By Peter Pan

Neither the rains, fog, or winds, could keep the Annual Earth Day Beach Clean-Up and Recycling Program, from yet another huge success.  It was Rhode Island Surfrider Foundation’s Sherri Fournier and Carissa Lord who were the first ones to arrive in the dreary, fog- bound south parking lot of the Narragansett Town Beach.  Soon afterwards, volunteers began to show up, including a strong contingent of Eastern Surfing Association and Surfrider Foundation members.  Surfers and ocean lovers came from as far away as Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut, to help clean up the area beaches and surfing spots.

Probably the most productive volunteer was Wakefield’s Ted Sorlein, who contributed several hundred pounds of trash and rubbish from several hours of work.  Sorlein, one of the area’s top surfers, spent over one hour cleaning up Monahan’s Dock.  “There were lots of plastic bags, foam cups, and other trash at both the dock and nearby,” said Ted.  “There were a bunch of guys out surfing.  They watched, but no one offered to help.  It would be real nice to see some of the better surfers from around here donate a few hours and help out with a clean-up once and awhile.”

Kevin McCleod, an environmental scientist and Sarah Brescia, a pharmacy student, both from the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, spent their time clearing out the area around the Narragansett Towers and the Coast Guard House Restaurant.

  “We picked up a lot of plastic trash,” said Kevin.  “And much of it was embedded in the rocks.  Almost all of it was recyclable.  One thing that was disturbing was the amount of trash that was blowing around and out of the dumpsters in back of the restaurant.  All the garbage was just going into the ocean.”

Krissy Gelormini of Plainville, Massachusetts, concentrated her efforts at the Point Judith Lighthouse and the Rose Nulman Park, adjacent to the coast guard station.  “We picked up quite a bit of plastic litter, aluminum cans, and fishing line from the rocks leading down to the ocean,” she said.  “I was surprised at the large amount of dog poop that was just all over the grass in the park.  People should pick up after their animals.”

Busy loading old computers into the E-trash trailer, was Narragansett Parks and Recreation Department Director, Barry Fontaine.  He seemed quite pleased with the turnout.  He noted that the Narragansett Town Beach is going to include a recycling campaign into this year’s operations.  “We are working with the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC) on the project.  With the help of a grant, we will be informing beach patrons as they enter, and let them know that they can drop off cans and plastics on the way out.  The state beaches have been doing this for a few years, and it has been very successful.”  Barry also mentioned that the recreation department is seeking sponsors for “Mutt Mitt” dispensers that will be placed at various locations on the beach.  These “Mutt Mitts” are plastic gloves that can be used to pick up animal droppings, and are free to the public.  Interested parties can contact the Narragansett Recreation Department at 401.782.0658 for more information.

Mike Mesolella, RIRRC Municipal Recycling Coordinator, said that the inclement weather was really no factor in the success of the Eco Depot and E-Trash collections.  Area residents came in a steady stream for almost five hours, loaded with all sorts of toxic and hazardous wastes, along with hundreds of junk computers, monitors, cell phones and broken electronic devices of every conceivable type.  “We filled almost an entire trailer with electronic junk,” said Mike.  “I would estimate that we took in around 15 tons of E-junk.”

Joe Rotella, RIRRC Eco Depot and Community Relations Manager, said that the volume of hazardous wastes collected was very impressive.  “Two trailers full and over 50,000 pounds of some bad stuff was collected,” said Joe.  “This is the third time we got quite a bit of hydrofluric acid.  That is very dangerous stuff.  It can eat right through to your bones.  I don’t know where it is coming from.”  He did say that the most unusual item that was dropped off was a box of original ammonia smelling salts.  “This package was from the 1930’s, and it was in surprisingly good condition,” said Joe.

Clean-Up officials did note that quite a few residents came by the drop off sites, after the designated times of collection, and more wastes and E-trash would have been collected if the timing had been better.  People were still driving up with drop off items up to two hours after the collections were over.

Surfrider Foundation and the Eastern Surfing Association offered volunteers a free cookout, coffee, and donuts during the clean-up operations.  Surfboards were available for volunteer usage, as well.  Most surfboards were in action, due to the excellent 3-6 foot waves.  Almost 100 volunteers gathered for the afternoon cookout.  One volunteer summed up the day’s work in one sentence. “Well, at least the beaches around here will be clean for a day or so.  It won’t take long for people to start trashing it again.”

On The Edge
Profile:The Surfer Lawyer
By Peter Pan

 
          Narragansett native, John Pariseault is not your typical lawyer.  He works at the prestigious law firm of HinckleyAllenSnyder in Providence, five days a week.  His specialty is real estate, and he works with major New England developers on zoning and permitting matters.  He is a member of the Rhode Island and Massachusetts Bars.

          But when the surf is up, John is usually the first local in the water at the Lighthouse, Matunuck Point, or Monahan’s Dock, paddling out at the first light of dawn.  He is easy to spot in the water, tearing up the surf, just as he has done for the past fifteen years.

          He grew up surfing the hollow lefts off Bonnet Shores Beach Club, riding his first waves at the age of 6 years.  He still has his first surfboard that his parents bought him at the Watershed Surf Shop when he was 10 years old, a 5’10” Epoxy Ono Model.

          He perfected his radical surfing style as a member of the Watershed Surf Team in the 1980’s and 90’s, winning many regional and New England contests.  John finished first in the New England district several times during this period, and competed in both the regional and East Coast Championships.

          Meanwhile, he was a top student at the Moses Brown School in Providence, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from Brown University in 2002.  He graduated from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, in 2005, as a member of the Order of the Coif and magna cum laude.  “It was just an incredible amount of studying and hard work during this time,” said John.  “There was little time for anything else.”

          While he was on his quest to become a lawyer, he was also on the hunt for good waves.  “I surfed a lot of good breaks in San Francisco, during my years at Hastings,” he said in an interview this past week.  “The area reminded me a lot of Rhode Island, especially all the point breaks.  It was definitely more crowded, however.  I got out as often as I could, although it was sometimes tough to break away from the books.”

          John actually made the move to California, when his girlfriend Blythe went to Hastings College to pursue her law degree.  John had met her as an undergraduate at Brown University.  “I started surfing a few years before I met John,” said Blythe, who married John in the summer of 2007.  “I learned right here at the town beach.”  Blythe swam competitively for Brown University as a student, and adapted well to the ocean.

          He knew that when he finally got his law degree, he wanted to get a job near his favorite surfing breaks in Narragansett.  He rented a small apartment in Wakefield, when he interned at the Rhode Island Superior Court in 2003.  And when he worked for Justice Francis X. Flaherty as a Law Clerk from 2005-2006 at the Rhode Island Supreme Court, he juggled his time off, to hit the surf regularly.

           “I got used to waking up at 5:15 AM to get in the water before work,” said John.  “You just have to discipline yourself to do it.”  “I always know when he is getting up to go surfing the next morning,” said Blythe.  “He goes to bed at 8:00 PM the night before.  I stopped asking him why he is going to bed so early.  Now, I know.”

          The great thing about getting in the lineup at such an early hour is that there is, as John puts it; “Just you and the seals.”  While the crowd can get heavy even early in the morning during the warmer months, he often is out by himself in the icy cold mornings of the Rhode Island winter.

          “There are usually two or three others out there when I paddle out,” he said.  “I see Kristen Fraza, Peter DeSimone, Doug Merrick and Jamie Risser.  That is about it.”

          His wife is also a successful lawyer, and works for Johnson and Wales University, also in downtown, Providence.  “I won’t get up that early to surf,” she said.  “I have a lot of hair to deal with, so it slows down the process.  I stick to the weekends.”

          When the surf is not up, and the snow is on the ground, they take off and ski in northern New England on the weekends.  “I grew up racing on the winter weekends at Wachusett Mountain,” said John.  “I got Blythe into skiing this past winter, and she loves it.”

          In order to maintain their active schedule, both John and his wife work out during the week, at the Kent County YMCA.  They combine a regime of Pilates, weight training, and cardio fitness to keep the paddling power necessary for riding.  “I ride basically short boards in the range from 5’11” to 6’6”, so I need to keep my paddling endurance at a high level,” John said.

          But first priority is always surf.  “All activities revolve around the swells,” said John.  “If the waves are breaking in Narragansett, we stay here for the weekend.”  They recently moved to North Kingstown, so they can be a bit closer to Providence, but still close enough for those dawn patrols when the surf is up.