Town leaders join COVID-19 conference call with vice president

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At approximately 1 p.m. last Thursday afternoon, selected department officials began arriving inside Mayor Joseph Polisena’s Executive Chamber inside Johnston Town Hall and took their places in chairs that met with social distancing as prescribed by the Department of Health and CDC in regards to the alarming coronavirus crisis.

Soon thereafter, Janet Whiteley – Polisena’s administrative assistant – stood beside the mayor holding a paper and dialed a number at the outset of what would soon become perhaps the most historic telephone call ever to the town of Johnston.

The call would come from Vice President Mike Pence and would entail in specific details what the White House and President Donald Trump’s administration are doing to keep Americans safe.

Pence, in fact served as the keynote speaker for the nearly 90-minute call, which was arranged by the White House and went to mayors, local officials and tribal leaders across the country to keep them informed regarding how the federal government is communicating concerning the nation’s pandemic.

The vice president explained that under the Stafford Act, Trump was prepared to release the full power of the federal government in order to combat COVID-19.

“It was very informative to hear from the vice president of the United States, and that in itself made it a historic day here at Town hall,” Polisena later related. “This gave me a better perspective that the federal government is doing everything possible for the people in all 50 states.”

Polisena – who was joined by Deputy Police Chief Joseph Razza, Police Capt. Christopher Correia, Public Works Director Arnold Vecchione, School Facilities Director David Cournoyer and Town Clerk Vincent Baccari – also let it be known: “I felt a lot better than I did before that those people [in Washington] are working real, real hard and doing everything possible in regards to coronavirus.”

The historic conference call also featured the heads of various federal departments, including Housing and Human Services, Labor, Agriculture, FEMA and the Small Business Administration.

Razza, who also serves as Johnston’s emergency management director, said he was impressed that “we heard from virtually every federal agency that provided contact information and what resources they will be making to state, local and tribal leaders.”

Razza, like the other Johnston officials, declared: “These types of meeting are very important in order to exchange vital information between key people in state and local government and tribal leaders. This was outstanding … very comprehensive, they even covered feeding our children.”

Meanwhile, all five Johnston department heads also praised Polisena for being fully involved in the response. They said he is staying on top of things and continually receiving and exchanging information on a daily basis to ensure that all Johnston residents are safe.

“It’s obvious the health, safety and well being of all Johnstonians are of the utmost importance for Mayor Polisena,” Razza said. “He’s also deeply concerned about all he small businesses that make up much of the town’s economic engine.”

Polisena, for his part, said he was particularly impressed with the presentation from the SBA. “One of my main concerns is, will small businesses be able to come back from and from being unprecedently shutdown?” he said.

Almost as soon as the historic conference call concluded, Vincent Vinacco – who is usually a courier for the Johnston School Department – walked into Polisena’s executive chamber armed with a Protexus electrostatic disinfectant device to sanitize the location. 1

ATTENTIVE AUDIENCE:

Johnston Public Works Director Arnie Vecchione, Deputy Police Chief Joseph Razza and School Facilities Director Dave Cournoyer listen to Vice President Mike Pence during last Thursday’s history conference call regarding what the White House is doing to combat coronavirus. (Sun Rise photos by Pete Fontaine) 2

CAPTAIN’S CORNER:

Police Capt. Christopher Correia listens to various federal cabinet members and records useful resources concerning the nation’s ongoing battle with coronavirus. 3

SPECIAL SESSION:

Town Clerk Vincent Baccari is all ears during the historic conference call last Thursday with Vice President Mike Pence. 4

HISTORIC HAPPENING:

Mayor Joseph Polisena records some important information from Vice President Mike Pence – as well as the SBA director – during last Thursday’s historic conference call to Johnston. 5

SPECIAL SPRAY:

Johnston schools employee Vincent Vinacco uses a Protexus disinfectant device after the call. The device is also used in the town’s school buildings.

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