“Every two years the American politics industry fills the airwaves with the most virulent, scurrilous, wall-to-wall character assassination of nearly every political practitioner in the country — and then declares itself puzzled that America has lost trust in its politicians.” ~ Charles Krauthammer
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Bee Intelligencer Informing the towns of Middlebury, Southbury, Woodbury, Naugatuck, Oxford and Watertown A FREE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
Volume VIII, No. 45
Friday, November 2, 2012
Get out and vote Tuesday By MARJORIE NEEDHAM Tuesday is Election Day. The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., so be sure to get out and vote. Middlebury’s two districts will vote at Shepardson Community Center at 1172 Whittemore Road. District 1 will vote downstairs; District 2 will vote in the auditorium on the second floor. In addition to voting for candidates, Middlebury voters will be asked to vote on the following question: “Shall the proposed revision to the Town of Middlebury Charter, as recommended by the Charter Revision Committee and approved by the Board of Selectmen on September 4, 2012, be approved?” Copies of the proposed revisions are available in the town clerk’s office and also on the town website, www.middlebury-ct.org. Click on “News & Information” to get to the page with the link to the proposed revisions. Turning to the candidates voters may choose among, it is a presidential election year, and there are four choices for president and vice-president: Republicans Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden, Independents Rocky Anderson and Luis Rodriguez and Libertarians Gary Johnson and Jim Gray. Voters also will choose a U.S. senator, a U.S. representative, a
state senator and a state representative. Candidates for U.S. senator are Republican- and Independent-endorsed candidate Linda McMahon, Democratic- and Working Families-endorsed Chris Murphy and Libertarian Paul Passarelli. Candidates for U.S. representative are Republican- and Independent-endorsed Andrew Roraback and Democratic- and Working Families-endorsed Elizabeth Esty. The candidates for state senator differ depending on whether a voter is in District 1 or District 2. District 1 voters may choose between Republican Rob Kane and Democrat James Gambardella. District 2 voters may choose among Democrat Joan Hartley, Working Families Blair Bertaccini and Independent Andrew Larsen. For state senator, the choices are the same in both districts: Republican Tony D’Amelio or Democratic- and Independent-endorsed Ernest Brunelli. Candidates who are endorsed by more than one party appear on the ballot more than once in the same column. Be sure to darken only one of the circles if you are voting for a candidate whose name appears more than once. Otherwise, your ballot will be rejected, and you will have to vote again.
Conservation Commission meets despite Sandy By TERRRENCE S. MCAULIFFE The Middlebury Conservation Commission (CC) did not let hurricane Sandy postpone its Tuesday, Oct. 30, meeting. It approved reconstruction and expansion plans at Quassy Amusement Park, construction plans at Crest Road, accepted applications for a gravel parking lot at Whittemore Crossing and setbacks on Burr Hall Road and provided wetlands guidance to a Ravenwood Drive resident. Quassy Amusement Park plans to expand one building and reconstruct another were unanimously approved. Attorney Michael McVerry and Quassy President Eric Anderson said a second story was planned for the restaurant adjacent to Kiddieland, and a total rebuild on the same footprint was planned for the deteriorated Birthday Pavilion. Anderson said the restaurant kitchen would be enlarged and an office and storage space fitted into the second floor, allowing an outdoor cooler to be brought inside. The amount of impervious area would stay the same.
The flagpole in front of the Middlebury Post Office rises above fallen trees Tuesday morning. Hurricane Sandy blew down four trees that had to be cleared from the parking lot before the post office could open. (Jen Mendello photo)
Sandy blows down trees at post office By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
Crest Road Land Associates’ plans for construction in regulated areas at 47 Crest Road were unanimously approved. Owner Curt Smith said he wanted to sell the 6.98-acre parcel with approvals in place for driveway widening and utility access, house setbacks and a force main septic system. Plans for 1365 LLC to transform a 28-space temporary gravel parking lot at Whittemore Crossing into a permanent impervious lot were unanimously accepted. McVerry and Professional Land Surveyor Smith, representing owner Dr. Dean Yimoyines, said the lot would help satisfy Planning and Zoning Commission parking requirements. McVerry said a new drainage system would route water through the state right of way on West Street into Five Star Development LLC property owned by Joseph Desantis. Smith said the plans included a request by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) to utilize See Conservation on page 5
Girl Scout Cookie Sales Need a Girl Scout cookie fix? Look for booths around town Saturday, Nov. 3, to Sunday, Nov. 11, during the Girl Scouts’ Election Day Sales Blitz.
Middlebury Postmaster Mary Donahue and her staff discovered a surprise from Hurricane Sandy when they arrived for work Tuesday morning. Sandy had blown down four huge evergreens that stretched across the parking lot in front of the post office. The trees kept patrons from driving through the lot and from using the drive-up collection box. Joe Dinova, owner of the Four Corners Plaza where the post office is housed, had already blocked off the parking lot and called a tree service to come cut up the trees. He said Tuesday the number of trees blown down was double that of the last storm, when two trees were blown down. Donahue said someone left a car parked in the lot overnight. When the trees came down, they landed on it, and a wrecker had to remove it Tuesday. Thanks to postal employee Jen Mendello, the newspaper is able to show readers the “before” pictures she took with her cell phone. They show the scene that greeted postal employees when they arrived Tuesday. Our “after” shot shows the trees after they have been cut up by the tree service and are awaiting removal on the far side of the parking lot. The post office, which normally opens at 9 a.m., experienced a short delay Tuesday. It didn’t open until 9:30 a.m. Donahue said she was pleased with Dinova’s response to the problem. “Joe got right on it and got the postal service up and running,” she said.
The view looking out the front door of the Middlebury Post Office Tuesday morning. The drive-up collection box on the left barely missed being crushed by trees Hurricane Sandy blew down Monday night. (Jen Mendello photo)
Sawed up trees awaiting removal fill the far side of the parking lot at the Middlebury Post Office Tuesday. They originally stretched across the parking lot to the post office. (Marjorie Needham photo)
Adoptable Pets................ 8 Classifieds....................... 7 Community Calendar....... 2 Computer Tip.................. 8 Fire Log........................... 2 In Brief............................ 4 Library Happenings.......... 2
Library Lines.................... 2 Nuggets for Life.............. 6 Parks & Recreation.......... 6 Puzzles........................... 7 Region 15 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 Advertising Sales: Email: mbiadvertising@gmail.com
Upcoming Events
Inside this Issue
Saturday
Nov. 3
tuesday
Nov. 6
Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department Ladies Annual Craft Show
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p. m. What: Handcrafted items of all kinds on sale. Free admission Where: Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department firehouse on Tucker Hill Road.
Election Day
When: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. What: Middlebury votes on charter revisions and candidates for federal and state offices Where: Shepardson Community Center
Daylight Saving Time ends Don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour this Sunday at 2 a.m.
Our office is at
2030 Straits Turnpike, Suite 1
203-577-6800
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