Charlestown council honors outgoing officials and backs statue for Ellison 'Tarzan' Brown

CHARLESTOWN, R.I. — The Charlestown Town Council opened its Dec. 9 meeting with a series of proclamations and resolutions honoring longtime local public servants and supporting a memorial.

Council members presented a certificate in honor of Susan J. Cooper for her service on the Town Council from November 2020 to November 2024 and noted her liaison roles across multiple town commissions. Cooper thanked the council and staff and reflected on her four years of service, saying, "Being elected and serving for 4 years is really, not to sound too corny, but it has been its own reward." The council approved the certificate by unanimous vote.

The council also read and approved a certificate of appreciation for Denise L. Rhodes, recognizing ten years of service on the Planning Commission and Town Council work on quarry-fugitive-dust legislation, and adopted a resolution of respect for former town solicitor John P. Toscano Jr., outlining his decades of municipal and judicial service.

Separately, the council adopted a resolution supporting the creation of a statue honoring Ellison "Tarzan" Brown, noting Brown—s achievements as a two-time Boston Marathon winner (1936, 1939) and a 1936 U.S. Olympian, and offering to coordinate with Newton officials and Brown—s family in fundraising and legislative outreach. The resolution passed unanimously.

All votes on the proclamations and the Tarzan Brown resolution were unanimous, and the clerk was directed to forward the resolution to the family and appropriate officials.