Volume 16, Issue 28
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
Nature’s Notebook Tracy Timbro took this photo of a chipmunk in a stare-down with her cat a few weeks ago. She took the picture just before she scooped up the cat and took him in the house so this brave little fellow could run free.
The Berluti family always thought the rustled up mulch in their flower bed was from deer. The real culprit, it turns out, was a snapping turtle who laid eggs there. These baby snapping turtles were marching down their driveway Friday morning, and they located where they were coming from — a nest in the mulch! (The deer aren’t off scott free though because they did eat all the deer-resistant plants.) Photo by Roseann Berluti
Friday, October 23, 2009
Durham selectmen hear flu and road updates By Stephanie Wilcox Town Times First Selectman Laura Francis announced at the Oct. 19 Board of Selectmen meeting that there is a “serious supply problem” for the seasonal flu vaccine as supply didn’t reach the Middlesex VNA which was providing the vaccine for several of the local clinics. Therefore, the drill scheduled for Friday, Oct. 23 has been canceled but may be rescheduled later if enough vaccine for the seasonal flu becomes available. However, Francis noted that Mass Dispensing Area (MDA) 36, of which Durham is a part, did receive 350 doses of the seasonal flu vaccine, and there will be a smallerscale seasonal flu clinic for the uninsured population, age nine and up, on Oct. 23 from noon to 3 p.m. at Saint Francis Church, 10 Elm St. in Middletown. The vaccine will be provided on a first come, first served basis while supplies last, and no appointments are necessary. On the swine flu front, MDA 36 held their first H1N1 clinic Oct. 15 at Middletown Municipal Building for two to four-year-olds, and a large number of those who received the nasal spray were from Durham. The plan is to have an H1N1 clinic each week for specific populations yet to be determined. In other announcements, Francis said the Blue Trail Range safety study will be
In this issue ... Left, a praying mantis guards some lush chrysanthemums from predators of the leaf-crunching kind. More photos of nature and our kids on page 18.
Calendar............................4 Durham Briefs................13 Libraries .........................20 Middlefield Briefs ......14-15 Sports ....................28, 30-31 Spotlight..........................23
ready with a formal report in about two months. Charlie Golden and Associates, who is performing the study, were busy last week meeting with the Department of Environmental Protection, Deputy Commissioner, Attorney General’s office and residents. Similarly, the Crooked Hill project is near completion, and a meeting is scheduled for next week between the town, who owns half the road, and Ivy Way residents to come up with a maintenance agreement. (See photo on page 13.) Francis announced that a state statute on mass gatherings for events longer than 12 hours was amended. As of Oct. 1, 2009, events longer than 12 hours require a permit. This includes the Durham Fair, which would be “an administrative nightmare,” according to Francis. She is currently working on getting the language of the statute changed. There are 10 volunteers signed up for the arts commission task force who will meet on Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. This is an open meeting, and anyone interested can attend and/or sign up for the task force. The board approved the 2010 BOS meeting schedule and set Jan. 13, 2010 and June 10, 2010 at 7 p.m. for joint meetings with all town agencies. They then approved an authorizing resolution granting the First Selectman authority to enter into an agreement with the state Office of Policy and Management (OPM). OPM has allotted monies to fund municipal energy efficiency and conservation block grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA stimulus funds) and Energy Efficiency
See BOS, page 13