Local Man Hailed As Hero + Pawtucket Educator Honored

Welcome to the Pawtucket Patch Daily — your quickest way to get caught up on the city's top news stories. I'm your host, Mary Serreze. I can be reached at mary.serreze@patch.com. Feel free to send me your news tips, thoughts, and ideas. It may sound simple, but if you like what we're doing, sign up for this daily newsletter and tell your friends.

First, the weather:

• Wednesday: Partly cloudy. High of 77, low of 53.
• Thursday: Clear throughout the day. High of 77, low of 55.
• Friday: Mostly cloudy. High of 78, low of 68.

Patch Pick: Slater Park, with its 10 courts, is known for hosting tennis tournaments. On Sunday, the boys’ Interscholastic League singles final came down to a clash between two Barrington standouts. Ultimately, Eric Zhang served out a 6-2,6-4 win over James Bogdanovic. (The Providence Journal)

(As an aside: Summer youth tennis camp signup is happening, via Pawtucket Parks & Rec.)

Here are the top five stories from Pawtucket today:

1. A Central Falls man who died trying to rescue a drowning girl at Conimicut Point Beach in Warwick is being hailed as a hero. The family of Valentin Cardona Sanchez, 35, spoke with WPRI. “He was born in Guatemela, he came to better his life, and he was always putting people first. Always about his family, about everybody else before himself,” his niece remarked. Sanchez and 10-year-old Yoskarly Martinez died on Fathers Day.

2. Just last month Gov. Dan McKee visited Pawtucket to sign legislation guaranteeing financial literacy education to all students. And Tuesday, a Pawtucket financial educator was honored by General Treasurer Seth Magaziner. Robert D'Arezzo, director of the Marketing and Management Academy at William E. Tolman Senior High School, was recognized as Rhode Island's 2021 Financial Literacy Educator of the Year. (Patch)

3. Rhode Island is one of the best states in the country for COVID-19 vaccination rates, but a handful of communities still lag behind. Data from the Department of Health show that Foster, Central Falls, Newport, Burrillville, Pawtucket, Providence, Tiverton, and Woonsocket are the only municipalities where fewer than 50 percent of residents are fully vaccinated. (The Boston Globe)

4. Lifeguards are needed in Pawtucket in order to re-open Fairlawn Veterans Memorial Park Pool. It’s not the first time the city has experienced a lifeguard shortage. The city is sweetening the deal by offering to reimburse lifeguard certification costs. WJAR has the story.

5. A Pawtucket businesswoman who owned and operated three Thrifty 5-10 stores has died at the age of 96. Working with her husband, Sophie Ganosel ran the five-and-dime stores in Pawtucket and Providence for 50 years. (GoLocalProv)

Events, June 23 and Beyond:

• The Pawtucket City Council meets Wednesday at 7 p.m. The agenda may be viewed here. The regular meeting will be preceded by the Property Committee (6:20 p.m., agenda) and the Board of License Commissioners (6:45 p.m., agenda).

• Festival Ballet Providence presents "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." Tickets are still available for upcoming shows this weekend.

• Over in Central Falls, Mayor Maria Rivera says to stay tuned. A free kayaking program for 200 children will be announced this week in collaboration with the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council.

That's it. You're all caught up. See you tomorrow. Always feel free to let me know what's going on.

About me: Maine native, UMass Amherst Regional Planning alum. Stick-shift driver, explorer. I believe in good government and the public's right to know. Interested in just about everything. I still like paper maps. I can be reached at mary.serreze@patch.com.