The Berlin
Cit itiz ize en Berlin’s Only Hometown Newspaper
Volume 13, Number 22
Council approves portable classrooms at Griswold School By Robert Mayer Managing Editor The town council, by a 6-1 vote, approved an ordinance appropriating just over $1M for the purchase and construction of relocatable classrooms to be built and used at Griswold Elementary School. Silver, Petrucelli & Associates made a presentation as to where the classrooms will be located. They will be placed in the back recreation area but attached by a glass hallway to the permanent school facility. After the presentation, comments from the audience were taken. The questions did not go to the architects, but the council, and the Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Michael Cicchetti. David Evans, head of Berlin’s Republican Party, asked several questions including why the BOE didn’t think about realigning the school districts to alleviate
the space crunch at Griswold. Cicchetti talked about how special education students learned in a space divided by a cubicle wall in the same area as English as a second language students. He also talked about how the school was using closet space to house staff and how instrumental music was taught in the front foyer. “The Board of Education has a long term strategy in place and these classrooms are a first step towards helping with the space crunch,” Cicchetti said. Griswold parent, Karen Droste, said, “I’m not seeing where space can’t be worked out in the school. We also have other children coming in from Hartford, so why do we have to take them? The council also said they are under a spending freeze and here we are spending money. It seems like spending keeps
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Honoring American heroes
Citizen photo by Robert Mayer
Berlin residents, Dean Revoir, U.S. Marines, Gary Barwikowski, U.S. Army, and Alex Barwikowski, U.S. Air Force, salute as the Star Spangled Banner is performed by the Berlin High School choir. Gary Barwikowski was guest speaker at the Memorial Day parade ceremony. See more photos on page 19.
See Council, page 9
Vandrilla almost gave up, but now she’s fighting back By Robert Mayer Managing Editor Berlin High School senior Katie Vandrilla asked two questions when she was diagnosed, at age 16, with leukemia. “I asked if I was going to lose my hair, and if I was going to die,” Vandrilla said. “Of course, I did lose my hair, and it was terrible. I really liked my hair!” Vandrilla, who will attend St. Joseph College in West Hartford next year and major
Countdown to Berlin Relay: 2 Days Katie Vandrilla
in education, will be one of the speakers at the second annual Berlin Relay for Life this weekend at the Berlin Fairgrounds. Vandrilla did not feel well for about a month prior to her diagnosis. She was always tired, didn’t eat because she was nauseous, and had headaches. A visit to the doctor and subsequent blood test revealed leukemia. “I went right to the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and the doctors, who
were great, made a road map of what kind of treatment we were going to do,” Vandrilla said. “They asked me if I wanted to be part of a clinical trial that would help with the research, and I agreed. I knew I had to go through it and I figured since I definitely have to go through it, why not let them do tests to maybe help someone else who will have to go through it in the future.” Vandrilla started an in-
See Relay, page 9