Volume 18, Issue 41
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
Friday, Januar y 20, 2012
Officials ‘weed out the wheat from the chaff’ regarding Powder Ridge interested parties By Elisabeth Kennedy Special to the Town Times
Chet Mounts
Submitted photo
Small businesses faring in the economy By Diana Carr Special to Town Times We’re pinching pennies. We’re cutting corners. We’re patiently (or not so patiently) biding our time and waiting for prosperity to return to this great land of ours. Small businesses — some more than others — may especially be looking forward to the turning of the tide. Chet Mounts, owner of Durham Market since 1994, is feeling the pinch. He first noticed the change in his business three years ago, when the economy spiraled downwards. But with the hurricane and the October nor’easter, and add to that the decrease in business when the Durham Fair is in town, this has been his worst year yet. The storms’ power outages took their toll. He had to throw all his perishable food away, and insurance only covers 50 percent of the cost. He says that people are still coming in, but they’re
not using the market as a full-line grocery store anymore. His elderly patrons generally don’t like walking around a big store, and so they would buy their week’s groceries from him, but he has lost many of them to death or to retirement in the Carolinas. These days the market is used more as a convenience store. “And people eat differently now,” says Mounts. “The younger generation eats out a lot and eats processed food.” Some things have not changed, however. “All our dinners and salads are homemade. Nothing is processed. We still have a good lunch crowd, and we haven’t lost our meat sales.” And there’s still the “special sandwich of the day,” Monday through Friday, for a meager $1.75 — a small increase over the $0.99 it went for 17 years ago. Adaptability, Mounts
See Economy, page 12
The meeting of the Middlefield Board of Selectmen (BOS) on Jan. 17 featured a lively exchange in public session, primarily expressing concern and disappointment of matters being considered in executive session. Marianne Corona asked the selectmen to consider holding public forums on community issues, as is done in the towns of East Hampton, New Britain, Avon and Middletown, in an effort to get wider public exposure, suggestions and ideas. Corona, who said she heard the possibility of a winery expressing interest in Powder Ridge, urged the selectmen to open the discussion up to the public, listen to taxpayers and
share what they know. Having said that, First Selectmen Jon Brayshaw explained that, if parties request their names not be revealed, the selectmen need to respect that, hence the reason for executive session. Ellen Waff disagreed, urging transparency in conducting business and also suggested the discussion be opened to others, adding “the more brain power, the better!” Debate continued with the public requesting transparency and openness and the selectmen maintaining the need for confidentiality. Cheryl Pizzo, member of the Economic Development Commission, urged the selectmen to use the commission members for insight, oversight and advice. During
the
meeting,
Brayshaw provided a brief update on Powder Ridge, reporting that plywood had been placed on doors and windows to secure the buildings, and brush has been measured by FEMA and will soon be removed. Brayshaw again explained that there are a lot of people expressing interest in Powder Ridge, and all are treated politely and professionally. He assured the public that town planner Geoff Colegrove, finance director Joseph Geruch and the Board of Selectmen are present at meetings, and they are trying to “weed out the wheat from the chaff.” He further explained that it would be a three-ring circus if the names of all of the interested parties were disclosed. SeSee BOS, page 21
All-day kindergarten discussed at BOE By Mark Dionne Special to the Town Times The Board of Education (BOE) handled several matters of a legal or bureaucratic nature during their Jan. 11 meeting at Korn School and the idea of all-day kindergarten bubbled to the surface several times. Board members reported that they had been contacted by members of the public on the issue of all-day kindergarten. The sentiments expressed, according to members Nancy Boyle and Merrill Adams, ranged from thrilled at the opportunity to concerned about the potential expense. During her report, Superintendent Sue Viccaro said it was only a rumor that the district intended to implement all-day kindergarten for the next school year. The
subject has come up several times recently. The district conducted a survey to gauge parental opinion on the matter, and two BOE committees, the Curriculum/Achievement and the Finance committees, discussed the idea during their meetings. Viccaro, who has expressed support for all-day kindergarten at several recent BOE meetings, stated clearly that she was “solely motivated” by the educational opportunities of allday kindergarten. Half-day kindergarten may not prepare students for the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which will replace the Connecticut Mastery Tests (CMTs). “I feel strongly...that we really need to have all-day K in place; otherwise, we’re going to be doing a disserv-
ice to the kids,” Viccaro said, referring to the classes that will face the new curriculum and assessments. In other news, the BOE voted to accept changes to the described curriculum of 19 different high school classes to follow the district’s accreditation process. The BOE also accepted the Safe School Climate plan to follow new anti-bullying laws and an audit conducted by Blum Shapiro. New technology, traffic lights and oil tanks The three elementary schools have each received 10 iPads thanks to a Universal Services grant, Viccaro announced. The district must use these funds to bring technology into the schools. The iPads will have See BOE, page 26