Dump truck gets sprung from the ACI
By Donna K. Drago

In addition to several pieces of new equipment bought by the town in recent weeks, the highway department has received a 2003 dump truck that was recently refurbished by prisoners at the state Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston.

Town Administrator Bruce Keiser said that work cost around $6,000, or about half of what it would have cost if a professional shop had updated the truck. Prisoners removed rust, gave the truck a new undercoat, painted the body, bed, and rims, Keiser said.

“The labor was free,” Keiser noted.

Andrew Munafo, a highway department employee, fabricated a new tailgate that now allows town employees to pour material like asphalt and gravel directly from

small doors in the gate rather than having to lift up the truck bed each time. Munafo noted that the prison workers also “made us new license plates” for the town truck because they had rusted.

Town Councilman Bill Kelly, a flag-bearer for new town equipment, said the refurbishing job “shows that not only are we buying new equipment. We’re taking care of the old stuff, too.”