Almost a third of area police officers who have been trained in crisis intervention skills come from the city's police department, according to a summary released about the program by Community Partnerships Inc., a social service agency based in Taunton involved with the training.

Out of 94 area police officers who have been taught to deal with various crises involving people who have mental illness, developmental disabilities or psychological trauma, 29 are from Attleboro's department, which has a total of about 66 members.

Taunton has trained 27 of its officers.

The crisis intervention training is intended to "promote communication and enhance the response of public and private agencies when summoned to intervene with individuals who are mentally ill, developmentally disabled or experiencing trauma in their lives," the press release said.

Training equips police officers and others "with the skills required to assist in identifying and defusing escalating situations," and to navigate institutional bureaucracies to help resolve the situations.

A number of police officers in North Attleboro, Norton, Seekonk, Rehoboth and Easton have also been trained. Six employees from Sturdy Memorial Hospital have been trained as well as seven employees from Attleboro District Court.

The state's Department of Environmental Protection got some praise from the Attleboro Redevelopment Authority recently.

While some state bureaucracies have a reputation for creating roadblocks, that's not the case with DEP, said ARA executive director Michael Milanoski.

Milanoski said DEP is working hard to help the ARA resolve environmental problems with its three main projects, the industrial business park, the reuse of the Swank Co. property and downtown revitalization.

"DEP has been an incredible partner," he said. "They have gone above and beyond the call of duty."

While environmental laws are strict, the agency is striving to help the city as much as it can, Milanoski said.

"They have their rules and regulations to work within, but they are trying to make it work," Milanoski said.

The ARA board voted to send a letter of appreciation to the state's Secretary of Environmental Affairs.

The city council appears likely to approve an appropriation of $21,160 so the city can get a grant of $190,440 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to upgrade its communications network from VHF to UHF. The city has the only fire department in Bristol County which communicates in VHF, which makes it difficult to communicate with other departments, Deputy Chief Glen Livesey told the city council.

Livesey said the VHF system will be maintained as a training frequency once the new system is installed.

It will take about six or seven months to install the new system once the money comes in, he said.

Bethaney Long, a leader in wellness programs, will lead participants in a workshop called Living on Purpose at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 22 and 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 27.

Using a "vision board" which each person will create, Long will lead participants in purposefully setting reachable goals. This is based on the principles of "The Law of Attraction," which states that what we think and talk about is what we attract into our lives.

No artistic ability is needed. Call Frank Nolan at 222-0157 for more information.

A monthly bereavement support group will be held at Canterbury Woods, 100 Garfield Ave.

The first meeting will be from 3 to 4:40 p.m. Wednesday, March 26. The group is for any adult who has lost a loved one.

This is offered as a free service to the community by AseraCare Hospice. For more information, call Alex Rose at 781-235-0203.

GEORGE W. RHODES can be reached at 508-236-0432 or at grhodes@thesunchronicle.com.