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Rhode Island school thrives after last-ditch purchase from diocese

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Rhode Island school thrives after last-ditch purchase from diocese


“There are so many miracles that happened in those three days and over the three months while the decision was made,” Casey said, “but we became owners of three acres with a church that seats 400 people, a school that can accommodate 160 students and a rectory [at which] we are housing our teachers.”

“It has been a crazy ride, but we believe God and Our Lady are at the helm,” Casey said. 

Volunteers help install a sign at Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Hope. Credit: Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Hope

Following the school’s acquisition of the property, volunteers and engineers both pitched in to help prepare it for opening. Workers “did quite a bit in a short time to get the buildings to code to move in,” Casey said. “We spent about $55,000 to open it and during the first year we needed about $20,000 in repairs that showed up as we started using the property again.”

He admitted that those investments were financially “draining” but that the school is engaging in fundraising as it grows into a four-year institution, after which “the financials look pretty good.” The school currently hosts about 20 students; the St. Francis property can accommodate a total of 160.

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Casey said the school is well supported as it launches. Benefactors “are starting to get behind the mission and vision to help the school get to the next level,” he said, while volunteers “have been incredible, sharing their gifts in areas such as painting, construction, and much sweat equity.”

Students in the classroom at Chesterton Academy. Credit: COLE DeSANTIS/Rhode Island Catholic
Students in the classroom at Chesterton Academy. Credit: COLE DeSANTIS/Rhode Island Catholic

Casey said the experience with the school shows that lay Catholics looking to help the Church need to “step up and help instead of hoping someone else does it.”

“Catholic laypeople must become part of the solution for the Church’s future,” he said. “We need to support our diocese and priests.” The diocese, Casey added, has been “so supportive” of the school, with a different priest visiting the school “every day” to celebrate its daily Mass. 

“Priests visit us from all over Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts, and the students have an opportunity to see how each priest has a different journey in faith,” he said. “They sometimes share lunch with the students. Priests or deacons help us every month for our First Friday Holy Hours. Both bishops and a few monsignors have celebrated Mass with us.”

Casey said the school aspires to “bring spiritual life back to the Warwick and greater Rhode Island community and help families committed to raising their children to be the next generation of saints.”

(Story continues below)

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“Many Chesterton schools do not start this way with buying at the start,” he said, “but we believe with Our Lady of Hope guiding us, that we will be able to fill the school and help bring more souls to Christ.”





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CRMC asks RI Superior Court to force Quidnessett Country Club to take down rock wall

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CRMC asks RI Superior Court to force Quidnessett Country Club to take down rock wall


The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) filed a counterclaim against Quidnessett Country Club in Providence County Superior Court Tuesday. It wants a judge to force the North Kingstown country club to remove the 600-foot stone wall built without permission roughly three years ago.



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Why a Taylor Swift wedding might shut down Westerly streets

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Why a Taylor Swift wedding might shut down Westerly streets


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  • The potential wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, presents a significant logistical challenge.
  • Transporting celebrity guests would likely occur in three phases: from airports, to wedding events, and back to airports.
  • A large, out-of-state limousine company would probably be needed to handle the transportation for the high-profile event.
  • Using large coach buses would be necessary to move guests to wedding activities and ease traffic in the small village.

As Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce eye possibly getting married at her Watch Hill, Rhode Island, mansion, The Providence Journal is surveying various wedding vendors about what it would take for the Ocean State to host a wedding befitting the most popular woman in the world.

Imagine a crowd of A-list celebrities descending on the village of Watch Hill in Westerly this summer to attend the wedding of mega celebrity Taylor Swift and football star Travis Kelce.

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To Chuck O’Koomian, who owns Airline Express Limousine and Car Service with his wife Ginny Cauley, it’s like a scene out of a horror movie.

“It’s gonna be a logistical nightmare,” O’Koomian told The Providence Journal.

How will guests arrive at Taylor Swift’s wedding in Westerly?

While Swift has not announced when or where her wedding will be, O’Koomian talked about what would be involved in getting a large celebrity crowd to the wedding, if it were held at her Bluff Avenue mansion, the nearby Ocean House resort or the Watch Hill Chapel, where Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo tied the know with football player Christian McCaffrey in 2024.

O’Koomian, who has provided transportation for comedian Jay Leno, who has a home in Newport, said there would be three distinct phases of ground transportation:

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  1. Getting people from airports to their hotels
  2. Getting people from their hotels to the wedding activities
  3. Getting them back to the airports

The middle phase, delivering people to wedding activities, very well may not be just a one-day affair. Many say Swift won’t have a wedding day; they’re expecting a wedding week.

While some guests, especially those in New York or Connecticut, would probably just have their drivers bring them to Westerly, others would fly in by private jets, probably landing at Westerly State Airport or Quonset State Airport, whose military runway is long enough to handle larger jets. From there, guests would need a ride to where they are staying.

What Westerly residents have to say

Folks in Westerly have surmised that, even if it’s not the site of the ceremony or reception, the Ocean House, along with its sister property the Weekapaug Inn, plus several rented, private mansions would be needed to accommodate guests.

O’Koomian expects that a large limousine company – such as Boston Corporate Coach or Carey Limousine, in Massachusetts, or Hy’s Limousine, in Connecticut – with more than 120 cars each, would get the contract to serve Taylor Swift’s wedding. “There’s not even 120 cars in Rhode Island, all the companies combined,” he said, adding that, as a subcontractor, he would hope to get a piece of the business.

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Could a fleet of private cars filled with stars snarl traffic in Westerly?

This first phase of local transportation would involve many trips of smaller parties. “They may come in two, three, four at a time,” he said.

While that is suitable for limousine service, getting from hotels to the ceremony, reception and other events, would require a different strategy for that second phase. “It’s like they’re transporting a football team,” he said.

That would mean “coaches,” the upscale version of buses. They would ease the traffic burden that would be created by limousines ferrying some 300 wedding guests around the tiny village of Watch Hill.

“It’s gonna take a lot of coordination if it’s Westerly,” O’Koomian said. “They’re going to have to shut down half the city. Police would have to shut down streets.”



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Rhode Island man crashes into house in Raynham after apparent medical episode

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Rhode Island man crashes into house in Raynham after apparent medical episode


A car crashed into a home in Raynham Tuesday afternoon.

Police said they responded to a report for a vehicle that crashed into a home shortly before 1 p.m. on Broadway Street.

Officers at the scene said they found a sedan that had crashed into the lower brick portion of the home.

Investigators said a man from Rhode Island appeared to suffer from a medical episode before leaving the roadway and crashing into the home.

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Police said the driver suffered non life-threatening injuries. He was transported to Boston Medical Center – South in Brockton.

Officers said the home was empty at the time of the crash.

The Raynham Building Department responded to assess the home for structural damage.

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The crash is under investigation.



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