North Attleboro

King Philip High School Senior Receives Outstanding Youth Award

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King Philip Regional School District
Paul Zinni, Superintendent
18 King Street
Norfolk, MA 02056

For Immediate Release

Monday, March 18, 2019

Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

King Philip High School Senior Receives Outstanding Youth Award

King Philip Regional High School Senior Simone Barger has been named the North Attleboro-Plainville Rotary Club’s 2019 Outstanding Youth. (Courtesy Photo King Philip Regional School District)

WRENTHAM — Superintendent Paul Zinni is pleased to announce that King Philip Regional High School senior Simone Barger has been named the 2019 Outstanding Youth by the North Attleboro-Plainville Rotary Club.

Barger was nominated for the award by Cheryl Rowe, the adviser of the school’s student community service club, KP Cares. Since her freshman year at King Philip Regional High, Barger has been an active member of the club and has taken on various leadership roles. Today, she serves as co-president of the club.

“Simone is an amazing student and person,” Rowe said. “I am thrilled to see her recognized for her dedication to community service. She is kind, generous, and always the first to offer to help. I have no doubt that wherever life takes her she will continue to have a great impact on those around her and they will be better for having her in their lives.”

KP Cares organizes about 10 events annually, and Barger has frequently co-chaired these initiatives to raise funds for various causes and support the community.

Events Barger has co-chaired include Putting 4 Patients, a mini-golf event held at King Philip High School to raise money for The Jimmy Fund; the Fight Back Festival, an event that raises funds to help local families struggling with cancer; and the Giving Tree, an annual drive at King Philip High where students collect gifts for local families for the holidays. Barger has also helped to coordinate volunteers to help with renovations at the Gilly House, a sober house in Wrentham.

Barger traveled with KP Cares in April 2018 to visit an orphanage during a service trip to Costa Rica. She participated in many activities to raise money and collect donations for the orphanage. During the trip, the group also helped a local family refurbish their farm to offer horse therapy for children with disabilities, and Barger also visited a local high school and helped plant trees in a reforestation project.

Barger will be recognized at the 2019 Distinguished Service Awards banquet at the Heather Hill Country Club on Monday, March 18.

“It’s a pleasure to see Simone recognized for her dedication to community service,” Superintendent Zinni said. “Her passion for helping others and efforts to better her community are a great example for her peers, and it is wonderful that she found an avenue to do good through KP Cares.”

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Media Information for Coverage of North Attleboro Firefighter Chris Cornetta’s Wake and Funeral Services

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North Attleboro Fire Department
Chief Michael Brousseau
50 Elm St.
North Attleboro, MA 02760

For Immediate Release

Thursday, March 7, 2019

Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

Media Information for Coverage of North Attleboro Firefighter Chris Cornetta’s Wake and Funeral Services

NORTH ATTLEBORO — Fire Chief Michael Brousseau would like to provide an update on the visiting hours and funeral services for media members planning to cover the services for North Attleboro Firefighter Christopher Cornetta.

There will be two services: A wake and visiting hours on Friday, March 8, and funeral Mass on Saturday, March 9.

Media members are invited to attend both events and, out of respect for those in attendance, are asked to adhere to the following guidelines and staging information:

Wake and Visiting Hours:

Friday, public visiting hours will be from 4-8 p.m. at St. Mark’s Parish, 105 Stanley St., North Attleboro.

Media members are asked to park their vehicles along the side of the rear entrance driveway of the church, off Towne St. Please do not block the driveway.

Staging will be along the north side of the church parking lot in an area cordoned off for reporters and photographers near the front of the church.

Between 3:30-4 p.m., Chief Michael Brousseau will walk over to address the media. He will be accompanied by North Attleboro Firefighters Local 1992 President Tucker McGree and an official from the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts.

Funeral Mass:

The funeral Mass will be on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church, 14 Park St., North Attleboro.

Media members are asked to park on the side of North Washington Street between Tifft Street and East Street.

Staging will be on the corner of Tifft Street and North Washington Street. Following the service, the procession will head south down North Washington Street.

Chief Brousseau will not be addressing the media on Saturday.

Burial:

The burial service is private for family members, friends and the North Attleboro Fire Department only.

There will be no media admitted at the burial service.

If media members have additional questions please contact Benjamin Paulin at 781-742-3922. Thank you advance for your cooperation and your coverage of Firefighter Cornetta’s funeral services is appreciated.

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North Attleboro Fire Department Mourns Line of Duty Death of Firefighter Christopher Cornetta

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North Attleboro Fire Department
Chief Michael Brousseau
50 Elm St.
North Attleboro, MA 02760

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

North Attleboro Fire Department Mourns Line of Duty Death of Firefighter Christopher Cornetta

NORTH ATTLEBORO — It is with a heavy heart that Chief Michael Brousseau announces the line of duty death of longtime North Attleboro Firefighter Christopher Cornetta on Monday morning.

Firefighter Cornetta, age 51, served as a firefighter for the department for 29 years. He was using a snowblower in his driveway after a snowstorm on Monday morning, March 4, when he collapsed at approximately 6 a.m. His brother firefighters responded to his home and transported him via ambulance to Sturdy Memorial Hospital, where he later died.

Firefighter Cornetta was the loving husband of Melissa Coyle Cornetta and father to their amazing two children Cirsten, age 22, and Cameren, age 19. He cherished his family immensely and had endless love for them.

“Chris was a dedicated firefighter and EMT who served our community proudly for nearly 30 years,” Chief Brousseau said. “We are a close-knit department here and Chris was one of our brothers. Our hearts are with the Cornetta family as they come to terms with this tragedy and we proudly stand behind them in this most difficult of times.”

A North Attleboro native, Firefighter Cornetta joined the department as a call firefighter on Oct. 1, 1989. He became a permanent firefighter/EMT in 1993. His most recent assignment was on Ladder 1 on A Platoon. He had finished his 24-hour shift at 8 a.m. on Sunday, March 3, and was scheduled to work at 8 a.m. on Monday.

Firefighter Cornetta was a pillar of the North Attleboro community and was known for his outgoing personality. He was a longtime youth football coach and a proud member of the North Attleboro Firefighter’s Kid’s Day Association. He was an avid sports fan and was also known for his love of the New England Patriots.

Funeral Arrangements

Visiting Hours

  • Friday from 4-8 p.m. at St. Mark’s Parish, 105 Stanley St., North Attleboro

Funeral Mass and Burial

  • Saturday at 10 a.m. at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church, 14 Park St., North Attleboro. Burial to follow the service at St. Mary’s Cemetery, 240 Towne St., North Attleboro.

*Further details about the arrangements and staging instructions for media members planning to attend the visiting hours or funeral Mass will be provided in a separate announcement.

Family Statement

“Our family would like to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts who have shown us such amazing support and compassion over these past two days. Chris was truly loved by so many and we will cherish all of the memories we shared with him. In lieu of flowers we would like to ask that donations be made to either the North Attleboro Firefighter’s Kid’s Day Association or North Attleboro Junior Football, both organizations that meant a great deal to Chris.”

Donations can be made directly to the North Attleboro Firefighter’s Kid’s Day Association by visiting their website or by mailing a check to:

North Attleboro Firefighter’s Kid’s Day Association

P.O. Box 3215

North Attleboro, MA 02761

To donate to North Attleboro Junior Football, please visit their website and send a message through their Contact Info page.

Firefighter Cornetta’s family asks that members of the media respect their privacy during this difficult time.

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Randolph and North Attleboro Police Departments Make 3-Year-Old Mikey Grover an Honorary Police Officer

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Friday, March 1, 2019

For Immediate Release

Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

Randolph and North Attleboro Police Departments Make 3-Year-Old Mikey Grover an Honorary Police Officer

NORTH ATTLEBORO — North Attleboro Police Chief John Reilly and Randolph Police Chief William Pace are pleased to announce that the two departments teamed up last night to make 3-year-old Mikey Grover an honorary police officer for his bravery and courage in dealing with congenital heart disease.

Over 80 people packed into the large conference room at the North Attleboro Police station Thursday night to see Mikey receive his honorary officer’s badge and some other gifts from the two police departments.

“Mikey was someone that we as police officers wanted on our team,” Randolph Police Officer Kevin Gilbert said during the event. “Becoming an honorary officer comes with great responsibility. It is expected that the honorary officer keeps up the fight 24/7, 365 and never gives up, and I’m confident Mikey will do that.”

Mikey’s mother Julie Grover pinned the honorary officer’s badge on his shirt while the rest of his family stood nearby. He was given framed patches from both departments and State Representative Elizabeth Poirier presented Mikey with citations from the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Massachusetts Senate.

The highlight for Mikey was the remote controlled police cruiser he received as a gift from the Randolph Police Department.

Mikey was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a birth defect that affects the flow of blood through the heart, due to sections of the heart being underdeveloped. He was also born with heterotaxy, a rare condition where his major organs were developed in abnormal places in his chest and abdomen.

As a result of his conditions, Mikey has spent much of his young life receiving treatment at Boston Children’s Hospital and has already undergone multiple open heart surgeries.

Through their time at the hospital, Julie Grover came up with the idea to make Mikey’s Brave Bags.

The gift bags are filled with items like toys, stuffed animals, coloring books, arts and crafts supplies, clothes, children’s books, snacks and more and are given to other families at Boston Children’s Hospital.

“We just donated 100 bags in February and we’re going to do more in the fall,” said Thomas Grover, Mikey’s father. “Thank you to everybody for donating all the goodies. We really appreciate that and I know the other families do too. Because it’s not just for the children, it’s for their siblings and their parents who have to stay there [at the hospital] as well and go through this nightmare that we do.”

Those who would like to donate items to Mikey’s Brave Bags can go to the Mikey Strong Facebook page and send a private message about donating for more details.

Following the ceremony, Mikey and some of his family and friends were given a tour of the North Attleboro Police station and Mikey made his first arrest, putting handcuffs on one of the officers and escorting him into a holding cell.

“This is what it’s all about,” Officer Gilbert said. “Mikey is such a brave kid and we’re honored to count him as one of our brothers now.”

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