Charlestown’s Brush with Nuclear Power

/, 0 Comments

When: Monday April 7 and Monday April 14 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at URI, 210 Flagg Road, Kingston, RI
Why: A proposal to build a twin-reactor nuclear power plant behind a barrier beach in our town came very close to fruition in the mid-1970s.
Register: You must register in advance for this course by April 6 at noon.
Cost: $35.00

Charlestown’s citizens organized just in time to play an important role in defeating the power company’s plans. What part did a small weekly newspaper play in this story and what does the decline in community journalism mean for the future of our state, cities and towns? This will be the topic of a two part course at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at URI’s Kingston campus.

The instructor for this course is Brian F. Mitchell. Brian, a URI graduate with a B.A. in journalism/political science, served as the first editor of the Chariho Times weekly newspaper for the Wilson Publishing Company and was a copy/section editor for 20 years at The Day newspaper in New London. After retirement from newspapers, he served as manager of the Kingston Chamber Music Festival for 16 years.

Directions: Route 138 to Upper College Rd. Travel to the end of road and turn left onto Flagg Rd. Travel through stop sign and lot #21 is on your left. #210 is a two-story brown building, set back from the road. Park anywhere in front of the building. OLLI is located on the second floor.