By VINAYA SAKSENA

CENTRAL FALLS — Students in the local outreach program, On the Right Track, were put on the track to a literary classic with a Christmas-theme performed in Providence just in time for the holiday last week.
The kids also got to find out what it is like to be in charge of a city from one who should know such things.

Last week, Mayor Charles Moreau paid a visit to the youths in the On the Right Track program at Calcutt Middle School, fielding questions from the children and making what has become an annual offering to them. As in the past, the mayor announced he was giving the children tickets to see Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, which they had been learning about, performed at Trinity Rep in Providence.
Before the mayor arrived, however, former Central Falls Police Officer John Laboissonniere quizzed the kids on Dickens’ Christmas classic, prompting them to identify characters, places and events in the story. When talking about Ebenezer Scrooge’s deceased partner, Jacob Marley, Laboissonniere pointed out that he was “not the guy you see on the T-shirt smoking marijuana.” It was one of several humorous lines he managed to squeeze in before the mayor arrived for the main event, which On the Right Track Program Manager Vincent Paneto said was intended to make children more acutely aware of the values the program attempted to impart.
“We’re teaching the kids the importance of appreciating family members and what you have,” Paneto said. “And A Christmas Carol kind of fits in with that. The goal is to minimize the risk of substance abuse and instill the value of education and community through volunteerism.”
Following Laboissonniere’s discussion with the children, Moreau arrived to an attentive audience with no shortage of questions. He also briefly discussed A Christmas Carol with them, encouraging them to pay close attention to its message.
“Just go down there and appreciate what it’s all about,” he told the children. “The reason I did it is so you can enjoy and see something outside of the city, and that there’s more to life than Central Falls.”
However, the mayor made it clear that he was proud of what has happened in the city on his watch and encouraged the children to take pride in their community as well as themselves. And part of this, he said, was following up on the visits to colleges and other academically-oriented activities they engaged in at On the Right Track.
“My father always said ‘They can take away a lot of things from you, but they can’t take away your education,’” the mayor said. “No truer words were ever spoken.”
At least two youths in attendance took Moreau’s remarks to heart. And both had fired off several questions for the mayor that day, in part because, as they later told The Times, they hoped to follow in his footsteps one day. 
“I’d kind of like to be a mayor,” said 12-year-old Ian Palma. “I’d (like to) help the community, help families that are homeless and stuff.”
“I want to help people too,” agreed 11-year-old Jose Medina. “(This) made me want to do it more.”