Volume 17, Number 16
www.northhavencitizen.com
Friday, April 22, 2022
Medication Take Back set for April 30 Citizen report
The Town of North Haven and the Drug Enforcement Agency are teaming up, once again, to help prevent prescription drugs from falling into the wrong hands. Residents can dispose of unused and unwanted medications Saturday, April 30, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at North Haven Fire Headquarters, 11 Broadway. Medication should be left in their original containers, if
possible. To ensure privacy, cross out the person’s name with a black marker. Vaping devices and cartridges will now be accepted. DEA Prescription Drug Take Back Day collections are held every April and October. The service is free and anonymous, with no questions asked. The DEA said the last Take Back Day, held Oct. 23, 2021, saw more than 744,000 pounds of medication
disposed of at nearly 5,000 collection sites. The North Haven Take Back is a drive-through collection. Visitors are to remain in their vehicles and hand medications through the window to staff. A press release regarding the local Take Back states that the following items will not be accepted: syringes, needles or other sharps, inhalers, aerosol cans, mercury ther-
Gold Leaf eyes city location
See Take Back, A2
The Lone Drummer marches on By Nicole Zappone The Citizen
By Mary Ellen Godin Record-Journal staff
In 1996, lifelong drummer Frank Zappone decided to be become a solo act. And since then, "The Lone Drummer" has performed in more than 80 parades spanning several states, as well as at festivals and charity events.
MERIDEN — The city’s Planning Commission unanimously voted to grant provisional approval for Gold Leaf Cultivation of North Haven to operate a cannabis micro-cultivation operation at 45 Gracey Ave.
“I don’t have to count on horn people, fifers, drummers, color guard people. And I don’t have to worry about who shows up and who doesn’t show up to the parades,” said Zappone, who works at GXO Logistics in North Haven. “All I have to worry about is me.”
Gold Leaf’s application is the first cannabis growing operation cleared by the commission since it drafted rules regulating the cannabis industry. Two provisional retail dispensary applications have been approved along with one medical hybrid application. All are waiting for licensure by the state before getting final city approval.
Born and raised in Torrington, Zappone came from a musical family, and early on was dubbed a "noisemaker" by his grandparents. Typical family gatherings would find the youngster on the kitchen floor surrounded by pots and pans and weilding soup spoon drumsticks.
Partners Chadd Burlingame and Jonathan Gamble of North Haven, doing business as Gold Leaf, applied for the provisional approval in February but the commission voted to continue the public hearing to allow them time to address concerns about odor control. See Gold Leaf, A10
mometers, iodine-containing medications and illegal drugs or substances (including marijuana).
Down the road, in 1964, Zappone was introduced to local drummer Since 1996, Frank Zappone has been known as “The Lone Drummer.” He’s pictured outside his home in Prospect. Nicole Zappone, The Citizen
See Drummer, A2