RESERVE Your Foursome TODAY!

We are excited to announce that your Southington Chamber of Commerce has been nominated in the Best Chamber of Commerce category for the 2023 Record Journal Readers’ Choice

Awards. Voting will take place from August 10 until August 20 and is facilitated through the Record Journal marketing team.

We are honored to be nom- inated and excited to learn of all of our member businesses who are also nominated in various categories.

Let’s show our community spirit and vote for your Southing- ton Chamber and all of the local businesses that are nominated. For more information on the contest and how to vote, visit myrecordjournal.com or contact Anthony Jordan at 203.235.1661.

Comen joined firefighters and police from around the state who helped stranded Vermonters along with their pets from homes, some of which were flooded to the window sills.

The resident of that particular mobile home had called 911 but the person’s cell phone battery had died. Comen and the team were tasked with making contact with the person and getting them out. Rescues involved “basically landing right into their front doors” by boat, Comen said. Had he and his boat team not been able to reach the person, the only other option would have been to wait for a helicopter. Comen said they arrived and got the rattled person and two cats to safety.

Comen talked with the Record-Journal last Friday as he was heading back to Connecticut. The pace of operations was “nonstop” while in Vermont. “The operational periods are 24 hours,” he said. “We’re always available for missions that the state of Vermont and FEMA dispatch out to the different teams.”

Abandoned vehicles

FEMA crews arrived late last week and Comen’s team was tasked with removing and searching vehicles that were flooded. The work took place in Barre, the town with Vermont’s first recorded flooding death. “Part of the responsibly was removing the vehicle but also to make sure there wasn’t a victim still trapped,” Comen said.

One of the vehicles Comen’s team worked on was a Lay’s potato chip truck that had been featured in news coverage. “We located what was left of the truck a ways down the river,” Comen said. No victim was found inside.

Using boats, dry suits, life jackets and ropes, Comen and other swift water rescuers searched vehicles in challenging conditions. The water “is high and it’s moving really fast,” Comen said.

Water rescue expertise

Scott Lee, assistant chief of the Southington Fire Department, said Comen was requested for his expertise.

Comen runs a water rescue training company and has extensive training and experience with a host of specialized rescue operations.

“He’s above average for the skill sets,” Lee said. “He grew up on the water.” jbuchanan@record-journal.com

Comen has also trained on rope rescues, used by firefighters when climbers fall from Ragged Mountain.

Lee said there’s some disruption when firefighters are deployed in other states but that the department is able to compensate. There’s also a willingness to help out where needed, even if it’s not local.

“We have some highly skilled guys willing to share their knowledge,” Lee said.

203-317-2230

Twitter: @JBuchananRJ

In Brief

Rally for animals

North Haven-based Bikers Against Animal Cruelty is a nonprofit which advocates against animal cruelty and neglect, promotes responsible pet ownership and helps provide the cost of emergency care for ownerless victims of animal cruelty and neglect. BAAC’s annual fundraising rally will be held Saturday, July 29, noon to 5 p.m., at Town Center Park, 2761 Dixwell Ave., in Hamden. The event will include food trucks, vendors, bands, pet adoptions, and more.

Admission is $5.

45th Reunion

The Southington High School Class of 1978 will celebrate its 45th reunion Oct. 7 at the Mountain RoomMount Southington. Tickets are $75. RSVP and purchase tickets by visiting shsreunion78.com.

The library choose books in order to provide something for everyone, Virello said. Librarians consult reviews in order to determine what books would best fit a particular topic. “A librarian’s job is to ensure that the library offers a choice,” Virello said.

There’s no specific policy guiding librarians on which books to prop open at the top of a shelf, according to library officials. There is a policy by which patrons can object to a book, and Virello said no one has yet done so about “If You’re a Drag Queen and You Know It.”

Joanne Kelleher, a library board member and Democrat, said that realistically “every single book is on display,” but that the height of the shelf likely meant a small child wouldn’t have been able to see the drag queen book.

Objections from residents

The depictions of drag queens bothered some parents even though the book itself contained no explicit images.

Speaking at Monday’s meeting, resident Susan Zabohonski said the library should be helping parents keep their children from seeing things that aren’t appropriate for young ages.

“There is a certain level of responsibility on the part of the library staff and board that what is being publicized isn’t censored but monitored,” she said. “... I would hope the public would agree on this that there are certain topics that shouldn’t be on display willy-nilly,” Zabohonski said.

There was concern about the choice of this book for display from the board as well.

Todd Chaplinsky, the board vice chairman and a Republican, said the content in the book was “adult-themed” and not a conversation he thought was appropriate to have with his own children.

Putting the book on the shelf but not displaying it allows those who do want that material to check it out.

Chaplinsky questioned whether the library would similarly display a book with conservative sexual views, such as marriage being between a man and a woman.

Those voicing support for the First Amendment in this case, he said, should also support the display of such a

Support for LGBTQ children’s books

Some residents said there was value in presenting the topic of sexual identity and orientation to young children.

Emily Snow, who spoke during Monday’s meeting, said she works with children in town who struggle to feel comfortable enough to share how they feel.

“It is books like these, it is conversation on these topics that help these kids feel safe and loved, comfortable and understood,” she said. “A book that can help anybody find their own identity, to feel understood, to feel valued, kids need that and deserve that.” book that appealed to residents of a different viewpoint.