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Informing the towns of Middlebury, Southbury, Woodbury, Naugatuck, Oxford and Watertown AN INDEPENDENTLY OWNED FREE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
Volume X, No. 20
Friday, May 16, 2014
Region 15 budget vote, round 2, next Wednesday By MARJORIE NEEDHAM Voters in Middlebury and Southbury will return to the polls Wednesday, May 21, to vote on the proposed 2014-2015 Region 15 School District budget. The district’s proposed $64.2 million budget was turned down by the voters 2,328 to 1,920 in the May 7 referendum. Middlebury Town Clerk Edith Salisbury said Wednesday the amount to be voted on at the May 21 referendum would not be known until Thursday morning. That number was to be approved at a Wednesday night meeting of the Board of Education. Salisbury said she will have absentee ballots available today, Friday, for those unable to vote at the polls next Wednesday. The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., with voting at Shepardson Community Center in Middlebury and the fire station in Southbury. The budget that failed to pass May 7 was 3.67 percent higher than the current budget and was expected to increase Middlebury’s contribution to the district to $20.1 million compared to its current $19.8 million if it had passed. During the April 7 BoE meeting, three of the four Middlebury BoE members, Francis Brennan, Paul Babarik and John Cookson spoke against the increased spending, but Brennan was the only one of the three to cast a “no” vote when it came time to approve the budget and move it to the May 7 referendum. Afterward Brennan said, “How can you speak against a budget and then vote for it?” At that meeting, Southbury BoE members expressed support for the budget that failed at the polls.
Marion Manzo said she thought the budget had been reduced as much as possible, and Steven Suriani said while the region’s enrollment is down 500 students from its peak enrollment of 4500 students in 2009, the budget has been responding to declining enrollment over the years. He said several dozen staff positions have been eliminated and Region 15 Finance Director Keith McLiverty has found a number of ways to cut costs. During the April 7 vote on the budget, Middlebury’s fourth BoE member, Richard Spierto, voted against it, as did Southbury BoE member Janet Butkus. Neither made a statement prior to voting. On May 7, Middlebury voters turned down the budget 754 to 419, but it still would have passed had not Southbury voters also turned it down. The Southbury vote, 1,574 against and 1,501 for, was much closer than Middlebury’s with only 73 votes carrying the nays. For the May 21 vote, Southbury will again determine whether the budget passes or fails. Middlebury has roughly 5,200 registered voters; Southbury has roughly 13,300. If half the Southbury voters were to turn out and vote for the Region 15 budget, Middlebury voters wouldn’t be able to defeat the budget even if they all turned out and voted against it. Likewise, if half the Southbury voters turned out and voted against the budget, the budget would lose regardless of how Middlebury voted. Whether the BoE will put the same budget to a vote May 21 or reduce the amount is not known at press time.
Former NBA player to speak By MARJORIE NEEDHAM S.M.A.R.T. Inc. (Southbury and Middlebury Acting Responsibly Together) is bringing national speaker Chris Herren to Pomperaug High School in Southbury Tuesday, May 20, at 7 p.m. to share his story of addiction and recovery. He will speak to the student body during the afternoon and then return for the evening program to speak to the parents and community members. S.M.A.R.T. encourages area parents to bring their children 11 and older to this program on the power of addiction and the painful road to recovery. They say the Office of National Drug Control Policy Program lists Connecticut among the top 10 states in the country when it comes to addiction to illicit drugs among those between the ages of 18 to 25. Herren is a former NBA Boston Celtics basketball player who now spends his time talking in front of thousands of people to inform, educate and hopefully prevent further addiction issues. Two videos by Herren, “The
Game Has Changed” (a TED talk) and “To Hell and Back” can be viewed by going to smartinc. org. Herren says on the videos that he talks to kids in an attempt to help them avoid traveling the road he took. He first used cocaine when he was 17 years old and later moved on to opiates, oxycontin and heroin. He said it took him 18 years to reach the point that he finally could live a drug-free life. In addition to speaking, Herren has established The Herren Project. See theherrenproject. org. Its mission is “to provide assistance in taking the first steps toward recovery and a life of sobriety, educational programs and resources to increase awareness on the signs of addiction and bring hope for a better tomorrow.” Besides helping those with addiction problems get started on the road to recovery, The Herren Project also sponsors Project Purple, which empowers youth to stand up to substance abuse, promotes positive decision making and encourages teens to make a difference in their community.
Inside this Issue Library Happenings.......... 2 Obituaries....................... 5 Puzzles..................................7 Region 15 School Calendar....3 Senior Center Events....2, 3 Sports............................. 6
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Upcoming Events
Adoptable Pets................ 8 Book Review................... 2 Classifieds....................... 7 Community Calendar....... 2 Fire Log........................... 2 In Brief............................ 4
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May 21
Middlebury Public Library Director Jo-Ann LoRusso pours tea Wednesday while Chef Dotti Cannon of Brown Sugar Catering in Manchester explains the different types of tea parties and what to serve at each type. Cannon catered the library’s first mother/ daughter tea, which was sponsored by the Friends of the Library. She said this was the fourth tea party she has catered this month. Her website is brownsugarcatering.net. (Marjorie Needham photo)
Police warn of IRS scam, seek burglary information By MARJORIE NEEDHAM Middlebury Acting Police Chief Richard A. Wildman issued a press release Tuesday warning residents to beware of an IRS scam that has already cost one resident thousands of dollars. Police say a caller identifying himself as an IRS special agent contacted a Middlebury resident by telephone and told him he owed about $7,500 in back taxes from 2012. The caller identified himself at Special Agent Spencer Adams and demanded the money be paid by 11 a.m. or the resident would be arrested. The victim raised the money and used Reloadit money cards to get the money to the caller. Once the victim gave the Reloadit codes to the fake IRS agent, the money was picked up.
Any calls from the IRS demanding money should be verified by calling the IRS. This is a common scam and most times the callers will have the local police department numbers to add credibility to their calls. The number appearing on the caller ID in this case was 585-633-1814. Wildman said Wednesday that on Tuesday he put out a nationwide alert about the scam through a service called CrimeDex that shares the information with banks, insurance companies, law enforcement agencies and federal agencies. Late Tuesday night, he received a phone call from a Spokane, Wash., woman who had been a victim of the IRS scam. Her bank received Wildman’s notification and then contacted her. Wildman also got a call from a law enforcement agency in the Midwest that was to call
back Wednesday regarding two cases in their area. Wildman said victims say the scammer has a heavy accent that sounds Indian to them. In the burglary case, police need to know if anyone saw anything suspicious in the area around Goff Street and Yale Avenue between May 3 and 11. On Monday, they took a burglary complaint from a resident on Yale Avenue who reported to police that while he was away on business during that time someone crawled through an unlocked window of the residence and, once inside, stole the following: a large plasma TV, an Xbox game unit, a PlayStation game unit, a power pole saw and chain saw. Anyone who may have seen anyone acting suspiciously in the area is urged to call Middlebury Police at 203-577-4028. Officer Al Cronin is the investigating officer.
LPOS discusses Fenn Farm asbestos, maintenance items By TERRENCE S. MCAULIFFE Middlebury Land Preservation and Open Space Acquisition Committee (LPOS) members, at their May 7 meeting, disagreed on the need for asbestos removal from boiler pipes in the farmhouse at Fenn Farm. Members also discussed cow barn repairs and repainting the exterior of the main house. Member James Crocicchia questioned the need for removing asbestos wrap from about 75 to 100 feet of heating pipes and rewrapping them with Fiberglas, saying it was a waste of taxpayer money. During an informal update to members March 5, Chairman John Cookson said the removal was required. At the April 2 regular meeting, he told resident Ray Pietrorazio of 764 Charcoal Ave. the farmhouse containing the boiler was a public building, and Middlebury building inspector Oliver Leduc said the asbestos must be removed.
Crocicchia said Leduc told him there was nothing in the building code requiring undisturbed asbestos to be removed, but Cookson said town insurance of public buildings made it compulsory. Crocicchia asked Cookson to get the necessity in writing, and Cookson said he would get a statement on the insurance requirement from Public Works Director Dan Norton. Crociccia recommended Cookson also speak to Torrington Health District representative Rob Rubbo on the need for the removal. Serious roof leaks in the cow barn might require the services of a structural engineer, Cookson said. Member Richard Spierto said he believed that could be quite expensive. Cookson said he would first ask town engineer John Calabrese and Leduc to take a look and offer their advice on the matter. Cookson said the barn is leaking in about eight places, and the wood is rotting. There also is an unknown amount of concealed
wood damage. He said roof repairs would need to go out to bid, so specifications of the work to be done would require some amount of engineering involvement. Repainting the main farm house with Rhino Shield is still a possibility, Cookson said. He said a representative from that company called and wanted to reconsider a decision not to bid. Earlier in the year, Cookson said, Rhino Shield declined to bid on applying its product to the house due to concern it would not adhere to the clapboards because they have been treated with linseed oil. At several LPOS meetings, Cookson has spoken in favor of vinyl siding instead of repainting because of the high cost of sanding the linseed- oil-treated clapboards. The next regular LPOS meeting will be Wednesday, June 4, at 6 p.m. at Shepardson Community Center.
Naugatuck Community Choir Spring Concert What: When: Where: Info:
Baroque choral masterpieces, including Vivaldi’s “Gloria” and Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” 7 p.m., Friday; 3 p.m. Sunday Friday at St. Francis-Xavier Church at 625 Baldwin St. in Waterbury; Sunday at St. Hedwig’s Church at 32 Golden Hill St. in Naugatuck Free program accepting goodwill donations. Receptions follow each performance.
Ladies blast Kolbe, gents combine on no-hitter
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Chris Herren speaks on overcoming drug addiction
What: Former Boston Celtics player shares his story of addiction and recovery When: 7 p.m. Where: Pomperaug High School in Southbury
Referendum on proposed 2014-2015 Regional School District 15 Budget What: Vote on proposed school budget When: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Where: Middlebury votes at Shepardson Community Center; Southbury votes at fire station.
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