An historic land acknowledgment, an unthinkable murder, amazing student achievements despite unrelenting chaos surrounding them, and big developments within the town itself all marked an eventful year in Warren.

Here are some of the highlights from 2021:

A tumultuous year for Bristol Warren schools
While COVID has caused many issues for school districts throughout the state and the country, the Bristol Warren Regional School District found itself the subject of plenty of headlines throughout the year for other reasons as well.

The 2020/21 school year began with an unprecedented budget shortfall of $2.3 million, which required the cutting of a dozen positions and threatened many programs, including the proposal of completely cutting the theater director’s position. Although the damage was somewhat mitigated and the theater department was partially saved, the depths of financial chaos within the district was formally outlined in a subsequent report. Things have been slowly coming back to Earth following the hiring of CFO Anthony Ferrucci over the summer, mercifully.

More trouble followed quickly, however, with the resignation of Superintendent Jonathan Brice in July — just one year into a three-year contract extension granted to him by the school committee.

Just prior to his resignation, the district faced widespread fallout over a controversial decision made by the school committee to schedule the first day of school during Rosh Hashanah, which drew derision from a wide swath of the community and forced Brice to override their action.

Interim Superintendent Bob Hicks provided only a brief reprieve from the instability after he took control of the district in August. Just six weeks following his appointment, he resigned amid reports that he soured quickly at being micromanaged by certain members of the school committee. Former long-time superintendent Ed Mara provided a stopgap between newly-appointed superintendent, Ana Riley, who was approved by the committee in November.

The school committee itself has been an ongoing source of controversy, including its recent handling of mask mandates among members of the public at meetings and members of the committee themselves. Most recently, a meeting was shut down early due to two members of the public refusing to wear a mask as had been mandated by the state since August, which the committee had finally begun enforcing.

In October, a five-member contingent of the school committee drew widespread criticism over their decision to deny a grant-funded contract to Simona Simpson-Thomas, a Black educational consultant, using reasoning that was deemed by a sizable portion of the student and parent population, as well as Simpson-Thomas herself, as being based in racism. A subsequent letter from the Rhode Island ACLU regarding disproportionate suspensions of minority students at Mt. Hope High School furthered the talk of prejudice within the district.

Not to be forgotten, a misunderstanding regarding the funding mechanism and timing structure forced the district to lose a sorely-needed school resource officer at Kickemuit Middle School in November — a position that was put in place due to an outcry from the teacher and parent population regarding student behavior at the school in recent years. A joint resolution with the Town of Warren may be coming, but has not yet been realized.

Tragedy at the Italo-American Club
Thursday, Sept. 2 marked a dark day on the East Bay when Brian Remy, the long-time Assistant Fire Chief in Warren, was killed by Michael Ouellette after an incident at the Italo-American Club — which Ouellette was president of — on Kelly Street.

The murder and subsequent death of Ouellette, who took his own life after engaging in a shootout with Bristol Police on Water Street near his home, rocked the area, which had not seen a crime of such heinous violence in decades.

The community held a massive gathering and vehicle parade in Remy’s honor following his funeral, with many hundreds attending and emergency apparatus from dozens of communities showing up.

The ultimate fate of the Italo-American Club’s liquor license, and by extension its viability as an establishment, remains to be realized, as a full hearing with the Department of Business Regulations has yet to be held.

Pokanoket land recognized
An historic land acknowledgment ceremony was initiated by the Town of Warren to honor and pay tribute to the indigenous Pokanoket Tribe, who inhabited the lands comprising much of the East Bay, including Warren, for millennia, and whose assistance enabled the original Puritan colonists to survive their first brutal winter in New England.

The Town signed the acknowledgment in July, and commemorated the historic action with a plaque placed in front of Town Hall in November.

"We're finally getting our due after all this time," said William Winds of Thunder Guy, the Pokanokets' sagamore, at the time of the acknowledgment in July. "We've always tried to be good neighbors, no matter what. It's fantastic that [the town] recognized us after all these years. There have been a lot of revisionists who have tried to re-write history, so for these people to come out and acknowledge the tribe, it feels good. We're very pleased."

Gateway project progresses (sort of)
The proposed development at the foot of the Warren Bridge and abutting the Tourister Mill complex, known as the Warren Gateway, went through quite a bit of evolution in 2021.

The plan being pursued by Barrington lawyer and developer Giovanni Cicione, as of the most recent meeting in November, is to construct a 55-foot-tall building that would house a restaurant, Twelve Guns Brewery, and a boutique hotel. Additionally, he would restore the existing historic National Grid building that exists on the site. Plans for public bathrooms and a large, public-use open lawn space are also in the mix.

The cost of the proposal was originally was forecast by Town Planner Bob Rulli in January in the range of $9 million. Cicione said during the November meeting that number is closer to $10 or $12 million. The town would have to put up bond money to help finance the project, but concerns remain over how much that should amount to, and if the project will be economically viable enough to pay off that debt.

A contingent of residents have also began voicing criticism over the size of the development and whether it would reasonably fit into the aesthetic of the area. We will continue to watch this development as we head into 2022.

Farewell to the Kickemuit Reservoir
Despite the attempts of concerned residents and abutters, a plan to demolish the dams that contain the Kickemuit Reservoir has gone forward, with an anticipated date of completion coming in the spring of 2023. The work will coincide with the reconstruction of 2.6 miles of Birchswamp and Schoolhouse Roads.

Those opposed have lamented the loss of Warren’s one source of fresh water that dates back to the 1800s, while proponents of the dam destruction have argued and shown scientifically that the reservoir has not been viable as a potable source of water for decades.

With the damn removed, the area will return to its natural state as a tidal estuary, which advocates say will also be beneficial for the various wildlife species native to the area. There has been talk of expanding public access to the area once its limitations as a designated source of drinking water are officially removed.

Veterans’ monument restored
The Warren Town Common got a major glow up this year, with the complete restoration of its Honor Roll, which lists all the veterans from Warren who have fought in military conflicts throughout the country’s history. The unveiling occurred on Veterans’ Day, on the 20th anniversary of the Honor Roll’s original dedication.

The restoration included the addition of a brand-new plaque that lists forgotten people from past record and includes all present-day veterans of modern wars fought in the Middle East. It also includes the names of six formerly enslaved Black soldiers from Warren who fought during the Revolutionary War.

The $20,000 restoration was half-funded through grant money and donations, with the other half accrued by the Warren Association of Vietnam Veterans and Warren Unit #11 of the American Legion Auxiliary.

Unprecedented development plan gets high praise
The comprehensive Market to Metacom development plan, which we have covered in detail, finished its public comment sessions in 2021 and is moving forward.

Short-term goals include finalizing a comprehensive form-based code protocol for the Metacom Avenue area to incentivize more environmentally- and pedestrian-friendly developments. Long-term goals including finding a way to move residents out of the low-lying Market Street area in the coming decades, as the area will be partially, permanently flooded in as little as 15 years under current sea-level rise projections. The hope is to turn that area into reclaimed wetlands to better mitigate flooding issues.

The project, masterminded by Town Planner Bob Rulli, has been heralded by Senator Jack Reed and other top Rhode Island officials, and was recently chosen as a 2021 winner for the “Propose Your Own Category — Excellent Climate Change Impact Adaption Plan” award by the Rhode Island American Planning Association.

Restaurant scene booming
Warren’s well-renowned food scene added a big name this year, as The Guild opened its stunning brewpub on the banks of the Palmer/Barrington River in September.

Also along the waterfront, the popular Trafford Restaurant on Water Street reopened after two-and-a-half years of closure following a catastrophic hood fire in March of 2019. They welcomed invited guests back for a sneak preview reopening dinner in October.

The popular Chomp Restaurant almost made it to a new, much larger location on Water Street, but remains tied up in litigation brought forth by an abutter who claims the restaurant will have an adverse effect on his business.

Along Main Street, Happy Place Creperie and Naked Foods both opened this year.

Local businesses honored
Jade Engineered Plastics and Grace Barker Health both received awards from the East Bay Chamber of Commerce during their October banquet.

AVTECH, the Cutler Mill-based business which manufactures the Room Alert climate monitoring device that is used by companies on every continent on Earth, received its latest award — this time an international accolade, the 2021 Go Global Award for Property Technology through the International Trade Council.

Blount Fine Foods, an iconic Warren business that has since expanded its brand globally, also celebrated its 75th year in 2021.

20th anniversary of 9/11 recognized
Warren held a flag dedication ceremony at the Town Wharf to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Elsewhere, Drew Nederpelt, a Warren firefighter and survivor of Ground Zero, set up a display at a vacant storefront on Child Street to showcase photographs of the day, as well as a timeline of events that was made by students of Christopher Stanley, a fellow Warren firefighter and a history teacher at Ponaganset High School.

COVID’s toll
Warren lost 58 residents to COVID-19 in 2021, which calculates to the fourth-highest death toll in Rhode Island in per-capita fatalities from the disease. A total of 1,856 infections were recorded as of press time on Tuesday.

Academic achievements
Emily Marino, a Mt. Hope senior, was the first student in school history to be named to the National Association for Music Education’s all-national chorus. Marino and Rachel Ouellette, another senior, were also named to the regional All-Eastern Honor Ensemble.

Sixteen Mt. Hope students in total were named to the All-State Performing Ensembles, including:

Abigail Bratsos (Treble Chorus); Liam Reich (Mixed Chorus); Vic Bullard (#1 Alto for Mixed-Chorus); Lucien Chidester (Orchestra); Sabella Matheson (Orchestra); Abigail Phenix (Treble Chorus); Emily Marino (Treble Chorus); Madison Campo (Treble Chorus); Nathan Macedo (Mixed Chorus); Sophia Ferolito (Mixed Chorus); Carter McCausland (Guitar Ensemble); Frank Ferrara (Guitar Ensemble); Hannah DeJesus (#1 for Guitar Ensemble); Peter Labonte (Guitar Ensemble & Orchestra); Eva White (Band); Rachel Ouellette (#1 Flute in Orchestra).

For educators, Highlander Charter School math teacher Patty Houlik was named Math Teacher of the Year by the Rhode Island Math Teacher’s Association, and Mt. Hope principal Dr. Deb DiBiase was named the state’s Principal of the Year.

Sports roundup
Mt. Hope gymnastics won its fifth title in six years, narrowly beating Barrington in February.

The Mt. Hope wrestling team won its first ever Rhode Island Interscholastic League State Championship at the Providence Career and Technical Academy in June.

The Highlander Charter School soccer team won the Coastal Prep League championship in November, defeating Oxford Academy of Westbrook, Ct., 5-1.

The Mt. Hope girls’ tennis team was defeated in the Division II Championship versus The Prout School in November.

The Mt. Hope girls’ basketball team fell just short of a championship, losing narrowly to Mt. Pleasant in the March D-III championship game by a score of 45-40.

The Mt. Hope boys’ soccer team fell just short of making the state finals after losing to North Smithfield in the semifinal match in November.

The Kickemuit Middle School girls’ soccer team made it to the championship game despite long odds and a long list of players who were unable to partake due to a late outbreak of COVID. They lost to Cole Middle School of East Greenwich in November.