Town Times

Honoring the fallen

Earlier this month, Scouts from Middlefield/Durham Pack 33 helped collect flags which had been placed at the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown in recognition of Memorial Day. “To those that never came home, Pack 33 extends its most sincere gratitude for what these men and women have done,” Middlefield/Durham Pack 33 stated on social media.

Located on Bow Lane, the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown is the largest state-operated veterans cemetery in Connecticut.

Project moving along

As part of a multi-faceted renewal project, recently, new carpet was installed at the Durham Public Library. In a social media post this week,

Germany-bound graduate receives proper send-off

Town Times report

Coginchaug Regional High School senior Ethan BuffordCournoyer was scheduled to leave for Germany on Wednesday as part of a local delegation headed to the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin.

Because Bufford-Cournoyer’s travel plans would keep him from attending graduation on June 14, the CRHS community pulled together an early, individual commencement for him on Monday.

Around Town

Also, Bufford-Cournoyer a member of the Middlefield Volunteer Fire Company’s Explorer program received a tip of the hat from the local fire department.

Each spring, the MVFC escorts CRHS graduates to their post-commencement ceremony party, Project Graduation. Realizing that Bufford-Cournoyer would miss out on that experience, the fire department decided to give him a ride to his private graduation ceremony at the high school.

“Ethan has been incredibly active in the community, serving as the leader of our Explorer Post, a member of Boy Scout Troop 33, working on completing his Eagle Scout Project, and participating in an internship program at South Fire District Middletown,” the MVFC stated in a social media post.

“Anyone who knows Ethan knows he has a sense of dedication, hard work, and positivity that is hard to beat.”

the library said it expected to be open with regular hours June 12 to 17. “During this time, our new study rooms are being installed and we will begin to re-install shelving and materials in their new locations,” the library stated. “We expect the library to be noisy during construction. You may find a quieter browsing experience between 4 and 8 p.m., after workers have gone for the day.”

The Durham library was awarded a grant for the renewal project in the amount of $146,957 by the Connecticut State Library Board.

Donuts for veterans

In celebration of National Donut Day on June 2, Lyman Orchards partnered with The Salvation Army in donating 700 donuts to veterans.

New Coginchaug graduate Ethan Bufford-Cournoyer. Middlefield Volunteer Fire Company, Facebook

Scouts from Middlefield/Durham Pack 33 joined veterans and other volunteers recently to collect flags from burial sites at the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown.

Middlefield/Durham Pack 33, Facebook See Around Town, A5

Letters to the Editor

Thanks, and best wishes

Editor:

The Town of Durham is losing four longtime employees in Town Hall. Our building inspector, Dick McManus, retired in March and had been with the town for over 20 years. Bill Milardo, our health inspector, will be retiring after having been with the town for over 35 years. Sherry Hill, the recreation director, is retiring after 40 years. Beth Moncata, our financial director, will be leaving for a new position after helping our town for almost two decades. She was instrumental in professionalizing the Board of Finance and keeping our taxes low. These employees truly care about our town more than their personal interests.

Special lunch

The Durham Senior Citizens Board will sponsor a “Bring a Father to Lunch” event

Friday, June 23 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Durham Activity Center, 144 Pickett Lane. Father figures are invited as well. Lunch includes half a grinder prepared by Durham Market, coleslaw, cookies and ice cream. Cost is $5. To register, call 860343-6724.

Rabies clinic

Durham Animal Response Team D.A.R.T. is sponsoring a rabies clinics for cats and dogs Sunday, June 25, 9 a.m. to noon, at Brenda’s Main Street Feed, 58 Main St. Proof of previous vaccination required for a three-year rabies vaccine. There’s a $20 fee, cash or check.

They worked overtime without pay to help board and commission members, businesses, the Durham Fair, and so many of us here in town. They were more than employees and chose to become part of our community. They have each worked through many administrative changes, job descriptions and financial challenges.

Durham is losing more than just their continuity and institutional knowledge. Their competence, humor, patience, fairness and willingness to work with all people, through all types of issues and situations, will be sorely missed by all Durham residents, not just those in Town Hall. We wish you the best of luck in your new situations and thank you for your years of service.

Karen Cheyney

Bring your animals in carri ers, or leashed. For more in formation, call 860-3490410.

Be Kind

Middlefield Lions signs are $30. To place an or der, e-mail Lions President Birdie Curtis at curtisbirdie@ hotmail.com. Include ad dress and phone number. Payment can be made via Venmo (@Middlefield-Li ons) or check (to Middlefield Lions Club). Send checks to: Middlefield Lions, P. O. Box 1, Middlefield CT, 06455. Include address and phone number.

Get your diploma

Ready for a second chance to earn your high school diploma? Middletown Adult Education will help. Register at any time.

Cicarella: Budget ‘not perfect,’ but a good start

Press Release

Deputy Republican Senate Leader Paul Cicarella (RNorth Haven) supported the $51.1 billion biennial state budget that provides historic tax relief, protects services for vulnerable residents and invests in schools and healthcare while abiding by the state’s bipartisan fiscal guardrails.

The state budget provides $630 million in tax relief to the working- and middleclass people of Connecticut. In May, the 12-member Republican senate caucus offered a budget proposal that would deliver $1.5 billion in tax relief.

“This budget is not perfect. I certainly would have preferred more tax relief and less spending, as offered in our Senate Republican budget plan,” Cicarella stated.

“However, it still provides the first state income tax cut in decades and funds schools and local nonprofits. It also invests in workforce develop-

ment programs, which I’ve been advocating since elected to the legislature.”

The state budget appropriates $25.1 billion in fiscal year 2024 and $26 billion in fiscal year 2025. This reflects a spending increase of $919 million in fiscal year 2024 (a 3.8% increase) and $885 million (a 3.5% increase) in 2025.

What does this mean in income tax cuts for the people of Connecticut? A family of four making $125,000 gets $600 back; A single mom with two kids making $80,000 gets $300 back; A single person earning $40,000 gets $250 back; A single parent

Tag sale

with one kid making $30,000 gets $220 back.

“I am hopeful that this budget brings relief to the many taxpayers still struggling from soaring inflation,” said Cicarella. “I’ll continue to advocate for further discipline when it comes to government spending, so that more meaningful tax relief is possible.”

The biennial state budget includes funding for education and nonprofits. It appropriates $150 million in additional education funding in FY 2025 and moves the full funding by FY 2026. Nonprofits receive an additional $103 million each year.

Durham Animal Response Team D.A.R.T. is sponsoring a Town-Wide Tag Sale to be held throughout Durham on July 22.

For a donation of $20, your personal tag sale will appear on the Town-Wide Tag Sale map.

Registration forms are available at Brenda’s Main Street Feed, 58 Main St. Or, call 860-349-0410. Registration ends July 1.

Volunteer

The Middlefield Volunteer Fire Company seeks volunteers age 18-plus. No experience is required; the

department provides the necessary training.

To learn more, visit middlefieldfirect.org, email info@middlefieldfirect.org or stop by the firehouse Mondays before 7 p.m.

The department also has an Explorer program for youth ages 14 to 18.

Gift of sight

The Durham Lions Club’s recently-refurbished drop box is ready for your eyeglass donations at the Durham Pharmacy.

Lions have recognized the urgent need for corrective lenses and collect usable glasses in their communities to support the Lions Recycle For Sight Program.

I just had the thrill of a lifetime. Or at least the thrill of the recent past. I did FaceTime with my Swedish grandson, who will be 13 in August, and he spoke to me in English, for the first time. Music of the spheres, it was. Yay, at last we could understand each other.

We always needed his father, my son Ryan, for an interpreter. Oh, I tried. I really did. I have been taking online Swedish lessons for some time now, thinking I

A FaceTime call I won’t soon forget

could show off for my Swedish family. I would impress and “ wow ” them.

I have neither impressed nor “wowed,” as evidenced by the hearty laughter of my son and grandson as I tried to roll out the tiniest fragments of Swedish. I can’t even remember what Hayden said so engrossed was I in the melodious sound of words I could finally understand. Something about his friends.

Ryan kept spurring him on

to say more things in English, which he obligingly did, but at some point he started to squirm and look miserable. So, loving grandma that I am, I told him that he could get back to playing his video games. He clearly understood what I said, as he gave me a thumbs-up and retreated. Not quite far enough, though.

Ryan videoed him doing his “virtual reality” thing, complete with the headset and “thingies” on his hand.

He was privy to a world no one else could see, fighting off I-do-not-know-who, as he spun around and waved his hands in all different directions, obviously sending someone to an untimely demise.

From the time Hayden was born I dreamed of the day that I could call him on his cell phone and give him some much needed “grandma advice.” Doing the grandma thing long distance, but still doing it. As Kenny Rogers once sang in a song, “You play the hand you’re dealt.” And being thousands of miles from him was the hand I was dealt.

Oh, but we would talk about his latest crush and if she loved him back. We would discuss his friends, and if he was in the “in crowd,” and did he even want to be. All the things those turbulent adolescent years dish out, which at the time loom larger than life. Grandma would help him through it all.

But as the years rolled on my hopes and dreams began to wane somewhat. Apparently speaking English was not his strong suit. And we know how I am with the Swedish. All I manage to blurt out is, “I don’t speak Swedish.” It doesn’t get me very far. Oh, and I can recite the days of the week. Again, not very far.

See It’s All Good, A5

It’s All Good

From A4

So this English-speaking episode was a real breakthrough. My hopes and dreams have been ignited again.

A thumbs-ups to you, too, my dear grandson. And don’t wander too far from your cell phone. Grandma is here for you.

Send-off

From A1

Bufford-Cournoyer is serving as a volunteer at the Special Olympics World Games. Also representing Coginchaug in Germany are Unified coach Robb Bajoros and CRHS alumnus Zack Ryer.

Around Town

From A1

In a social media post, Lyman Orchards said the treats “were distributed to veterans, VA employees, reservists, and active-duty service members throughout Connecticut.”

The Salvation Army established National Donut Day in 1938 to honor the so-called “Donut Lassies,” women who risked their lives during World War I to bring American soldiers a taste of home.

According to salvation-

Letters Policy

Email Letters to the Editor to news@towntimes.com.

Letters are limited to 300 words. We reserve the right to edit letters. Letters must be signed and names will appear in print. In-

armyusa.org, in 1917, the Donut Lassies “were sent to France to establish field bases near the front lines. In makeshift huts, thousands of soldiers would come to stock up on essential goods and grab a sweet treat baked by the Lassies.”

clude a phone number so the paper can contact you for verification.

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In order to continue delivery to your home or business, we need to have each resident or business let us know that, by filling out our on-line requester form at myrecordjournal. com/town-times-requester.

Or, you can call us at 203-634-3933 and we can mail you a postage paid postcard to fill out and return. Without the necessary requester information, delivery of your Town Times to your home or business, will end.

Lyman Orchards donated 700 donuts to veterans on June 2, National Donut Day. Lyman Orchards, Facebook

In Brief

TIME TO CELEBRATE

Cat Tales

Join a wonderful and dedicated group of people a few hours a week to help care for homeless cats at Cat Tales’ main shelter. The volunteer application can be found at cattalesct.org. For more information, email: info@cattalesct.org.

Giving Garden

Help is welcomed and appreciated at the Middlefield-Durham Giving Garden, located behind the Middlefield Community Center. For further information, contact Betsy St. John at 860-807-5242 or Jen Huddleston at 860716-0464.

Faith

Services

Rock of Refuge Church is located at 350 Main St., second floor, in Durham. Sunday services 11 a.m.; Tuesday Prayer Meetings 6:45 p.m.

United Churches is located at the corner of Route 68 and Main Street in Durham. Sunday services 10 a.m. (in person and live streamed).

Church of the Epiphany is located at 196 Main St. in Durham. Sunday services 9:30 a.m.

In Brief

Food bank

The Middlefield Food Bank is in need of the following: peanut butter, jelly, jam, sandwich/freezer bags, coffee, tea, crackers, snacks, laundry detergent, dish soap, cleaning supplies, toothpaste, tooth brushes, pasta, pasta sauce, tuna, and grocery store gift cards.

Paper shredding

The Lower CT River Valley Council of Governments (RiverCOG) will hold a residential paper shredding event Saturday, June 24 from 9 a.m. to noon at Westbrook Town Hall, 866 Boston Post Road. This event is free to

residents of the RiverCOG region, which includes Middlefield and Durham. For more information, visit rivercog.org/household-hazardous-waste.

Soccer refs

The Greater New Haven Soccer Officials Association will conduct a new member clinic Thursday, June 22, 6 to 8:30 p.m., at the North Haven Recreation Center, 7 Linsley St.

The association services high school and middle school girls and boys soccer from Meriden, south to Stratford, and east to Branford. To register for the June 22 clinic, visit gnhsoa.com

(click on “Become a Member,” then “Want to Become a Referee"). There is no charge for the clinic.

Tip line

In response to growing statewide complaints of a spike in so-called street takeover events, the FBI rolled out a tip line for residents to report instances of mass gatherings in parking lots and roadways.

Residents looking to report a street takeover are encouraged to call 1-800-CALL-FBI and select the “Connecticut Street Takeovers” option from an operator. Or, visit the website fbi.gov/cttakeovertips.

Coginchaug Little League’s 7- and 8-year-old baseball teams wrapped up their season this past weekend and received a shout-out from the league on social media: “Really proud of these kids for their hard work and progress throughout the season!”

Coginchaug Little League, Facebook

CT is deep blue — but too cautious for progressives

By Mark Pazniokas The Connecticut Mirror

Connecticut, a small blue state that reliably fueled national campaigns on the minimum wage, paid sick days and family leave in the previous decade, was barren ground on cutting-edge labor issues in the just-com-

pleted legislative session. In style and substance, the Democratic governor and General Assembly most often operated from the political center, exhibiting caution on major progressive issues ranging from labor to climate change to affordable housing.

The question inevitably arises: When it comes to policy, what is the political identity of Connecticut, one of the 17 trifecta states where Democrats control the office of the governor and both chambers of the state legislature?

“For good and bad, we are a bit more moderate state than I think you’d want to recognize. And for me, sometimes it’s painful,” said House Majority Leader Jason Rojas, D-East Hartford. “But I think, overall, it’s a good thing.”

Working from the center reflects the preferences of Gov. Ned Lamont, especially on fiscal issues, and the unwillingness of House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, and Rojas to force difficult votes on their ideologically diverse majority caucus.

Winning a 98-53 House majority last year was both a boon and challenge to Ritter and Rojas: The Democratic base now includes the wealthiest corners of Fairfield County, urban poor, and swing voters in more rural communities. It has a core of perhaps two dozen moderates.

To make it work, Ritter has preached against brinkmanship and for flexibility.

“We’ve talked about it,” Ritter said. “We’ve tried to create a culture in the House whereby people have to learn to compromise not only with Republicans but with each other in our caucus. ”

On Monday, Ritter and Rojas applauded Lamont as he publicly signed a bipartisan budget that cuts taxes on the middle class. Then they

watched him present signing pens to them but also to House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora, R-North Branford.

At a time of stark polarization in Washington and many state capitals, Republicans in the Connecticut General Assembly have engaged with Democrats, most notably on a budget that includes some GOP ideas.

“This document does reflect collaboration and input from the Republican Party. And I want to thank the governor for bringing us into the room and listening to what we had to say,” Candelora said.

“Compromise is not a dirty word,” Lamont said.

A coalition of progressive groups, including the AFLCIO and the Working Families Party, has complained the budget falls woefully short, failing to adequately reimburse nonprofits that provide vital social services. None of the top three bills pushed by labor and its allies won passage.

A more favorable notice came on the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal, which bemoaned that other Democratic trifecta states are wedded to a predictable formula of more spending followed by more taxes.

“The exception has been Connecticut under Gov. Ned Lamont, who is trying to break from the progressive pack with a tax cut if his Democratic Legislature will let him,” the Journal wrote on June 4, two days before the budget’s overwhelming passage.

The Journal overlooked that the budget debate was framed on Lamont’s terms when the General Assembly voted unanimously in February for emergency-certified legislation that bypassed committee review and extended fiscal guardrails adopted in 2017. When tax revenues are booming, the guardrails cap See

how much can be spent and direct a certain amount of surplus funds to the rainy day fund and then to paying down pension and bonding debt.

“The e-cert of the guardrails was very detrimental to progressives this session,” said Tom Swan, executive director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group. “And it showed that legislative leadership and the governor were more interested in making bond holders happy than in dealing with the real problems of Connecticut.”

Lawmakers counter that the compromise yielded a more progressive tax rate and more spending for nonprofits and education than the governor initially proposed, but they did so with negotiation. Rumored revolts at Lamont’s centrist fiscal policies never took shape.

House Democrats have gained 19 seats over three two-year election cycles that made the caucus more diverse. Getting bigger and broader did not make them bolder.

Sarah Ganong, the state director of the Working Families, complained that legislatures in states with thinner Democratic majorities accomplished more.

“Connecticut Democrats instead allowed their most conservative members to take control of the agenda along with the minority Republican Party all to the detriment of Connecticut residents,” she said.

Labor’s bills addressing paid sick days, predictable scheduling for service employees and a higher minimum wage for tipped workers all failed, as did long shots that would have provided jobless benefits for strikers and set stringent standards for workers at Amazon fulfillment centers.

A reluctance by advocates to compromise doomed what was widely seen as labor’s best hope for a victory in

2023: a significant update to Connecticut’s first-in-thenation paid sick days law that passed in 2011.

The original law applied only to employers with at least 50 workers, and it exempted manufacturers and certain non-profits.

The Senate passed a bill that would have expanded sick day coverage to virtually all employers. It was too much of an expansion for a significant number of House Democrats, and Ritter re-

fused to pressure them by calling a vote.

“They’re legislators. They got elected. They didn’t get here to get bullied by me and Jason for the next two years,” Ritter said.

Lamont had proposed his own expansion, dropping the coverage threshold from 50 to 11 employees. But after the Senate passed its version on a 20-12 party-line vote, the administration indicated the governor would sign it.

In the House, a few compromises were floated. One would have expanded coverage in phases over several years, bringing down the employee threshold from 50 to 25 immediately, then 20 next year, 15 the year after that and so on.

“It’s really frustrating to me the more and more I see how labor and the left is very often unwilling to take wins, to get to that next thing to fight for. And you just get logjams because it can only

be perfect,” said Rep. Josh Elliott, D-Hamden, a liberal who worked on passage.

“They shouldn’t always be looking to find the middle ground,” said Ed Hawthorne, president of the Connecticut AFL-CIO. “There’s things where the middle ground eats away at what the core of the bill is trying to do.”

This story originally appeared on the website of The Connecticut Mirror, ctmirror.org.

ELECTRIC UTILITY DISTRIBUTION ENGINEER

The Town of Wallingford Electric Division is seeking a highly technical individual to work in the design and development of overhead and underground power distribution lines. The utility serves 24,700 customers in a 50+ square mile distribution area with a peak demand of 130 MW.

The position requires a B.S. degree in electrical engineering plus 2 years of responsible experience in utility engineering, or an equivalent combination of education and experience substituting on a year-for year basis. Salary: $84,586$108,221 annually plus an excellent fringe benefit package. Applications may be downloaded from the Department of Human Resources Web Page and can be mailed to the Department of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492 or emailed to wlfdhr@ wallingfordct.gov by the closing date of July 11, 2023 Phone #: (203) 294-2080, Fax #: (203) 294-2084. EOE.

MENTAL HEALTH/ SUBSTANCE ABUSE COUNSELOR

Town of Cheshire invites qualified candidates to apply for this newly created, funded position. Thirty (30) hrs/week. Starting hourly rate: $32.00. Master’s degree required. Job description & how to apply can be found at www.cheshirect.org & from the HR Office.

A letter of interest, resume & completed Town application must be submitted by the close of business on Friday June 30, 2023 to Michelle Piccerillo, Director of Human Services at mpiccerillo@cheshirect.org or mailed to 84 South Main Street, Cheshire, CT 06410. Town of Cheshire is an EEOE, M/F/D/V.

MATERIALS DISTRIBUTION

Screened Topsoil $30/ per yd; 2.5” screened gravel, $18 per yd; Sand$18 per yd; Millings-$22 per yd; Screened Millings $30 per yd; $100 minimum delivery. No pickup truck service. Minimum 16 yd pickup at our yard. Call Jim @ 860-9824819 for delivery

PREMIUM SCREENED TOPSOIL $30/yard delivered, 3 yd, $100 min. delivery Call Jim 860-982-4819

. Top Soil . Compost . . Wood Chips . FOR SALE. Catering to small deliveries. Call Bob (203) 415-0723

ALWAYS BUYING CASH PAIDVintage Electronics, Musical Instruments, Amps, Ham Equipment, HiFi, Radios, CB, Guitars, Audio Equipment, Antiques. 860-707-9350

Please & Thank you.

ANTIQUES - Always buying old; Toys, military, jewelry, art, watches, musical instruments, signs, arcade games, cameras, pre 1970 sports memorabilia, plus more. One item or entire estate contents. Call 860718-5132.

ANTIQUES WANTEDComic books, toys, adv. signs, military items, motorcyles, mini bikes, etc. All items considered, appraisal & estate sale services, incl. clean-outs. 40 years exp. Call or text, Gary at 203-237-4124.

SALT WATER CUSTOM RODS - 4 St. Croix and 3 Lamiglass, fishing reels on 6 of the poles, ready to fish. If interested call Ralph, 203-9278376.

SCANOE - 17’, great condition, $350 firm. (203) 238 2547.

TREE LENGTH

FIREWOOD CALL FOR DETAILS

203-238-2149

BUYING ALL - Costume Jewelry, Old Watches, Gold Jewelry, Silver Jewelry, Gold & Silver Coins, Sterling Flatware, In Any Condition. Please Call Jude M. Dichele @ (203) 8681816.

BUYING MACHINIST TOOLBOXES - Tools & tooling, contents of machine shops, home workshops and small lathes. Call anytime 860-985-5760

PREMIER ESTATE JEWELRY - Is interested in buying your fine jewelry, watches, coin collections, silver flatware, and costume jewelry. Call Bill, (203) 4942496.

GRASSY HILL AUCTIONS, - an Estate Sale, Liquidation, Attic & Basement Cleanout Company is Always Buying and providing services all over Connecticut. These are just a FEW of the things we are looking for: Antiques, Collectibles, Old/ Vintage Toys, Musical Instruments (Saxophones, Trumpets, Violins, Flutes, Clarinets, Trombone & SO MUCH MORE) Advertising Items, Wristwatches (Broken or Not), Pocket Watches, Tools (Machinist, Woodworking, & MORE) Doorstops, Clocks, Oil Paintings, Old Signs, Old Photographs, Old Postcards, Brewery Items, Hunting & Fishing, PEZ Dispensers, Costume Jewelry, Broken Jewelry, Gold & Silver Jewelry, Gold & Silver Coins, Military Items, Swords & Bayonets, Helmets & Patches, Medals & Uniforms, Pocket Knives, Lighters & Pipes, Fountain Pens, Mechanical Pencils, Fraternal Order Items, Religious Items, Industrial Items, Winchester Items, Sikorsky Items, Pratt & Whitney Items, Colt Items, Native American Items, Vintage Electronics, Slot Cars, Toy Trucks, Matchbox & Hotwheels, Barbie’s, Folk Art, Statues, Bronzes, Trains, Cameras, Mid Century Modern Furniture, Straight Razors, Shaving Items, Political Items, Comic Books, Sports Cards & Autographs…& THE LIST GOES ON! So please give us a call at your earliest convenience. Grassy Hill Auctions 203-868-1816 - Grassy HillAuctions.com

MERIDEN - Modern Rooms for rent, $575 mo., plenty of parking. Nice neighborhood. Light chores for reduced rent. Call 347641-1135.

A-1 SERVICE - Is what you will receive from me when purchasing your Old Costume & Fine Estate Jewelry. Napier, QVC, ETC, Jewelry Wanted! “I Pay Top Cash For Your Grandma’s Costume & Fine Jewelry Stash!” I’ll come to you. Julie, 203.443.9602.

TIMELESS TREASURES ESTATE AUCTIONSIs looking to purchase estate contents. From single items to entire estates. Clean-out services available. Call Bill (203) 494-2496.

WANTED - 30+ HP Tractor with Loader & Backhoe; Also, looking for 3pt hitch Brush Hog. (203) 715-6489.

WANTED Individual firearms, collections & estates including military & related items.Federally licensed firearms dealer. Gunsmith, appraisals, Richard Pleines, (860) 663-2214.

BATMAN FIGURES - And other superheroes and accessories, 1990’s, $99. Call 203.376.0400.

1, 2, 3 CASH FOR YOUR ANTIQUES & JEWELRY

- Call Todd Shamock at 203-494-1695.

CARPENTRY

Repairs, Decks & Porches, Sheetrock & Taping Water Damage Repairs. Free Est. Ins. MC & Visa. Call Bill (203) 901-2136. CT. Reg. # 0647093

HOUSECLEANING

Condos, offices, windows. Oven & Fridge free. Refs. 16 Years Exp. Fabiana, 203.565.7745.

HOUSECLEANINGHousekeeper. Offices. Have many years of exper. Refs. 203 4999992, (203) 630-7921.

DECKS & PORCHES

Give some new life to your old decks and porches. We can repair or replace stairs, deck boards, railings. We also construct new decks. HIC#647093 Insured. Call Bill for a free

RJ Media Group

TEC

JUNK REMOVAL

Hot Tub Removal, Furniture, appliances, entire contents of: homes, sheds, estates, attics, basements, garages & more. *SPRING YARD Clean-ups* FREE ESTIMATES. LIC & INS. DUMPSTER RENTALS 203-535-9817 860-575-8218

ALEX EUROPEAN MASONRY - 30 yrs. exp. Patios, ret. walls, steps, brick, stone, chimneys. Lic#580443. 203-2320257 or 203-596-0652

GUTTERS

DON’T WORK

If they’re dirty! For gutter cleaning, Call Kevin (203) 440-3279 Fully ins. CT# 569127

Let Us BEAR Your Junk! Junk Removal in CT

OVER 35 YRS EXP Stonewalls, patios, sidewalks, chimneys, pool areas, fireplaces, fire pit steps. Free est. 860.274.4893.

POWER WASHING

Is Spring Cleaning on THE OUTSIDE FREE Estimates #569127 Call Kevin 203-440-3279

POWERWASHING

Painting Int. & Ext. Gutters Cleaned Free Ests. Ins. Refs. Rodrigo, (203) 565-7745.

GUTTERS PLUS 25+yrs. Exp. Call today for Free estimate. 203-440-3535 Ct. Reg. #578887

HOME DOCTOR - 48 yrs exp. Odd jobs & remodeling, former US Navy, 15 yrs, #640689, 203.427.7828.

JT’S LANDSCAPING

LLC - Spring CleanUps, we specialize in weeding all types of beds, mulching, top soil work, pruning hedges & shrubs, & all your landscape needs. Residential & commercial. Lic. #616311. Call today for free estimate, 203-213-6528.

PATIOS, WALKWAYS, Stonewalls, Steps, Concrete, Repairs, Etc. Free Ests. #0648556 203.808.6886 arnoldsmasonry.com

W. BOOBER MASONRY -

Over 35 Years Experience

All Types of Masonry CT License #626708 (203) 235-4139

Insurance claim.storm damage.roofing.siding. gutter.chimney flashing. Office:203.754.3071 Cell:203.510.3830 Stormshieldct@gmail. com HIC.0664452

RT RELOCATION

Your moving and storage specialists. Call for a free estimate. 833-668-3978.

Roof Repair or Replacement, Chimney Repair, Skylight Replacement. Free est. CT #0651199 (860) 877-3006

TREE REMOVAL

Storm Damage, Stump Grinding, Chipping, Lots Cleared, Trees/ Shrubs Inst’d, Free Ests. Fully Ins’d. Lic #558031. 203.619.2301.

Preservation CT

Preservation Connecticut is a statewide nonprofit historic preservation organization, established in 1975 by a Special Act of the Connecticut General Assembly as the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation. For over four decades, Preservation Connecticut has championed the protection of community assets all over the state. For more information, visit preservationct.org.

Marines sought

The Marine Corps League, Hardware City Detachment, New Britain CT is actively looking for new members. You do not have to live in New Britain to be a member. The Hardware City Detachment regularly supports local veterans and their families in need, and participates in many local celebrations and remembrances. The Hardware City Detachment meets the first Wednesday of the month, 6:30 p.m., at the Berlin VFW, 152 Massirio Dr. For more information, contact Sal V. Sena Sr. (860-6146188, 4mermarine69@ gmail.com) or Al Urso (860747-0677, alurso@cox.net).

Renters rebate

State law provides a reimbursement program for Connecticut renters who are el-

derly or totally disabled, and whose incomes do not exceed certain limits. Persons renting an apartment or room or living in cooperative housing, or a mobile home may be eligible for this program. Applications are accepted through Oct. 1. Visit portal.ct.gov/OPM.

Wreath-laying

Wreaths Across America is a nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. The group’s mission – Remember, Honor, Teach – is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies in December at Arlington, as well as at thousands of veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond. For more information on how to volunteer locally or sponsor a wreath, visit wreathsacrossamerica.org.