Volume 18, Number 52
Berlin’s Only Hometown Newspaper
www.berlincitizen.com
Thursday, Februar y 26, 2015
Upgrading street lights may save on electric bills By Charles Kreutzkamp
cent. The council also scheduled a public hearing on the total roof replacement at The Town Council heard Mary E. Griswold School for an informational presenta- March 3. Public Works has had distion from Public Works Feb. 17 about upgrading Berlin’s cussions with firms recstreetlights to LED fixtures, ommended by Eversource potentially reducing those (formerly known as CL&P) power bills by some 75 per- and the Connecticut ConThe Berlin Citizen
ference of Municipalities. According to Public Works head Arthur Simonian, the neighboring towns of Newington and Plainville are also considering updating their street lights. Simonian said the council will look into both lease and buy options for street lights and poles.
LED lights consume significantly less power than traditional street lights, and power savings could be even higher, as the high-tech lights will allow fine-tuned control using a computer system that will be able to customize and schedule brightness levels for each light. LED lights
also have significantly lower maintained costs, Simonian said. The town would be responsible for the maintenance and repair of the street lights. For example, if a car accident destroyed a street light, the See Lights / Page 2
Mail carriers battle tough conditions in winter By Charles Kreutzkamp The Berlin Citizen
An inscription on the James Farley Post Office in New York City reads, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” While the United States Postal Service has no official motto, and deliveries are sometimes canceled in unsafe weather conditions, postal workers do contend with difficult challenges in the winter. New Britain Postmaster Raymond Hearn, who oversees the postal workers delivering mail to Berlin, asked in a press release for residents to “clear their mailboxes and walkways of snow and ice,” because some carriers have suffered injuries from slipping on ice. “The best way to avoid injuries is prevention,” Hearn said. “Please help our letter carriers provide the best service they can as safely as possible.” Meriden resident Henry Henaire worked for USPS for 33 years, starting in 1973. “This time of year there’s always a lack of consideration,” Henaire See Carriers / Page 2
BHS students, including leads Ally Schulz, far left, and Skyler Korn, far right, rehearse in costume Feb. 19. | Charles Kreutzkamp / The Berlin Citizen
High schoolers bringing the Jazz Age to stage By Charles Kreutzkamp The Berlin Citizen
Student performers at Berlin High School are saying this year’s musical will be a family-friendly crowdpleaser. Students are performing the 1920’s-era themed Thoroughly Modern Millie, with jazzy tunes and flashy costumes.
“We’ve both been doing it since middle school,” said Ally Schulz, who is co-starring with Skyler Korn. Schulz’s character “is from Kansas and she comes to New York to experience a new, more modern way of life,” Korn said. The character believes “a woman gets married for reason over romance, so she is looking to find a
boss to marry, to marry into money,” Schulz said, but then her character finds “love in a poor boy.” “I just love getting up there and singing in front of everyone, it’s energizing,” Korn said. “The night of the show you’re so nervous before, but once you get out there it all goes See Jazz / Page 3