The Berlin
Cit itiz ize en
Volume 15, Number 29
Berlin’s Only Hometown Newspaper
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Democrats meet to set slate of candidates All council incumbents, except Dacey, expected to return By Olivia L. Lawrence The Berlin Citizen
The chairman of the Berlin Democratic Town Committee said there’s been a lot of soul-searching by Town Council incumbents over the past few weeks, but it appears most are ready to roll up their sleeves for another run.
“T here’s been a lot of mixed emotions,” said Fred Jortner, BDTC chairman. Democrats meet tonight, July Jortner 21, at the Italian Club, to formalize their slate of candidates. Any resgistered Democrat is eligible to attend. Steve Morelli, Rachel Rochette, Bill Rasmussen, Adam Salina and Bob Dacey have all been assessing job and family obligations as well as other factors, in re-
gards to how those fit with a commitment to serving the community. But in the end, “They all felt good about the ways things have gone the last several years,” Jortner said. The only incumbent to bow out is Dacey who has served on the council for three terms. Dacey, who will be 81 when he leaves office, said “It was time to move on.” (See story, this page, for more on Dacey’s decision.) “Bob will be sorely missed,” Jortner said, calling Dacey’s contributions over the years “immeasurable.” Dacey has led the coun-
Berloni receives Tony for his work with animal actors BHS grad known for his humane training methods By Olivia L. Lawrence The Berlin Citizen
Bill Berloni has enjoyed a storied career in show biz thanks to his exceptional ways with animals. Now the
Berlin High School graduate — he was class president for all four high school years — is the recipient of the Tony “Honors for Excellence in the Theatre” award. The award was established in 1990 to recognize institutions, individuals or organizations that have demonstrated extraordinary achievement in theater, but
Bill Berloni poses with some of the animal actors he’s trained.
are not eligible in any of the established Tony Award categories. After more than 30 years in theater, the award took Berloni “completely by surprise.” The Tony Awards took place June 12, in New York, at the Beacon Theatre. “I’m proud my industry recognized my work with animals” and along with that the acknowlegdement that the animals are an important part of the presentation and “not just a prop,” he said. Berloni has trained all sorts of animals including rats, birds, pigs, dogs and cats. One of his recent challenges was finding and training a seven pound Chihuahua to open the Broadway version of Legally Blonde. The pup needed to take the stage and begin furiously barking before thousands of people. Berloni is currently the behavior consultant for the Humane Society of New York, a See Berloni, page 24
cil’s finance committee during his time on the panel. As to who will fill Dacey’s slot as a candidate, Jortner said “We’re talking to several peo-
ple right now (and all) have some degree of experience.” Earlier this summer, May-
See Democrats, page 8
Dacey declines another run By Olivia L. Lawrence The Berlin Citizen I’ve been doing this on and off for close to 50 years,” said Robert Dacey, Democratic town councilor, recalling his years in private sector management as well as his involvement with local government. When he agreed to run for Town Council in 2005, he said it would be just for one term. That proved to be a rare miscalculation on
Dacey’s part. He has served as an influential member of the council over the past six years, taking on the Dacey job of chairman of the council’s finance committee; the person who oversees the complex and of-
See Dacey, page 7
Dog days have arrived
Photo by Daniel Jackson
Contributing writer Daniel Jackson, above, puts a new twist on the “dog days of summer.” As National Hot Dog Day arrives July 22, Jackson investigates the many Berlin-style options for filling a bun. See story page 6.