“Laws made by common consent must not be trampled on by individuals.” ~ George Washington
Prst. Std. U.S. Postage Paid Naugatuck, CT #27
FR EE
Bee Intelligencer Informing the towns of Middlebury, Southbury, Woodbury, Naugatuck, Oxford and Watertown A FREE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
Volume VIII, No. 7
Friday, February 17, 2012
Middlebury police dispatch to regionalize Middlebury Police Chief RichBy MARJORIE NEEDHAM and CRISTINA COMMENDATORE ard Guisti said a win-win situation would be to create a regional Middlebury First Selectman dispatch center in town, citing Edward B. St. John said police some pros of having a dispatch emergency call dispatching in center in town – dispatchers alMiddlebury will likely move to ready know the town, the roads regionalization in the 2012 to and the community. 2013 fiscal year, which begins “When someone calls, they July 1, 2012. “Our present oper- may know them personally and ation is not cost effective, and may know their medical needs,” that’s the bottom line,” St. John Guisti said. “It’s a 24/7 resource. said Wednesday. “We need to People can come in and out of look at our options.” the building 24/7 – there’s someSt. John said four options for one there to greet them.” Guisti regionalization are being con- said if dispatch moves out of sidered. They are Northwest Middlebury, the police departConnecticut Public Safety in ment would be dark after 4 p.m. Prospect, Litchfield County DisIn addition, if dispatch moves patch in Torrington, the Water- out of town, Guisti said prison town Police Department, and booking procedures, protective creating a regional dispatch cen- orders, the computer-aided dister at the Middlepatch system, aubury Police De- Our present operation tomated phone partment. St. system, record John said Middle- is not cost effective, management sysbury’s police sta- and that’s the bottom tem, rules and tion has adequate and line, we need to look regulations space to accomofficer policies modate the addi- at our options. and responsibilitional communities all will have – Edward B. St. John to be looked into. cations equipMiddlebury ment a regional Another issue First Selectman Guisti has with center would need without reout-of-town relocating the fire department ve- gionalization is the possible dishicles garaged there. placement of Middlebury’s four The Middlebury Volunteer full-time and three part-time Fire Department’s fire and am- dispatchers. “I have dedicated bulance calls are dispatched by people here that I’ve worked with Northwest, and Middlebury Vol- for 25 years,” he said. “We don’t unteer Fire Department Chief shut the lights out on them and Paul Perrotti has in the past told throw them on the sidewalk and this newspaper Northwest does say, ‘Thank you for your 25 years an excellent job dispatching of service; you’re not needed those calls. anymore.’ I feel obligated to place St. John said any of the four them within another organizaoptions could work well, pro- tion or with who might replace vided they all provide safe ha- them if we go that route. I believe vens for Middlebury’s current we have the facility and can bring dispatchers. Ultimately, the de- other people here.” cision will be a matter of dollars Guisti said cost could be the and cents, he said. “We’re trying greatest benefit, but he wonders to find the biggest bang for our whether it will be cost-effective buck and still provide profes- for only the short term or over sional services for our residents,” the next five to 10 years. He said he said. many questions still have to be He said the biggest issue right answered. now is to look at all the town’s “My bottom line is we’re lookoperations. With the state ex- ing at all options to see which is pected to mandate regionaliza- feasible for the town with savings tion, St. John said it was impor- and which is the safest way to go tant for the town to act now. “I’d for our police officers and our rather do it on our own terms citizens in the town of Middlethan have the state do it,” he said. bury,” Guisti said.
The Democracy Challenge Cup sits on the table in front of, left to right, Middlebury First Selectman Edward B. St. John, Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, Election Moderator Betty Proulx, Registrar of Voters Nancy Robison and Town Clerk Edith Salisbury. Middlebury won the cup by having more people vote in the last election than other towns with similar populations. Merrill visited Middlebury Town Hall Tuesday to present the cup to St. John. (Marjorie Needham photo)
Middlebury wins voter turnout challenge By MARJORIE NEEDHAM Middlebury voters turned out in large enough numbers last year to win the state’s Democracy Challenge Cup for the town. Secretary of the State Denise Merrill brought the cup to Middlebury Tuesday and presented it to First Selectman Edward B. St. John. St. John said, “We have really good voter turnout. Our residents take voting very seriously, and I’m proud of that.” It is the third time since the award began in 2000 that Middlebury has won the cup. The town won in 2002 with 74.43 percent voter turnout and in 2005 with 73.7 percent voter turnout. For the first two awards, Middlebury was in the small town category; in 2011, Middlebury won in the mid-size town category with a 51.98 percent voter turnout. The four categories – small town, mid-size town, large town and city – are determined by the number of registered voters. Overall statewide voter turnout was 30.81 percent in the 2011 municipal elections, less than the normal statewide figure for a municipal election year. That likely was due to transportation and communication difficulties caused by power outages and downed tree limbs from the Oct. 29 snowstorm.
Merrill, Connecticut’s chief elections official, said, “We had some towns with some very strong voter turnout on Election Day in 2011, despite the difficult challenges presented in our state by the devastating October snowstorm. The voters in these communities really set an example for all of the voters in Connecticut of why local races matter and why it is important to get involved with your community and participate in democracy.” Although the award is currently given out by the state, it originated with the East Haddam Civic Organization. Member Scot MacKinnon, who accompanied Merrill Tuesday, said it was created in 2000 to encourage voter participation in that town. MacKinnon said the idea was born during a trip he and his family made to Costa Rica in the ’90s. Voter participation there runs in the 90-percent range, he said, and there is much public flag waving and hoopla preceding elections. “Costa Rica has a very strong voter turnout, and it makes voting into a celebration,” he said. “It makes you proud to participate in democracy.” Although the original idea was to award an elaborate silver trophy to the East Haddam voting district with the most votes, the civic organization decided to ask then-Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz
what she thought about making it a statewide competition. MacKinnon said she supported making it a statewide competition, but suggested there be more than one category and award because the percentage of people voting in small towns is always higher than that in large towns and cities. The effort started in 2000 with three categories – small, mid-size and large towns – and became four categories with the addition of the city category in 2008. Thus far, MacKinnon said, East Haddam hasn’t won the cup. “I think the closest we have come is fifth place,” he said. MacKinnon, whose civic organization purchased the four trophies, said some towns win because their get-out-the-vote mechanisms work very well. Notable amongst them are Middlebury and Washington, and West Hartford always has a superb turnout, he said. The name of the winning town is engraved on the trophy, which stays with the winning town as long as it maintains the highest voter turnout percentage. Stamford held the cup for three years until it lost this year to Waterbury. In Middlebury’s case, the town’s name is now engraved on two trophies – the small town trophy for its 2002 and 2005 wins, and the mid-size town trophy for its 2011 win.
Sippy introduces Region 15 budget – Part I By CRISTINA COMMENDATORE New Scientific Research Intervention (SRBI) teachers and a Pomperaug High School (PHS) media specialist may be added to the Region 15 2012-2013 budget. They were among recommendations Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Sippy made to Board of Education (BoE) members Monday during the first of a two-part budget recommendation presentation. Sippy did not disclose whether the current $60.25 million would decrease, increase or remain flat, saying it was too early for a bottom line. His recommended budget
amount will remain unknown until Monday, Feb. 27, when he presents it to the BoE. Though Region 15’s student population is down by 202 students and will continue to decline over the next 10 years, Sippy said drastic cuts cannot be made because the district is bound by state and federal obligations and other costs. He told BoE members Monday possible teacher cuts can be made at each school, but to comply with the board’s class-size guidelines, school principals can move teachers around where they are needed. “We have opportunities to apply staff in different ways,” he said.
In addition, Sippy suggested adding SRBI specialists to the schools to provide more in-depth support for students who need it. SRBI, a federal- and state-mandated initiative to ensure all students meet the obligations set forth in No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Acts, relies on scientific-research-based instruction and intervention to meet students’ needs and looks at achievements in reading, math and social/behavioral performance. Right now, there are two fulltime SRBI specialists at the elementary level. Their salaries are
covered by a federal jobs bill that will expire this year. Sippy recommends having a total of four specialists in the elementary schools. “I’m not going to tell you SRBI is the silver bullet that cures an illness,” Sippy said of adding two specialists at the elementary level. “It is a formidable safety net that’ll catapult these kids to middle school.” At the middle school level, Sippy recommends replacing two part-time aides with two full-time teachers. He said cutting staff members now will result in transactional costs in two years when the district will have to add back teachers to equalize enrollment
distribution between Memorial and Rochambeau Middle Schools. Sippy added that, without the specialized teachers, the schools will lose meetings about student progress, the opportunity to collaborate and the ability to conduct SRBI with fidelity because there would be no common planning times. “Of all the moves, this would be the most onerous and least responsible,” Sippy said. Based on the current eighthgrade class size, Sippy said he assumes next year’s class sizes at PHS will remain the same. He said staff members could be reassigned throughout the high school if
needed. He recommended hiring a second media center specialist to arm teachers with the latest resources and technology, offer workshops on databases, keep the information technology center as the focal point of the school and personalize instruction. He said the total library staff at PHS is lower than that at other schools. Sippy ended his presentation with a potential savings of $350,000 based on the assumption 10 district staff members will take advantage of retirement incentives. He will continue his budget presentation at the Monday, Feb. 27, BoE meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the PHS All-Purpose Room.
Adoptable pets.................8 Book Review.....................2 Classifieds.........................7 Community Calendar.........2 Computer Tip....................8 Fire Log.............................2 Frugal Mummy..................5 In Brief..............................4
Letters to the Editor...........4 Library Happenings............2 Obituaries.........................5 Parks & Rec.......................6 Puzzles.............................7 Reg. 15 School Calendar...3 Senior Center News...........3 Varsity Sports Calendar......6
Editorial Office: Email: mbisubmit@gmail.com Phone: 203-577-6800 Mail: P.O. Box 10, Middlebury, CT 06762
Upcoming Events
Inside this Issue
sUNday Feb. 19
monday Feb. 20
Cut-A-Thon to benefit United Way of Greater Waterbury When: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Snow date Sunday, Feb. 26) What: Silent auction, refreshments, entertainment Where: Jacques Beaux Cheveux at 900 Straits Turnpike, unit G1, in Middlebury
All town offices are closed in observance of Presidents Day
Our office is at
2030 Straits Turnpike, Suite 1
203-577-6800
Advertising Sales: Email: mbiadvertising@gmail.com
Mail: P.O. Box 10, Middlebury, CT 06762 Published weekly by The Middlebury Bee Intelligencer Society, LLC - 2030 Straits Turnpike, Middlebury, CT 06762 - Copyright 2012