The Berlin
Cit itiz ize en
Volume 15, Number 11
Berlin’s Only Hometown Newspaper
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Local volunteer recognized as ‘Unsung Hero’ By Nick Carroll The Berlin Citizen
The gift of music
Griswold Elementary School Advanced Band Students: Alena Kittleman and Jackie Cooper. See page 3 for a story and more photos of March is Music in Our Schools Month.
March 15 referendum results YES 3,942 NO
2,327
(unofficial results)
“It was a complete shock and an honor,” Berlin resident Darcy Arute said of learning she had been selected to receive the Special Olympics Connecticut Unsung Hero Award. Arute was one of just 10 volunteers to earn the recognition this year. Those award-winners and many others were honored at the SOCT Hall of Fame dinner, March 11, at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville. Arute became involved with Special Olympics Con-
necticut through her job at Northeast Utilities, which sponsors the organization. “I do it be- Arute cause of the wonderful rewarding feeling I get when I see the smiles on the athletes’ faces. And best of all, to receive a hug,” said Arute, 48. “There is nothing in the world more rewarding.” Thanks to more than 100 local coordinators, 900 coaches and 10,000 additional vol-
unteers, Special Olympics Connecticut currently serves 13,180 athletes. Athletes compete in 26 Olympic-type sports throughout the year. SOCT is a non-profit organization. Money raised goes to help send the state’s athletes to bigger competitions, including the U.S. National Games in Nebraska and the World Games in Shanghai. Arute volunteered for eight years at the Special Olympics Connecticut Winter Games in Simsbury. She
See Volunteer, page 8
State budget cuts could close Kensington Fish Hatchery By Daniel Jackson Special to The Citizen The Kensington Fish Hatchery, located at the head waters of Hatchery Brook in Berlin, produced 2.5 million salmon eggs and 250,000 brown trout fingerlings each year, which are placed in Connecticut streams to restore the freshwater ecosystem in the state. Under the new state budget proposed by Governor Dannel Malloy, the local hatchery may stop receiving funds, halting the state-run operation. By doing this, the state hopes to save $430,000 a year. It will continue to fund two other fish hatcheries in Connecticut. “Closing the hatchery is a mistake. It’s something we want to keep,” said Representative Joe Aresimowicz. In the course of budget cuts, it is easy to make short-term
Photo by Daniel Jackson
The Kensington Fish Hatchery may close. gains in expense of programs that provide longterm benefits, he said. The Kensington Fish Hatchery primarily raises Atlantic salmon — the only state fish hatchery in Connecticut to do so. Cutting Kensington Hatchery from Connecticut’s fish program could hamper efforts to establish Atlantic salmon in
Connecticut. Connecticut joined the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission, a collaborative effort by four states and the federal government, to establish Atlantic salmon in the Connecticut River and its tributaries. The Kensington Fish
See Cuts, page 7