Thursday, September 12, 2019
www.berlincitizen.com
Volume 22, Number 29
Firefighter pay changes approved
FAIR STARTS FRIDAY
By Devin Leith-Yessian The Citizen
Firefighters will now be compensated for covering shifts at the Berlin Fair and providing fire watches in buildings with malfunctioning alarm systems, with the approval of an expansion of the town’s paid on-call program.
Jeff Michaud, of Berlin, tries out a water pistol game at the Berlin Fair on Sept. 14, 2018. Devin Leith-Yessian, The Citizen
New events, schedule in store
“We’re making a lot of progress, a lot of headway … we’re getting a lot of pieces in place,” said Berlin Fair President Dan Daigle.
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This year has seen some changes to the schedule to highlight some of the more popular events by concentrating them on Sunday. The demolition derby, for example, had previously been held on the Thursday before the fair as a standalone event before the fair opened.
See Pay, A24
“I think the way we formatted it, with all these events on Sunday, we’re going to have better turnout,” Daigle said. A less apparent undertaking, that might not be readily apparent to guests, is the removal of the overhead power lines around the fairground’s midway. The change allows for more capacity for rides to be installed in the area. See Fair, A20
Kensington Fire Rescue Chief Jeff Pajor speaks at the opening of the company's 9/11 monument on Sept. 11, 2018. Devin Leith-Yessian, The Citizen
Sat, Sept 21, 2019 • 9:00am–12:00pm Klingberg Family Centers, 370 Linwood St, New Britain, CT
MOTORCA AGE R NT
General: $10 • Seniors (65+): $8 • Children 12 & under: Free Spectator parking will be on Klingberg Family Center’s campus
KlingbergMotorcarSeries.org This is the final event of the season, featuring a traditional car show (pre-1979), a display of vintage supercars, and activities for all ages.
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Benefitting Children & Families R220904
The whirling carnival rides, endless fried food and tents full of farm animals that characterize the Berlin Fair are just a weekend away and organizers feel confident the 71st year will be one of its best.
The fair, which is run by the Berlin Lions Club, will open at 11 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 13, and will run until 7 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 15.
"When we originally put this in, in 2011, we were a leader – we were at the top of the market. Now the problem is we're in the medium to the low end of the market. If we go to our surrounding towns they're all paying higher than us at this point," Simons said. He noted Cromwell recently converted to a paid
VI
By Devin Leith-Yessian The Citizen
Berlin Fire Administrator James Simons said the changes will help Berlin’s four volunteer fire companies continue to retain enough volunteers for harder to staff calls, as departments in surrounding
towns have increasingly turned to hiring full-time firefighters. The changes were approved by the Town Council during its Sept. 3 meeting.