The Standard Times
Saugatucket shores evolving, but the river still has friends
WWAKEFIELD ith nearby Wakefield Elementary School to be demolished and Friends of the Saugatucket disbanding, it might seem like the Saugatucket River is facing tough times ahead. But some people in the community are committed to seeing it...
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RISING IN THE RANKS
The North Kingstown Police Department held a promotions, commendation and swearing-in ceremony last week. Detective J. Dylan Navakauskas (below right) was presented the Purple Heart award and Detective Ashely Depolito (below) was awarded a department...
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ALONG FOR THE SLIDE
NK residents young and old made the best of the first significant snow fall accumulations of the season. The former Wickford Elementary school hill was a favorite spot for sledding and playing in the snow this past weekend. Clockwise from top: Levi...
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‘ TIS THE SEASON
The annual tree lighting celebration in East Greenwich included a parade of vintage fire engines, a ballet performance, music by St. Luke’s choir and a visit from Santa Claus.
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NK High School recognized for commitment to Uni ed sports
NORTH KINGSTOWN — North Kingstown High School is the latest local school to be honored for its commitment to inclusion and respecting students of all abilities. Hundreds gathered in the gymnasium last Friday to witness the unveiling of a black and...
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ST. NICK IN WICKFORD
Wickford celebrated the 40th annual Festival of Lights this week as hundreds of people lined the town dock on Saturday to watch Santa’s arrival by boat. The jolly ol’ fellow was led through the harbor by his elves in canoes and kayaks. Hundreds of...
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IT’S EASY BEING GREEN
Casey Farm in Saunderstown held its annual evergreen wreath making workshops this past week. The popular event for the past seven years brings attendees to the farm to learn how to make a wreath from scratch. The group practiced together on an...
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TURKEY TIME
The newly opened Gansett Wraps in North Kingstown gave away 150 turkeys to NK residents on Saturday. The family-owned company gave away a total of 400 turkeys at its 6 locations across Rhode Island and Connecticut. The Mahmoud family has given away...
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FEST FRIENDS
The NK Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 152 recently sponsored the fifth annual Oktobervets in Wickford. The family friendly event included a 5K and kids run followed by a traditional Oktoberfest, with plenty of German food and beer as well as kids...
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HONORING VETS
Residents gathered in Wickford Village on Tuesday to honor veterans during the annual Veterans Day parade. The tradition evolved from the original Armistice Day, commemorating the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month; the end of World War I, and...
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Dozens of ‘Irreverent Warriors’ march for vets’ mental health
The inaugural Irreverent Warriors Rhode Island Ruck started and ended on the bike path at the Seabees Museum in Quonset, where dozens of veterans lined up layered in camouflage, red, white, and blue, or sometimes both. While they were at it, they...
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HOOFIN’ IT
The annual Horribles parade sponsored by the Wickford Village Association was held on Saturday. Following the parade, kids were invited to trick or treat at the village shops. Clockwise from top: the Sheldon family; the Longley family builds a pirate...
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GIL POWER
Gilbert Stuart Birthplace & Museum in North Kingstown held its annual Fall Festival on Sunday. The event included live music, demonstrations, Fall refreshments, nature walks and of course, a visit from Gilbert Stuart. Clockwise from top: Mateo...
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STEAM TEAM
Yankee Steam Up, an annual event held since 1967 at the New England Wireless and Steam Museum in East Greenwich draws thousands of engineering enthusiasts each year. This past weekend’s event included hands-on demonstrations, lectures, a car show, an...
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LIL PUMPKINS
Wildwood Nursery and Garden Center in East Greenwich held a Fall Festival this past weekend. The event included kids activities, local arts and crafts vendors, food, live music, and plenty of pumpkins, gourds and fall plants for sale. Clockwise from...
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TURNING BRIGHT
Thanks to a local maritime expert, a local family trust, and thousands of license plates, one of the most passed-by lighthouses in the Ocean State will soon look a little different. The Plum Beach Lighthouse, which is best visible while traveling over...
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Local writers take inspiration from URI Crime Friday series
This could be called a “Friday Forensics in Fiction” course: How writers can steal secrets from real crime solvers. At the University of Rhode Island, crime isn’t just studied in textbooks — it’s unpacked, dissected, and explained by the very people...
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EASY PICKINGS
The sweet smell of fall was in the air this week at North Kingstown’s Narrow Lane Orchard. Owned and operated by NK residents Sharon and Stephen Grenier since 2004, the orchard is currently ripe for the picking with more than 20 varieties of apples and...
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BACK TO THE BOOKS
Local students are back to hitting the books. East Greenwich started school on August 27 while North Kingstown kids had a little extra break with the start of school this week. Clockwise from top: the first graders in Megan Klok’s class at Quidnessett...
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NK community hails the arrival of a new troll statue to Ryan Park
They’re larger than life, they’re multiplying rapidly across the ocean state, and the community absolutely loves them. A fifth 20-foot-tall giant troll has appeared in the woods of Rhode Island, this time in Ryan Park in North Kingstown. This one sits...
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South County woman collects pieces of jewelry to support DVRC
SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Rings, strings, and bling galore. Mickey Ranalli’s dining room table at her South Kingstown home looks like a pirate’s treasure chest at the moment, but it’s all for a good cause. When Ranalli approached the Domestic Violence...
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NK officials, residents praise Food Pantry expansion
NORTH KINGSTOWN — Ted Holmes is a single father of three teenage boys and knows better than most how much the North Kingstown Food Pantry means to this community — and how much the organization’s upcoming expansion, which was marked last week with a...
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Annual Leapfest event promises thrills this weekend in Southern RI
EXETER — The skies above Southern Rhode Island are set to fill with whirling rotors, soaring canopies, and precision landings as Leapfest returns this Saturday, August 2, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at Adams Farm in Exeter. Now in its 41st year, the Rhode...
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Historic Preservation Garden is sprouting at Varnum House
EAST GREENWICH – A new Historic Preservation Garden at Varnum House Museum is paying homage to East Greenwich history and Colonial life. Following in the footsteps of the Varnum Continentals and Revolutionary War soldiers, history enthusiasts at the...
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Funerary care is not just black and white at NK family business
NORTH KINGSTOWN — When plans called for a vintage VW bug to accent a Grateful Dead fan’s life, weather didn’t cooperate, so the car came right into the Quinn Funeral Home for the wake and services there. For others, it might be something...
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WHAT A SITE TO SEE
EAST GREENWICH — East Greenwich is responding to Rhode Island’s housing crisis with the grand opening of Soria Apartments, a 63-unit development providing affordable housing for middleincome and workforce families, older adults and disabled...
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KEEPING IT 100
Longtime North Kingstown resident, George Silva celebrated his 100th birthday on Sunday with nearly 300 guests in attendance. The event was coordinated by volunteers from the NK VFW Post 152 and St. Bernard’s Catholic Church. Numerous commendations and...
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IT’S A HEAT WAVE
Feet danced on the scorching sand like water drops on a hot skillet. Even the normally bracing 64-degree Atlantic felt like relief as crowds dove in to escape the week’s brutal heat and humidity. Summer had arrived and in a flame-throwing 2025...
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North Kingstown High School salutes a memorable 2025 class
KINGSTON — No pandemic could get in the way of the North Kingstown High School class of 2025. From arts to athletics, they succeeded in just about everything they did. Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Duva highlighted this and more at last week’s graduation...
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East Greenwich High celebrates Class of 2025 at commencement
East Greenwich High School once again graduated in style this year at one of the most breathtaking stages in Rhode Island. Students, teachers, family and friends made the trip up to the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence, with the State House...
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SWEETMAN & THE SEA
NORTH KINGSTOWN – Richard Sweetman loves teaching chemistry at North Kingstown High School. Yet, he’s still a researcher at heart. That’s why he climbed aboard The Endeavor, the University of Rhode Island’s research vessel, for one of its final outings...
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PATRIOTIC PALS
North Kingstown held its annual Memorial Day observances on Monday, including a parade through Wickford village. Clockwise from top: Girl Scouts of NK troop 1278 march in the parade; Amy Jenner and Valerie Risley show off some patriotic spirit with...
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CLEAR AS A BELL
As one of the oldest bands in Rhode Island, the Lafayette Band of North Kingstown has been performing for audiences since 1882. This past weekend they presented their annual “An Armed Forces Salute” concert at the St. Bernard Church. The concert was in...
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BUSINESS TRIP
John Brito, middle, co-owner of Sombra Eatery & Lounge, talks to Gov. Dan McKee, left, R.I. Secretary of Commerce Liz Tanner and Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, right, during their tour of small businsesses along Main Street in East Greenwich on May 7. Right:...
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SPRING POPS OFF AT SMITH’S
Historic Smith’s Castle in North Kingstown opened its 2025 season this past weekend with a grand celebration free and open to the public. The event included reenactors, children’s games and crafts, author talks, vendors, mead making demonstrations,...
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ARTS AND CRAFTING
Spring was in the air this weekend as visitors to the Gilbert Stuart Museum strolled the grounds during the annual Spring fair. The event included kids craft projects, food, music, tours of the historic house and educational displays. Clockwise from...
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HAPPY HUNTING
Hundreds gathered at Casey Farm in North Kingstown this weekend for the annual egg hunt. Children explored the farm, visited with the many animals, played farm themed games, made Spring time crafts, and of course, hunted for eggs. Clockwise from top:...
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A FURRY FIFTY
Not many businesses last a half of a century or more. Those that do, attribute their success to their commitment to their clients – even those with four legs. The North Kingstown Animal Hospital celebrated 50 years of service last month. The event...
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PARK AND RIDE
Mountain bikers from around the state gathered at Ryan Park in North Kingstown on Sunday for the first race of its kind since 2017. The event was organized by NKHS senior, Maida Talancy as her senior project. Proceeds from the event benefit the New...
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ANNOUNCEMENT TO OUR READERS
We are excited to announce a significant change in the delivery method of our newspaper, which takes effect with this edition. To ensure greater reliability and consistency, we have transitioned from traditional home delivery to mail delivery. Why the...
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‘Super plungers’ raise over $140K for Special Olympics
Some would call it insane, jumping into the icy Atlantic at Salty Brine State Beach every time the clock reached 12 for 24 hours straight. Not to these folks, though. These people revel in participating in the annual Special Olympics Rhode Island...
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St. Pat-Wick
It was a lucky day for those who visited Wickford Village on Saturday. St. Patrick cruised Wickford Harbor then greeted visitors at the town dock, giving golden coins to children who stopped to say hello to him. Local merchants set up side walk sales...
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QUEEN IN HER COURT
NORTH KINGSTOWN — Abby Kilday is finding that “Legally Blonde — The Musical” is more than just a play, but perhaps an anthem to her own desires. “I was very interested in working toward the role of Elle Woods, mainly because I loved her as a character...
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Interest rising in chicken farming amid heightened grocery prices
These days, the great chicken-oregg debate feels irrelevant because backyard poultry enthusiasts have a simple answer: Why not have both? Cluck, cluck, ka-ching! Local chick suppliers are witnessing a feathery frenzy as more folks flock to raising...
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Standard-Times, Pendulum to combine, form Standard-Pendulum
For more than 130 years, the East Greenwich Pendulum and North Kingstown Standard-Times have been delivering the news of the West Bay to the doors of our readers. Thanks to generations of support from our subscribers and advertisers, our papers have...
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GALS’ NIGHT OUT
Wickford Village was the place to be this past week for girls who just want to have fun. February 13th is catching on globally as Galentine’s Day. A day of celebration of female friendship. In Wickford, shops stayed open late to celebrate gal pals with...
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NK artist brings out beauty of winter through personal painting
NORTH KINGSTOWN — When the beaches close and the holidays end, the January dread can hit hard for coastal New Englanders. What is there to behold besides dead brown seagrass and muddy snow? Lorena Pugh can tell you. Pugh, a professional artist and...
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MAKING THE MOLD
An evening of creativity and philanthropy brought together about 80 members of the community this past week for Davisville Middle School’s annual clay bowl making event. Since 2016, DMS students, parents, grandparents and friends have participated in...
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Theatre By The Sea auditions a chance at stardom for performers
It’s a moment many actors dread while at the same time holding anticipation about a door unlocking to future roles, perhaps even stardom. It is the audition. As Theatre By The Sea gets ready for a jampacked season of previously acclaimed performances...
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Got a mouse problem this winter? You may not be alone.
There’s nothing mousey about evicting invading mice. Even someone with Mickey ears couldn’t lead this troupe of Mouseketeers away. In the freezing winter months, they charge in like uninvited holiday guests who eat all your cookies, leave crumbs — and...
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SHE’D LOVE A PARADE
Nancy Rafi just loves organizing parades and themes — witches, SantaCon, Mrs. Roper Romp, Sea Creature — and now wants to pull together the first Occasional Wickford Doo Dah Parade + Festival. Crazy, wacky, funny, and overthe-top are descriptions she...
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Local vape shop owners say law could end their businesses
SOUTH KINGSTOWN — A ban on selling flavored vape products could lead to a local store closing its doors, according to court papers in a federal suit brought by Sunshine Vape in the South County Commons in South Kingstown. “We will continue to do...
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LET THERE BE LIGHT
On Christmas night, a new light appeared on the coast of Wickford Harbor. No, it wasn’t the famed Christmas star of Bethlehem, but rather a little-known lighthouse that was rekindled for the first time in nearly 150 years. The Poplar Point Lighthouse...
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Scout troop, local farm team up to recycle used Christmas trees
Living the Scout Oath “to help other people at all times,” Matunuck’s Boy Scout Troop 44 will offer a hand to remove oncebright and ornament-laden Christmas trees fading into a cherished memory of a holiday past. Scouts will remove the tree during...
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SNOWBOATING
Hundreds lined Wickford Harbor on Saturday as they awaited the grand arrival of Santa by boat. The jolly old fellow was escorted by a team of elves in kayaks and canoes who led the way from the “North Pole” to the town dock. There children greeted him,...
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ELVES ON PARADE
The annual elf parade was held in Wickford Village this past weekend. Plenty of little elves (along with their moms and dads) paraded from Sweet Marie’s Tea Cottage where there was a pre-parade reception of cocoa and cookies down Brown street to the...
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GIFTING SPIRITS
This past weekend, Wickford Village was a busy sight as shoppers vowed to support their neighborhood shops. Since its creation in 2010, the annual Small Business Saturday has served to encourage people to shop locally. Shoppers choose to skip the big...
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BOXING DAY
It has been said that “Many hands make light work.” Nothing could have been more true this past weekend as volunteers with the NK Food Pantry gathered to prepare Thanksgiving food boxes for more than 500 North Kingstown families facing food insecurity....
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Students, friends mourn death of NK teacher Lane Leedahl
NORTH KINGSTOWN — Lane Leedahl, a cherished third-grade elementary school teacher in North Kingstown, lost his courageous battle with cancer this week but won a legacy living in countless hearts as students, friends, and colleagues say they will...
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HONORING VETS
North Kingstown honored those who serve in the military with a parade on Monday. The annual tradition brought hundreds of people to line the sidewalks of Wickford Village to show their appreciation and say Thank You to Veterans and their family members...
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South County Health officials address concerns at community meeting
South County Health leaders held a community meeting last week at The Towers in Narragansett to address concerns about the healthcare system’s financial sustainability and recent staffing changes. The meeting aimed to clarify what CEO Aaron Robinson...
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Photojournalist Dan Dunn dies; had storied career in South County
In South County, life continued with its daily rhythms — the Galilee fishing boats bringing in their catch, people strolling along sunlit beaches, and the Salt Pond shimmering near the hospital where Daniel G. Dunn lay quietly, his voice stilled but...
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WITCHES OF WICKFORD
Warlocks, witches and their little dogs too, flooded Wickford Harbor this past weekend for the sixth annual Witches Paddle. The event was the largest yet, drawing hundreds of spectators and more than 200 paddlers. The event was sponsored by the Kayak...
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Longtime NK football coach mourned a er boat accident
NORTH KINGSTOWN — Disbelief hit many community members Tuesday as they learned about the sudden and tragic death of celebrated former North Kingstown High School Coach Joe Gilmartin, who died a day earlier after falling from his boat and into the water...
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HISTORY ON THE MARCH
North Kingstown continued its celebration of the town’s 350th anniversary with the long awaited parade on Saturday. The event included each NK school, a brigade of fire engines from around the state, bands, local organizations, vintage vehicles and...
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LOOKING FOR HOMES
The Thirsty Beaver in North Kingstown held a dog adoption event this past Saturday. The event raised more than $1000 for the Heart of Rhode Island Animal Rescue League. The event included local vendors, drink samples and a chance to meet some of the...
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