The Berlin
Cit itiz ize en Volume 13, Number 49
Berlin’s Only Hometown Newspaper
Thursday, December 3, 2009
’Coats to play for state title By Nick Carroll Sports Editor The Berlin High School football team has had good luck at Bristol’s Muzzy Field. In 2007, the Redcoats won the program’s first state playoff game there. This fall they bested a pesky Bristol Eastern squad at the history-rich field. And the locals’ successful run at Muzzy Field is not done yet. Third seed Berlin jumped out to an early lead and held on for a 35-28 victory over No. 2 seed Avon in the semifinals of the CIAC Class M state playoffs Tuesday night in Bristol. See ’Coats, next page
Holiday homes decorating contest
Citizen photo by Olivia L. Lawrence
A worker walks towards a Connecticut Light and Power truck that was sucked into a sink hole on Town Farm The Berlin Citizen and the Lane. The driver of the truck hit a hydrant and the truck quickly began to sink. Water service was disrupted to Junior Woman’s Club of Ber- about a dozen sites, including the Stop & Shop. lin, Inc. have teamed up to sponsor a Holiday Outdoor Decorating Contest. Homes that are decked out in their holiday finest are eligible to win a gift certificate to a Berlin based merchant of the constant’s choice. Homes will be judged on originality, creativity and design. Residents are invited to enter their homes by contacting Karen Pagliaro, President of Berlin Juniors by Friday, Dec. 11. Judging will then be done throughout the weekend of Dec. 12 and 13 with the winners of first, second and third place announced in the Berlin Citizen in the Dec. 17 See Homes, next page
Sink hole swallows CL&P truck By Olivia L. Lawrence Associate Editor A Connecticut Light and Power truck that struck a hydrant on Town Farm Lane was sucked into a sink hole at about 10:30 a.m. Nov. 24. The driver escaped unharmed. Water service was disrupted to about a dozen locations, including Stop and Shop and several factories in the vicinity of Masserio Drive, until about 2:30 p.m. The driver of the bucket truck said the truck began to sink immediately after he struck the hydrant. The driver, who did not give his name, said he was at the site to set a new pole. He was not
sure how the accident happened. The truck was tipped forward, into the sink hole at approximately a 45 degree angle, pitched slightly towards the passenger side. The vehicle was mired in mud and water over the hood and up to the windows of the cab. All four wheels were submerged, the front two entirely and the rear with only about six inches of tire left exposed. “It was a routine, assigned job,” said Mitch Gross, CL&P spokesperson, at the scene. Gross said there will be an internal investigation into the incident. There were no disruptions or issues with electrical service. The incident caused a stream of wa-
ter, a foot deep and covering the entire street, to cascade down the lower end of Town Farm Lane towards where it dead ends at the Sebethe River. Berlin Water Commission Manager Lawrence DeAntonio and Assistant Public Works Director Jim Horbal were also at the scene. DeAntonio said the incident caused a main water line to break and repairs will involve pumping out the sink hole in order to get to the valve. Horbal said the main was a feeder to smaller lines and only a few residences had water turned off when valves that
See Truck, next page