SOUTHERNTON – After a weekend crash knocked down a sign and part of the front fence of the Barnes Museum, town officials are working quickly to restore what they can ahead of a number of holiday events. said.
Burns Museum curator Christina Volpe said she was shocked to wake up Saturday morning and hear about the accident. She and other town officials have been working to improve the museum’s exterior and grounds at 85 Main Street.
“We’re working hard to build things around programming at Barnes. We’re having a really good December so far,” Volpe said. “From this month to next month, we will have three private teas at the museum.”
Volpe said the museum promotes private teas, including tea services for groups, tours and music from a player piano.
Santa will also be visiting the museum on Saturday, December 16th. This week, in addition to private tea sets, vintage gift wrapping will also be available by reservation. Volpe said with such a prominent location and Christmas events approaching downtown, it was important to repair the damage as soon as possible.
“I’m going to work hard to make sure everything goes well,” she said.
Police Chief Jack Daly said emergency services and police found the driver at the scene of the accident around 2:30 a.m. Saturday.
“He was driving drunk and had no insurance,” Daly said. “They were at the scene and arrested.”
Jazmin Alba, of Bristol, was charged with driving under the influence, no vehicle insurance and failure to follow a red light. She is scheduled to appear in court on December 22nd.
new sign
Volpe said there is still uncertainty about what accident damage the town’s insurance will cover. Even if it costs the town nothing to repair the damage, there will still be cleanup work to be done this week. She is working with the Highway Department to make that happen.
“That will require some of our own resources,” Volpe said. “I can’t let my front lawn look like that.”
The sign was badly damaged and will need to be replaced.
“We need to get new signs. We’re doing new big things in Barnes, so that’s fine,” Volpe said.
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