Taunton woman attends State of the Union address: Top stories

Kristina Fontes, The Taunton Daily Gazette
·4 min read

Before we begin the new week in earnest, we're taking a look back at the week that was, and the stories that led the news with Taunton Daily Gazette readers.

Top stories this past week included:

Bobby's Place owner Robert Asack proposing to build an apartment/retail complex on Weir Street. He hopes to renovate the vacant consignment shop and former Taunton Fitness Center at 74 Weir St. into a 10-unit luxury-studio apartment complex with several retail shops. The proposal was scheduled to go before the City Council.

The latest Greater Taunton real estate report, featuring a stunning scarlet colonial in Dighton that sold for $654,000. The open-concept home was built in 2016 and it boasts natural light, custom carpentry, and stone finishes throughout, among other amenities, and it's situated on more than three acres of land. Check out this property, as well as other recent top-sellers.

These were the Top 5 stories of the past week, according to Gazette readers:

George the Raynham horse gets a helping hand after his legs fall asleep

George, an 18-year-old draft horse living at a boarding stable in Raynham, needed a little bit of help last week when he lay down in the dirt and his legs fell asleep.

He's a big guy, weighing in at 1,500 pounds, but thanks to the combined efforts of the Raynham Fire Department, the Bristol County Technical Rescue Team, and the Raynham Center Water District, George is back on his feet again.

Bristol County Technical Rescue and Raynham firefighters performed an animal rescue operation after George the horse couldn't get up after his legs fell asleep at a farm on Locust Street on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023.
Bristol County Technical Rescue and Raynham firefighters performed an animal rescue operation after George the horse couldn't get up after his legs fell asleep at a farm on Locust Street on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023.

The rescue effort also involved a front-end loader.

To the rescue:George the Raynham horse gets a helping hand after his legs fall asleep

Eugénie Ouedraogo of Taunton accompanies Sen. Elizabeth Warren to State of the Union

If you watched President Joe Biden's State of the Union address this past week, there's a chance you saw someone from Taunton.

Eugénie Ouedraogo was Sen. Elizabeth Warren's guest for Tuesday night's address, and Ouedraogo was there for a special reason: Ouedraogo, like so many other parents in America, knows well the struggles of securing affordable childcare, and the kinds of benefits and opportunities that open up when you do find child care.

Eugénie Ouedraogo, a parent and member of the Policy Council at Triumph, Inc. Head Start in Taunton, on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, accompanied United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to the President’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, at the Capitol.
Eugénie Ouedraogo, a parent and member of the Policy Council at Triumph, Inc. Head Start in Taunton, on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, accompanied United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to the President’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, at the Capitol.

Ouedraogo said she doesn’t know if she could have gotten this far with her own education without the child care programs offered through Taunton-based Triumph, Inc. to watch over her and her husband Alain’s three children.

Silver City to DC:Meet Sen. Elizabeth Warren's 2023 State of the Union guest: Eugénie Ouedraogo of Taunton

The Bristol County Sheriff's Office is hiring. Here's what they're offering

Some college graduates and experienced first-responders are in line for a pay bump in new recruitment and retention efforts rolled out by the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office.

Experienced first responders completing the Bristol County corrections officer academy will be hired at a higher salary level, Sheriff Paul Heroux announced in a recent press release. Additionally, current BCSO corrections officers hired in the last two years will receive a pay increase if they have a specific college degree or previous first-responder experience.

Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux being sworn in by Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin Tuesday, Jan. 3 at B.M.C. Durfee High School in Fall River.
Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux being sworn in by Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin Tuesday, Jan. 3 at B.M.C. Durfee High School in Fall River.

Here's what some of the new incentives will look like, and how the Bristol County Sheriff's Office came up with them.

Pay bumps, other incentives:The Bristol County Sheriff's Office is hiring. Here's what they're offering.

Bristol-Plymouth boys basketball wins first Mayflower League title since 1979

One of the goals the Bristol-Plymouth boys basketball team had this season was to win the Mayflower League Large title.

And they did just that this past week, claiming at least a share of the title for the first time since 1979.

Bristol-Plymouth boys basketball players celebrate beating Upper Cape Tech in overtime to claim at least a share of the Mayflower League Large title for the first time since 1979.
Bristol-Plymouth boys basketball players celebrate beating Upper Cape Tech in overtime to claim at least a share of the Mayflower League Large title for the first time since 1979.

We've got all the highlights, right here.

Hoop dreams:Bristol-Plymouth boys basketball wins first Mayflower League title since 1979

Raynham voters shoot down debt exclusions to fix bridge, expand senior center — What now?

Voters in Raynham's Special Town Election Tuesday decided not to save the Kings Pond Dam/Gardiner Street bridge or expand the town's senior center.

If both questions had passed, altogether, the owner of the average single-family home would have paid an additional $68.53 annually.

So now that both measures have been voted down, what happens now?

This changes things for plans for the senior center, and the picture is even less rosy for Kings Pond.

Special Town Election:Raynham voters shoot down debt exclusions to fix bridge, expand senior center — What now?

Taunton Daily Gazette/Herald News copy editor and digital producer Kristina Fontes can be reached at kfontes@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette today.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton Gazette Top 5 George the horse Eugenie Ouedraogo sheriff