Besides the Fish Ladder construction soon, more will be happening at the Slater Mill area.

With stimulus funds in place, Kissinger takes over Community Guild Studios

PAWTUCKET - Janice Kissinger, who has served as chief operating officer of the Historic Slater Mill Site for the past three years, has announced she'll soon step aside from that position to take on an all-new endeavor at the historic location.

Kissinger, who was the product of a nationwide search when she took over the city's number one tourist attraction in 2007, has decided to shift her focus to the Community Guild Studios in a part-time capacity that she says will allow her to follow one of her "real passions," working with fabric.

Started last year, Community Guild Studios at Slater Mill is attracting more than 400 people each month, said Kissinger, and she believes the fiber arts center is "ready to take off" even further in the coming months.

She said that in her new position as creative director of the Jencks Education Center/Community Guild Studios, she'll work hard to build on the success of textile craft programs already happening in the completely renovated second-floor space of the main stone mill building.

"This lets me have a little less responsibility but still allows me to be part of the mill," said Kissinger, an avid knitter, spinner and weaver who lives in Lincoln. "This is what I'm really passionate about."

Floors have been totally refurbished, a new kitchen, lighting and furnishings added, and a former storage room overlooking the Blackstone River completely overhauled, among other improvements, said Kissinger. A stairway that once blocked the view of the river has been removed, she said, granting a beautiful new perspective for those inside.

Board members for the Slater Mill are now in the final stages of hiring a replacement for Kissinger as director, and plan to have someone in place this week.

Kissinger's new part-time position will be funded through $25,000 in federal stimulus money through the National Education Association and the Rhode Island State Council for the Arts.

Also funding the Community Guild Studios are the 1772 Foundation, the Littlefield Trust, the Champlin Foundation and Berroco Yarn in Uxbridge, Mass.

Having the funding in place before she assumes her new position will allow Kissinger the "luxury" to find new salary sources for future years.

Though she'll make a fraction of what she earned as director, Kissinger said she can't wait for this next phase in her life - and the life of the Slater Mill.

Four textile guilds are already holding their meetings in the beautiful new Jencks Education Center, she said, and she expects more to come now that she is entirely dedicated to the success of the studios.

The next main event for the Community Guild Studios will be the "New Year, New Inspiration, New Techniques" knitting weekend scheduled for the weekend of Jan. 22-24.

Last year's knitting weekend raised more than $5,000 for the studios, said Kissinger. Activities like the new and improved knitting weekend bring much-needed recognition to the good things that are happening at the mill.

Kissinger said she would like to expand on activities that are already up and running, like the teen apprentice program that allows high school students in Pawtucket to learn a textile trade at the mill. Each student is paired with an artist in a mentoring relationship each Wednesday as they learn to transform raw materials into beautiful fabrics.

In keeping with the mill's slogan, "Where innovation starts," Kissinger would also like to push into other fine crafts as the birthplace of America's Industrial Revolution grows into a greater hub for creative activity.

She also envisions the Community Guild Studios being a training ground for those who operate historic buildings all over New England, a place for instruction on how best to care for old fabrics.

Kissinger's new role with the Community Guild Studios isn't the only exciting thing happening at the Slater Mill. Mill officials expect that another federal $194,000 appropriation from the $446.8 billion 2010 federal government funding bill will soon be signed off on, giving the green light to the mill's planned turbine project.

Combined with other revenue sources, the stimulus money is expected to fund the restoration of two mill's 18th-Century turbines, one of which will be used to generate hydropower from the river to help heat and provide electricity to the mill - the modern "greening" of the mill, among other benefits.

The waterway project has been placed on a list of "pork alert" projects by the Washington D.C.-based non-profit group Citizens Against Government Waste, but Kissinger and others say the project will have economic, cultural and educational benefits, among others.

The turbine project not only coincides nicely with the ongoing restoration of the Blackstone River, according to Kissinger, but would also help maintain jobs at the mill and provide added business to local vendors.

Very nice stuff about the kid from Senegal in the newsletter who won't give up

Let us make him Mayor and straighten out the excusitis group

Maybe our former Fire Chief might run for Mayor in the future, but Tim did a very good job and the shoes will be difficult to fill for the February appointment.

Fire Chief McLaughlin retires

on 01-20-2010 00:53     By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN PAWTUCKET — After 27 years of service with the Pawtucket Fire Department, retiring Fire Chief Timothy McLaughlin was bid farewell at a Jan. 14 ceremony at City Hall. By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN PAWTUCKET — After 27 years of service with the Pawtucket Fire Department, retiring Fire Chief Timothy McLaughlin was bid farewell at a Jan. 14 ceremony at City Hall. With members of the police and fire departments and other City Hall staff in attendance, Mayor James E. Doyle presented McLaughlin with a ceremonial “key to the city” and a proclamation thanking him for his many years of service. Doyle later stated, “Chief McLaughlin has had an outstanding career in the Pawtucket Fire Department. Over his 27 years of service, he has always set the welfare and safety of the public as a priority. Further, as chief, his leadership has been the primary factor in bringing our firefighting capabilities into the 21st century. He will be a difficult man to replace.” Doyle had announced that McLaughlin, 47, would retire as of Dec. 31, 2009. He began his career with the Pawtucket Fire Department at the age of 19 on June 15, 1982, and was promoted to lieutenant on Feb. 28, 1999. He was then promoted to chief by the mayor on Jan. 18, 2004. According to Doyle, during his tenure as chief, McLaughlin has overseen the replacement of 70 percent of the apparatus, enhanced firefighting capabilities by updating to four-inch hoses, secured state-of-the-art communications equipment, and updated to the latest breathing devices. He is also credited with improving each fire station facility, installing computer technology in each truck, and helped develop a cutting-edge training facility located beneath the city's Emergency Management Center on Armistice Boulevard. Doyle told the TIMES that the Fire Department will be operating under the supervision of the four battalion chiefs until McLaughlin's replacement is chosen. He said that applications for the chief's position will be accepted until next Monday, Jan. 25, and that he intends to make an appointment by mid-February. Doyle said that he expects to be able to select a new chief from inside the Fire Department. He added that while there are 38 employees who would technically be eligible for the position, he expects to make his choice from a pool of about 9 to 10 qualified candidates.

Here is the 2009 annual report from the Pawtucket Foundation showing the momentum report for Pawtucket and especially the downtown.

http://www.pawtucketfoundation.org/documents/2009%20Annual%20Report_Momentum.pdf