North Kingstown High School - Skippers Log Yearbook (North Kingstown, RI)

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City. . . As Time Moves On by Kathy Cuff Lately it seems that every time you turn around a new house is being built. Whether it’s being built down the street or 10 feet away from your kitchen window, the growing concern is the same. It would seem that quite a few people are becoming annoyed with this invasion into their scattered town. In fact, North Kingstown is one of, if not the fastest growing towns in R.I. Soon there will be 2,500-3,000 dwelling units built in the town. Dwelling units are plots of land with present permission to build. This means that one dwelling unit could contain one house or several apartment complexes. According to Mrs. Friend, city planner for N.K., 1,235 building permits were issued in the month of July alone. The naval base is going to be used to a great extent for elderly housing. Behind the N.K. police station contractors are building what may be called Wickford Vil- lage. It will contain 70 units for the elderly and 55 family units. More housing for the elderly is being built on Newcomb Road. This will contain 109 units. As far as other housing is con- cerned, there are 875 approved dwelling units which will go under construction within the next year. Most of the concern is that N.K. is quickly loosing the natural beauty of the backroads and the scenes of grazing horses and open fields. Soon more businesses will move into the area and as their demand grows larger, N.K.’s available rural space will slowly fade into a city of tar and neon lights. 3

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Rural. . . What Once Was by Tina Palazzo The Hammond Farm is one of many parcels of unde- veloped land in N.K. The Casey and Swanson Farms in N. Kingstown continue to provide farm products for the community, but the Hammond Farm, with 138 acres of land, has been sold and will soon be resold for private development. The history of the Ham- mond Farm dates to the 1920’s and since that time has been purchased by four different owners. Until recently the farm had been one of the largest pieces of undeveloped farm land in the community. It will now be divided into twelve expen- sive, but secluded estates. While the new owner of the farm is interested in maintaining the privacy of the neighborhood, it is still true that undeveloped land in N.K. is becoming harder to find. 2

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If I Were on the Town What We Need Is Change “I would get rid of the school system and start again. ” —T.P. “ would allow more time between classes. ” — A.H. “I would change peoples’ attitudes towards students, parents, etc. ” — K.K. “I would change nothing. ” — B.T. “I would do away with town meetings. ” — B.S. Like so many things in life it is easier to suggest change than effect change. The N.K. student sees a need for change in the town in order to achieve a change in the school. “7 would put back in what they took out. ” — A. A. A