The Berlin
Cit itiz ize en
Volume 14, Number 7
Berlin’s Only Hometown Newspaper
Thursday, Februar y 18, 2010
Q & A with the Mayor
Salina sets priorities for 2010 and beyond No Mickey Mouse feat The father and son team of David Loiselle Jr. and David Loiselle III, both of Berlin, completed the 26.2-mile Walt Disney World Marathon in Orlando, Fla. last month. To read about another recent Berlin marathon pair — this time a motherdaughter combo — see page 3.
By Olivia L. Lawrence The Berlin Citizen (Mayor Adam Salina is serving his fourth term as mayor.) What one item or project would you most like to see the council complete in the next two years. The high school — we need to ad- Salina dress that now and get a plan in place that meets the fiscal needs of the town and the long-term needs of the school district. Whether that solution is new construction or a renovation, I want to see a plan in place. Most people are aware that the schools and the police department have pressing facilities needs. Is there a pressing con-
cern in another domain of which people are unaware? The condition of town hall. It’s a most difficult thing as government is not always thought of in the best way and people don’t want to spend money to refurbish government property. But there have been several explosions of population growth, one in the 1950s and also in the 1970s and more demands on that facility. And just like the schools, town hall needs to be updated. For example, there are issues with air quality— but also, since it was built in the 70s, no one thought of computers or the Internet back then so the space is lacking in supporting that. It needs a facelift. Do you find most people in favor of open space purchases or not? It’s been a positive re-
See Salina, page 25
Ukrainian children thrive with Berlin families’ care By Pamela Fuschino Special to The Citizen
Several Berlin families, who hosted Ukrainian orphans over the holidays, say they are ready to permanently welcome those children into their homes through adoption. Under the direction of Father Edmund Nadolny, of Sacred Heart Church, 60 children along with their chaperones, arrived at JFK Airport just before the Christmas holidays. The entourage came from several Ukrain-
ian orphanages to visit with host families around the state including five in Berlin. Berlin host Rene Rowe said “The kids think America is great because they think all we do is party, eat, go to each other’s house and get presents.” She and her husband, Kevin Rowe, hosted Oksana, an eight-year old girl. Although Oksana spoke little English, she turned out to be a “perfect mimic” and easily repeated whatever the Rowes said. Rene Rowe described the child as a girl “who got
along with everyone and who loved candy.” Rene Rowe said “It was a great experience…we didn’t have to think twice about participating.” The hardest part of the entire experience was when Oksana left to return to Ukraine. The Rowes are currently trying to raise the $30,000 necessary to adopt See Children, page 17
Father Edmund Nadolny with Oksana.