“It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong. ~ Voltaire
Prst. Std. U.S. Postage Paid Naugatuck, CT #27
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Bee Intelligencer Informing the towns of Middlebury, Southbury, Woodbury, Naugatuck, Oxford and Watertown A FREE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
Volume VIII, No. 28
Friday, July 13, 2012
Here today, gone tomorrow … By MARJORIE NEEDHAM Items at the Middlebury Senior Center seem to be here today and gone tomorrow. Among the missing are a computer mouse, a new golf umbrella, a cable box connection, a stand fan, a six-foot long bench, food from the refrigerator, toilet paper from the restrooms, hand weights, exercise mats, a painting, a Lladro porcelain figurine, a VCR belonging to one of the volunteers and petty cash apparently taken when an office cabinet was jimmied open. Some items are never seen again; others reappear. The most recent item to reappear is the stand fan. It was gone Tuesday, July 3. It reappeared Thursday, July 5, the day after the center was closed for the July 4 holiday. Senior Center Assistant Don Chabot said he checks on equipment every morning. Part of his daily routine is to go from room to room. He scans each room, mentally checking off that everything is in order, equipment that belongs there is still there, and nothing is broken or damaged. “If anything is missing, I report it to JoAnn,” he said, referring to Senior Center/Social Services Director JoAnn Cappelletti. When he goes in the media room, where the fan is kept, he turns it on. “It gets hot in that room, so I close the blinds and turn the fan on to keep the air circulating,” he said. When he went into the room Tuesday morning, there was no fan to turn on. Thinking someone might have
moved the fan to another area and then failed to return it, Chabot said he asked everyone in the building if they knew where the fan was and then methodically checked all possible locations, including the stage in the auditorium and every room in the building. The fan was nowhere to be found. Because Cappelletti was on vacation, Senior Center Assistant Angela Leveille called the police to report the missing fan. Officer Cathy Blick took the report. Thursday, when the staff opened the center, the fan was back in its place in the media room. Leveille called the police department and was told it was found on the stage in the auditorium behind some moveable screens. The report filed on the incident is in the Middlebury Police Department’s press book. It states M2 Desmarais told Blick the fan was on the stage in the auditorium. Chabot pulled the screens on the stage aside Tuesday to reveal the stacks of chairs stored behind them. “Tell me where they put a fan in here,” he said. “There’s no place to hide things.” Cappelletti said other items disappeared permanently over the years. Hand weights and mats disappeared from the exercise room, so she keeps them locked up in the office. A painting from one of the art classes was taken off its easel and never seen again. And a Lladro figurine given to
– See Missing on page 3
Former Vinnie’s becomes rubble Above: The former home of Vinnie’s Pizza at 504 Middlebury Road (Rte. 64) in Middlebury, seen on the right in this May 2012 photo, is no longer standing. Top: Only a pile of rubble remains Monday after a backhoe knocked down the former home of Vinnie’s Pizza. The former Johnny’s Dairy Bar to its left can be seen in the background. It remains standing. On the right, the backhoe starts the demolition at the rear of the building across the driveway from Bona’s Mobil Station. (Marjorie Needham photos)
P&Z tells Whittemore Crossing to cease and desist By TERRENCE S. MCAULIFFE
This Middlebury Senior Center fan went missing from the center July 3 and reappeared July 5. (Marjorie Needham photo)
The Middlebury Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) at its June 7 meeting issued a cease-and-desist order on unapproved construction at Whittemore Crossing after announcing owner Dr. Dean Yimoyines had withdrawn his company’s application for outdoor dining and alcoholic beverage service. It also accepted a Middlebury Road zoning-line application and extended filing deadlines for the Ridgewood condominium development. A decision had been expected on full liquor service at Whittemore Crossing and a 420-square-foot “greenhouse conservatory” addition that would include outdoor dining, but Yimoyines withdrew the application. The expansion was the subject of public hearings started May 3 and continued to June 7 so comments from Town Engineer John Calabrese and Town Planner Brian Miller could be answered. Although enthusiastically supported by town residents, the expansion was opposed by bordering St. John of the Cross Parish House, whose attorney said the two-acre parcel was no longer in compliance with parking requirements, buffer zones and other zoning regulations. It also was opposed by neighboring Junipers restaurant, whose attorney said construction at the site violated easements and was not in accordance with the 2009 site plan. He asked commissioners to issue
a cease-and-desist order until a new site plan was approved. Discussing enforcement action, Miller said construction was clearly not in conformance with the 2009 land-use approvals, and no certificate of occupancy had been issued for the heavily used and promoted facility. He said he had met with Calabrese and town attorney Dana D’Angelo and recommended the commission put a 60-day time limit for Yimoyines to come into conformance with a complete application, something he told acting Chairman Terry Smith was a “soft, lenient approach” to dealing with the many issues. Miller told Smith a complete shutdown of all activities could be the “hard approach” if the commission chose to do so. He said he and Calabrese had spent numerous hours going over plans in the building department and had written a three-page memorandum of questions for Yimoyines to answer. Smith said P&Z would have zero credibility if it did not issue an order, and a 60-day resolution was unanimously voted. Action on an application by the Town of Middlebury for a 3,800-square-foot addition to the existing 16,300-square-foot library was tabled until Aug. 2 because necessary Conservation Commission approvals were not voted due to lack of a quorum at its June 26 meeting. A zone-line revision at 504 Middlebury Road was set for public hearing Aug. 2 at the request of developer Joseph DeSantis.
The revision, involving exchange of about a quarter acre of property between Wesson Energy and St. John of the Cross Church, would convert the Wesson parcel to conforming from nonconforming and would give St. John of the Cross a 50-foot frontage on Route 64. A lot-line revision for the properties was accepted and approved June 7. A request to conditionally extend the date for filing Mylar maps for the approved Ridgewood condominium development to 90 days after termination of ongoing lawsuits was unanimously voted. Ridgewood attorney Chris Smith told commissioners a fixed 180-day extension had been granted in December, but the lawsuits have not been resolved. He said town attorney D’Angelo agreed a conditional extension would better fit the open-ended litigation problem. In other matters, Joseph L. Molder of 19 West Lake Road was advised to confer with Miller and a town attorney on the best way to proceed on transforming nonconforming lots in the Lake Quassapaug West Side Association into approved building lots. Miller said there were many nuances to the history of the lots and cottages on property formerly owned by John Howard Whittemore, calling the matter “perplexing.” Acting Chairman Smith said Molder and his neighbors would eventually need to hire a land-use attorney and present maps and a plan to P&Z. The next regular P&Z meeting is Thursday, Aug. 2, at 7:30 p.m. at Shepardson Community Center.
Book Review.....................2 Adoptable Pets..................8 Classifieds.........................7 Community Calendar.........2 Computer Tip....................8 Fire Log.............................2 In Brief..............................4
Legal Notices....................7 Library Happenings............2 Library Lines......................2 Nuggets for Life................6 Obituaries.........................5 Parks & Rec.......................6 Senior Center News...........3
Editorial Office: Email: mbisubmit@gmail.com Phone: 203-577-6800 Mail: P.O. Box 10, Middlebury, CT 06762 Advertising Sales: Email: mbiadvertising@gmail.com
Upcoming Events
Inside this Issue
SATURday
July 14
Animals for Life (AFL) Tag Sale
When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. What: Proceeds from donations to benefit dogs and cats rescued by AFL Where: Bucks Hill Community Club at 2851 North Main St. in Waterbury
Garden club dives into swimming pool project.
Page 8
SATURday
July 21
Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day When: What: Where:
8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Collection of hazardous wastes that are poisonous, flammable, reactive or corrosive for residents of Beacon Falls, Bethlehem, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Oxford, Southbury, Thomaston, Waterbury, Watertown and Woodbury Thomaston High School at 185 Branch Road (Rte. 109)
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