Friday, October 25, 2019
www.southingtoncitizen.com
Volume 14, Number 43
End of an era as Southington loses a coaching legend John Fontana, coach of Blue Knights baseball for 41 years, executive director of CHSCA for 31, dies after suffering stroke By Sean Krofssik Record-Journal staff
Coaching legend John Fontana has died following a stroke suffered on Sunday. Fontana, who coached Southington baseball for 41 years and was also the pillar of the Connecticut High School Coaches Association, was 84. Fontana passed away Monday night at a hospital in New Jersey after suffering a stroke while attending Sunday’s New York Giants game.
Fontana left his mark as a coach as well as a guidance counselor at Southington High School. The school’s baseball field is named after him and he helped open doors to higher education for countless Southington students. Taking up the reins from his uncle, Joe Fontana, in 1962, Fontana built Southington into one of the state's elite baseball programs, retiring as the second winningest coach in Connecticut baseball history with a 669-157 career record, good enough
for an .810 winning percentage that ranked him fifth alltime nationally in his retirement in 2002. “It’s a big time loss for athletics in the entire state,” said Maloney athletic director Bob McKee, who pitched for Fontana in the mid-1990s. “If you know high school baseball, you know Southington baseball and you know Coach Fontana.” John Fontana in 2013, shortly before stepping down as chairman of the Southington Parks & Recreation Fontana’s teams won 24 Commission. Fontana, the veteran Southington baseball conference championships. coach and long-time executive director of the Connecticut They won state champi-
High School Coaches Association, passed away on Dave Zajac, Record-Journal See Fontana, A13 Monday night.
What to expect from the revaluation process
Firefighters to get mountain rescue training in the spring
By Jesse Buchanan Record-Journal staff
Since markets and properties change, Town Assessor Teresa Babon said the goal If you bought your home of revaluation is to get acin the last year or got a curate estimates for buildbuilding permit, you can ing values. Inspectors will expect a knock on the door determine if the addition over the next few weeks of rooms, a finished basefrom assessors doing a ment or other improverevaluation of residential ments would increase the and commercial property. value of a house.
By Jesse Buchanan Record-Journal staff
Local firefighters have depended on the expertise of surrounding towns when rescuing climbers hurt on Ragged Mountain or other cliffs. That will change next year, when new training and equipment, funded with a federal grant, gives more Southington firefighters the required certification in cliff rescues. Meriden, Middletown and Hamden have firefighters proficient with ropes and other mountain climbing gear to get trapped or injured climbers to safety.
What’s revaluation? Lt. Andy Polzella talks about some of the new rope rescue gear supplied on Squad 1 at Southington Fire Headquarters. Dave Zajac, Record-Journal
Chief Glenn Dube. Thousands of climbers visit Ragged Mountain every year from all over the Northeast. There’s usually one cliff rescue every year.
In June, a 31-year-old Provi“Right now, we’re dependent on them,” said Battalion dence man fell from the rock
face at Ragged Mountain and suffered head injuries. Fellow climbers helped him to the bottom of the cliff. Firefighter Kevin Guy said rescues sometimes involve getting victims off the cliff See Mountain, A2
Every five years, the town updates its estimates for the fair market value of residential and commercial properties. Those valuations, and how much the town needs to fund the budget, determine the tax rate. The mill rate is the number of tax dollars due on every $1,000 of assessed property value. Properties are assessed at 70 percent of market value.
What should I expect with an inspection? Assessors with Vision Government Solutions, a company hired by the town, started knocking on doors this week to inspect the inside and outside of some homes. Each assessor has identification and residents can check the identity of anyone claiming to be an assessor by calling the Southington Police See Process, A4