RI Attorney General's Office will be prosecuting the case.
According to Sr. Agent Giusto Iannelli, of DEM's Office of Criminal Investigation, the Warwick Fire Department was called to Cote's business, the Pro Divers Shop at 2442 West Shore Road, on April 30 after a neighbor in an adjacent strip mall heard an explosion and observed smoke coming from the dive shop. The fire department responded and extinguished the fire, but an officer at the scene noticed a heavy smell of gasoline coming from the facility. Cote admitted to placing a container with less than a gallon of gasoline in a sink to see if the gasoline was contaminated. Cote claimed that the fumes from the gasoline were ignited by a spark from a hot water heater.
The fire officer at the scene called DEM to determine if there was a remaining hazard. John Leo, a Sanitary Engineer with DEM's Emergency Response Unit, responded and found that a considerable amount of gasoline was present in the septic system. Leo determined that the situation constituted a threat to public safety and the environment, and he immediately called CYN Environmental to come to pump out the septic system.
Subsequent lab tests indicated that there was at least 20 and perhaps as much as 30 gallons of gasoline in the septic system, enough to pose a significant danger of a major explosion. Leo noted that if the fumes had backed up overnight in the pipes and vents associated with the septic system, the result could have been disastrous.
In addition to today's arrest, DEM officers, assisted by officers from the Warwick Police Department, executed a search warrant and removed evidence from the scene.