3-12-2010 Town Times by Town Times Newspaper

Volume 16, Issue 48

Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall

A reporter’s notebook

Wysowski ‘going home’ to be principal of Bristol Eastern By Stephanie Wilcox Town Times

Six years ago I shook the hand of my principal, Dr. Steve Wysowski, after walking across the stage as a new graduate of Coginchaug Regional High School (CRHS). This week, now an adult in the working world, I shook his hand again, this time for his sake, as Dr. Wysowski himself will soon be leaving District 13. As a former student of his, Dr. Wysowski thought it was very fitting that I conducted the interview and wrote this story. “It makes me very proud,” were his exact words. “And that’s exactly what it’s about.” On July 1, Wysowski will become principal at Bristol Eastern, a high school in Bristol, the town he has lived for most of his adult life. During his 10 years as Coginchaug’s principal and two years be-

Friday, March 12, 2010

Amazing generosity for Amazing Grace

fore that as assistant principal, Wysowski says it’s been most rewarding to see his students grow. Leaving District 13 does not come easy for Wysowski. “In some ways it’s very sad because I’ve sunk my heart and soul into this place,” he said. “But I’m leaving with a warm feeling, and I’m happy that I will continue working with students and making a difference.” In addition to making a difference with young people, Wysowski says his position at Bristol Eastern will be his way of saying thanks, thanks because his own two children attended Bristol Eastern and are now successful adults. “That school did wonderful things for my two kids,” said Wysowski. “They both had people who inspired them at Bristol Eastern, and my philosophy is to give back.” See Wysowski, page 21

A family’s sweet success

Above, half of Maureen Hamilton’s Memorial School sixth grade poses outside of the Amazing Grace food pantry in Middletown with boxes of non-perishable food items they collected. From left, Katelynn Branicforte, Gunther Wallach, Klea Patushi, Shaun Whitaker, Steven Fumiatti, Joshua Dalo, JC Costa, Hailey Starr, Emily Smith, Olivia Marran and Alex Taylor. See story and more photos on page 10. Photo submitted by Maureen Hamilton

Where did we come from in our towns? By Stephanie Wilcox Town Times On St. Patrick’s day, everyone believes they’re Irish, or

In this issue ... Photo by Stephanie Wilcox

The Hassmanns, from left, Leslie, Cory, Russ, Erin and Kyle in their Durham Sugarhouse. See story and more photos on page 6.

Calendar............................4 Durham Briefs ...........12-13 Libraries .........................18 Middlefield Briefs...........19 Obituary..........................25 Reviews ...........................20 Sports ..........................28-30

pretends to be, at least for a day. But back in the day, when the Irish emigrated to America, they were made fun of and unwelcome, especially because they were Catholic. By celebrating St. Patrick’s Day on the anniversary of his death, the Irish were able to create their own self publicity campaign, making it fun to be Irish. And it caught on. But how many of us are really Irish? (See our unofficial online poll results on page 9.) Just as we suspected, resi-

dents of Middlefield and Durham are a great mix of backgrounds and heritages. In Durham, a history committee put out a book called Century of Change, 1866 to 1980 that said: “Today (1980), Durham is composed of practically every race and ethnic group, and this town is finally representative of a microcosm of America.” Durham’s heritage Until the Civil War and shortly thereafter, Durham’s See Where?, page 24

Tired of winter yet?

Kids! Families! Do you wish you were in 84° weather? Come join your friends from Durham and Middlefield on Sunday, March 21, to play for the day at Coco Key Water Resort in Waterbury, and have fun for a good cause! This is a fundraiser for the Connecticut Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, hosted by Jen Huddleston and Kathy Weber. Coco Key is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. You’re welcome to stay the entire day or join us from 12-4. Invite your

Town Times Community Briefs friends! Tickets are available for a reduced rate of $20. (Normally, they sell for $29.) To purchase wrist bands, call Jen at 860-349-4404 or email jen.e.ren10@gmail.com or Kathy Weber at 860-3499258 or email khakiweather@gmail.com.

Looking for crafters The United Churches of Durham’s annual spring tag and craft sale to support the summer mission trip to Kentucky will take place on Saturday, May 8, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine.

Index of Advertisers

play at the Garde Arts Theater. At the casino you will receive a free voucher for a buffet or a $15 food credit at most food venues. You will also receive a surprise casino bonus. After the casino, the group will enjoy a matinee performance of Church Basement Ladies, a musical comedy. The bus leaves from the United Churches parking lot at 7:45 a.m. and returns at 5:30 p.m. The cost is $81, with a deposit of $45 due March 22 and the balance due April 19. On June 27, Durham 60+ will take a trip to the Warner Theatre for a matinee performance of I Left My Heart: A Tribute to Tony Bennett. This is a jazzy new revue featuring many of his classic hits. The group will first enjoy lunch at San Marino Restaurant with a choice of grilled pork chop, chicken Marsla or stuffed sole and all the trimmings. The cost is $74 per person, with a $20 deposit due April 12 and the balance due May 10. The bus will leave the Strong School parking lot on Main Street at 10:30 a.m. and return at 5:30 p.m. For more information about either of these trips,

This year they are hoping to attract more craftspeople so as to make this truly a tag and craft sale. The cost to crafters is $30 for a space or 10 percent of their total sales (whichever is less). By attracting more crafters, they hope to attract more buyers to the sale! If you know of someone who is a crafter of any kind among your family, friends or colleagues, please encourage them to contact the church. To reserve a space or a table if needed, as either a tag seller or a crafter, call the Church Office at 860-349-3683. Volunteers are needed to help set-up, break-down and run the concession stand. The Mission Committee will have their own white elephant table, and if you have clean, decent, items you would like to donate, leave them at the church office after Wednesday, April 28.

Durham 60+ travels On May 5, Durham 60+ will sponsor a trip to the Mohegan Sun Casino, followed by a

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Native shrubs and edibles annual sale The Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District will hold its 19th annual Tree Seedling and Shrub Sale on April 16, 17 and 18 at the Old Saybrook Shopping Center. It’s never too early to think of spring planting! They have a wide variety of one and two-gallon native potted shrubs, including creeping cranberry, winterberry, white dogwood, pinxterbloom azalea, bearberry, redosier dogwood, creeping juniper, mountain laurel and much more. They also offer ferns, grasses, perennial flowers, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, grapes and herbs. In addition, they have three-year White Pine, White Spruce, Red Cedar and Douglas Fir tree seedlings. The complete brochure and order form is available on their website at www.conservect.org/ctrivercoastal, or call and the brochure will be mailed to you! Orders must be received in our office by March 26. Don’t be left out of a great opportunity to plant native shrubs and perennials in your yard, provide food for your family, food and shelter for birds and wildlife and support your local conservation district at the same time! It’s best to pre-order and make sure you get the plants you want! The Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District is a nonprofit organization that depends on your support. Both Durham and Middlefield are part of the district. Questions? Please call the District office at 860-346-3282.

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To advertise in the Town Times, call Joy Boone at 860-349-8026. Ace Oil.......................................13 Huscher, Debbie, realtor ...........31 Ahearn Builders.........................24 Ianniello Plumbing.....................24 Allan’s Tree Service ..................26 Independent Day School.............3 APEC Electric............................30 J. Randolph Kitchens.....16-17, 29 Appraisal One Associates.........27 Ken Marino Sales & Service .......6 Barillaro Services ......................12 Kim’s Cottage Confections..........3 Batter’s Box ...............................19 Lino’s Market ...............................5 Behling Builders ........................27 Lyman Orchards..........................3 Berardino Company Realtors3, 31 Masonicare..........................14, 18 Binge, Bruce, contractor............26 McKinney, Ann ............................3 Black Dog ....................................7 Middlesex Ob/Gyn.......................3 Bogen, Charles Jr., CPA...........29 Middletown Plate Glass.............24 Bond Dinettes............................14 Mike & Pat’s Crafts....................19 Book Bower...............................11 Mims Oil.......................................6 Bye Bye Pest.............................11 Movado Farm ............................25 Cahill & Sons.............................27 Neil Jones Home Imp................25 Caliber Computer Services .......26 Northern Middlesex YMCA .......15 Carlton Interiors.........................12 Pavilion Catering .......................15 Carmine’s Restaurant ...............13 Petruzelo Agency Ins. ...............22 Centurion Exterminating............27 Planeta Electric .........................30 Chaplin, Bruce, attorney............11 Realty Associates......................25 Classic Wood Flooring ..............27 Conroy, John, D.M.D.................21 Rice, Davis, Daley & Krenz Ins.15 Ct. Home Adds & Remodeling..28 Rivendell Farm ..........................23 Daricek Landscaping.................29 RLI Electric ................................24 Durham Auto Center .................13 Roblee Plumbing.......................28 Durham Dental ............................6 Rockfall Co. ...............................28 Durham Family Chiropractic .....10 RSDL Home Imp.......................28 Durham Family Eyecare .............6 Saldibar Construction................25 Durham In Bloom ........................5 Sea Breeze Hauling ..................27 Durham Wine & Spirits................7 Seagrave, James ......................11 Exchange Club of Durham..........3 Sharon McCormick Design .........5 Executive Offices.......................30 Silver Mill Tours.........................10 Family Tree Care ......................25 Singles Alternative.....................19 Fosdick, Gordon, M.D. ..............15 T-N-T Home & Lawncare..........26 Fuel & Service .............................5 Third Congregational Church....12 Fugge, David M.........................30 Thompson Candy Company .....21 Glazer Dental Associates..........12 Tony’s Masonry.........................28 Golschneider Painting...............29 Torrison Stone & Garden ......7, 25 Gossip .........................................2 VMB Custom Builders...............26 Grace Lutheran Preschool ........11 Whitehouse Construction..........28 Grosolar.....................................14 Whitney Ridge Stables..............29 Handy Man ..................................6 Windows Plus..............................2 Home Works..............................26

Friday, March 12, 2010

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We strive to bring you the most accurate and upto-date information available each week, but if you see something in Town Times that isn’t quite right, give our news department a call at 860-3498000, and we’ll do our best to make things right.

Town Times

Friday, March 12, 2010

Durham selectmen hold off on accepting report on Blue Trail safety By Stephanie Wilcox Town Times

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Prior to the March 8 Board of Selectmenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s meeting, the selectmen met in executive session with Charles R. Golden of Golden, Weise and Associates, LLC to go over a draft of the Blue Trail Range study. The board did not make a motion to accept the report as they felt additional changes needed to be made. First Selectmen Laura Francis hopes to have an â&#x20AC;&#x153;acceptable formâ&#x20AC;? of the report by the next board meeting, in other words, a report written so that the average person would be able to read it. Resident Barbara Spallone was in attendance at the selectmenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s meeting regarding a local traffic authority request for multiple signs on Higganum Road as she feels drivers speed regularly on the road. Francis said the location in discussion hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t had many accidents, but speed is definitely an issue. In 2007 the Public Safety Committee recommended more signage that was never installed. While a stop sign is not warranted at the intersection anymore, the selectmen were in favor of putting in a school bus sign, as well as a reflective sign at the

curve, and enforcement will continue. It was reported that many people were stopped for speeding at the location specified by Mrs. Spallone on March 1. Francis noted that the signs could be installed as early as next week if they are in stock. At least they will be up in the near future. Also during the meeting the board presented a proclamation to Durham Girl Scouts for Girl Scout Week and accepted the resignation of Claudia Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connell from the Compensation Review and Personnel Policy Board. The selectmen approved a request from the Durham Democratic Town Committee to serve alcohol at a fundraiser on Saturday, April 24, at the Durham Firehouse. The board approved tax refunds and briefly discussed the January 2010 fiscal analysis. According to the memorandum, the only revenue

Can you spot the owl?

Town Times & Places

4 FRIDAY

March 12 Social Strong School will hold a social event at 7 p.m. Father/Daughter Dance DMYFS will hold a father/daughter dance from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Listen to music, enjoy arts and crafts or just hang out. Tickets are $10. Dental Clinic Connecticut Mission of Mercy (CTMOM) will hold a free dental clinic today and tomorrow at the Aetna Building on Industrial Park Road in Middletown beginning at 8 a.m. This clinic will provide free dental care for children and adults. For info, call 866539-9372 or contact Rep. Lesser by e-mail at matthew.lesser@cga.ct.gov or 800-842-8267.

SATURDAY

March 13

Scholarship Ball The annual scholarship ball will be held from 7 p.m. to midnight at the Marriot in Rocky Hill. The evening includes a two-hour open bar and buffet dinner, dancing to the sounds of the Savage Brothers Band, a silent auction and dessert and coffee bar. Tickets are $65 per person. Contact Kim Donecker at 860-349-9840 for tickets. Skating Event Local figure skaters from the Cardinal Figure Skating School will perform in the annual ice show, “A Night on Ice,” at 7 p.m. at the Freeman Athletic Center on the Wesleyan campus. The public is welcome. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets, available at the door, are $5 each; kids five and under are free. For more information visit www.cardinalfigureskatingschool.com.

Daylight Saving Begins Move your clock forward one hour tonight. Irish Night The Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks will hold an Irish Night and St. Patrick’s Day dinner dance celebration at the Elks

Lodge on Maynard Street. The cocktail hour will begin at 6 p.m., with Irish step dancers performing at 7 p.m. A traditional Irish corned beef dinner will follow at 7:30 p.m. with music and dancing until 11 p.m. Tickets are available at the Elks Lodge or from Dennis Murray at 860-347-5122 or Gerry Daley at 860-347-9315.

SUNDAY

March 14 Spaghetti Dinner The annual Exchange Club spaghetti dinner will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. at Coginchaug Regional High School. Dinners are $6 each or $20 for any size family. Four Season Concert Enjoy the music of David Ewart and friends on violins piano and voices at 4 p.m. at Emmanuel Church, 50 Emmanuel Church Rd. in Killingworth. For info, visit www.churchinthewilderness.org or call 860-663-1109. Special services The Crown of Thorns will be the sermon subject today at the Middlefield Federated Church, 402 Main St. in Middlefield as part of their special sermon series on the symbols of Lent at 10 a.m.

MONDAY

March 15 Perfect Your Pitch Kathy McAfee will conduct a seminar from 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. at Russell Library, 123 Broad St. in Middletown. The workshop will bolster your confidence, enthusiasm and networking efforts. Register by calling 860-347-2520. Congressman Larson The Middlesex Chamber of Commerce monthly breakfast will feature Congressman John Larson at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cromwell from 7:45 to 9 a.m. Tickets are $19 for members and $29 for non-members, available by calling 860-347-6924. Free Movie Every Monday the Middletown Senior Center, 150 William St., offers a free movie at 12:30 p.m. Today’s movie is Amelia with Richard Gere and Hilary Swank. Call 860-344-3513 for information.

TUESDAY

March 16 Foreclosure Prevention Every third Tuesday of the month, the Ct Fair Housing Center and the University of Hartford paralegal program will present a foreclosure prevention clinic. This free clinic is open to any homeowner foreclosure. Visit facing www.hartford.edu or www.ctfairhousing.org for info. Help for Job Seekers The Wallingford Public Library, 200 North Main St. in Wallingford, will host the Ct. Department of Labor’s Career Express bus in the parking lot from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This free service provides job skills development services and assistance with job searches, interviewing techniques, and resume writing and critiques. For info, call 203-265-6754. PFLAG Meeting Greater New Haven-Shoreline Chapter of PFLAG (Parents, Friends and Family of Lesbians and Gays) meets to offer support, information and education and to advocate for LGBT loved ones at the Church of the Redeemer, 185 Cold Spring St. in New Haven, at 7:30 p.m. For info, call 203-458-0493 or e-mail greaternewhavenpflag@yahoo.com. Social Security & Retirement Wallingford Library, 200 North Main St. in Wallingford, will host a program on Social Security, Medicare, retirement, taxes and other important issues at noon. All are welcome to bring their lunch; beverages and light desserts will be provided. Sign up in advance by calling 203-2656754 or online at www.wallingford.lioninc.org.

WEDNESDAY

March 17 TOPS Durham TOPS Club meets every Wednesday at 6 p.m. on the third floor of the Durham Town Hall. For info, call Naomi Klotsko at 860-349-9558 or Bonnie Olesen at 860-349-9433.

THURSDAY

March 18 Businesswomen’s Alliance The Middlesex Business-

Friday, March 12, 2010

women’s Alliance meeting will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at Roberts Physical and Aquatic Therapy, 210 Main St. in Old Saybrook. This meeting is free for Chamber members and $20 for non-chamber members. To attend, call 860347-6924 or send an e-mail to Cathy@MiddlesexChamber.com. MOMS Club The MOMS (Moms Offering Moms Support) Club of Durham and Middlefield will meet at 9:15 a.m. at the Middlefield Community Center. Tot Time, a free open play time for anyone in the community, will follow from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Send an e-mail to momsdurhammiddlefield@y ahoo.com or visit www.momsclub.org for information.

FRIDAY

March 19 Shabbat Celebrate the special joy of Shabbat every third Friday evening at Congregation Adath Israel in Middletown. Special services begin at 5:30 p.m. followed by a traditional Shabbat meal at 6:15 p.m., warm conversation and song led by Rabbi Seth Haaz. The evening is free and open to the public. Call 860-3464709 or send an e-mail to office@adathisraelct.org if you plan to attend. Business Networking The local chapter of Business Networking International will meet in the United Methodist Church, 24 Old Church St. in Middletown, at 7:30 a.m. Contact Kirk Hagert at 860-349-5626 for info. Book Sale Russell Library will hold a bag book sale today, tomorrow and Monday during regular library hours, 123 Broad St. in Middletown. The books will be sold for $3 per bag today, $2 per bag tomorrow and $1 per bag on Monday. The sale includes used books published before 1990, VHS format movies, books on tape, music cassettes and CDs.

SATURDAY

March 20 Flutist Internationally acclaimed flutist Claire Chase will perform at 2 p.m. at Russell Library, 123 Broad St. in Middletown. Call 860-347-2528 for more information,

Rep. Lesser State Representative Matt Lesser will hold office hours at the Durham Public Library, 7 Maple St., from 10 a.m. to noon. Free Art Demonstration Terry Bourret will give a demonstration at Hartford Fine Art and Framing in East Hartford from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. called “Mind Games: Practicing Mindfulness With Your Art Process.” She will demonstrate the one-line contour drawing and color-shift painting techniques that stimulate a transition from the brain’s left hemisphere to the right hemisphere and how to use the process as a meditation. Visit terryoakesbourret.com for information. Auction The annual St. Pius X goods and services auction will be held in the Bill Fortin Memorial Hall, 310 Westfield St. in Middletown. The silent auction and buffet dinner begins at 6 p.m. The live auction begins at 8 p.m. Items available include vacations, event tickets, appliances, jewelry, heating oil, legal or tax services, salon services and gift baskets of all sorts. Get tickets at St. Pius X Friary Office, 310 Westfield St. in Middletown, or by calling 860-347-4441.

SUNDAY

March 21 Chamber Choir The New England Chamber Choir will perform at 4 p.m. at the Church of the Holy Trinity, 381 Main St. in Middletown. For information, call 860-347-2591 or visit www.holytrinityct.org. Special Services The Nails will be the sermon subject today at The Middlefield Federated Church, 402 Main St. in Middlefield, as part of their special sermon series on the symbols of Lent at 10 a.m. Author in Chester Lauren Weber, author of In Cheap We Trust, a new book about American culture, will speak and sign copies of her work at 9:30 a.m. at Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek in Chester as part of the synagogue’s long-running Books & Bagels series. Free and open to the public. CBSRZ is located at 55 East Kings Highway in Chester. For info, call 860-526-8920.

Town Times

Friday, March 12, 2010

Proposed budget discussion consumes more of BOE meeting By Chris Coughlin Special to the Town Times

mer board member Dr. Felix Sheehan, about whom people also reminisced. Budget discussions The board has created a PowerPoint presentation that is available for the public to download and review. This presentation can be found at District 13’s website, www.rsd13ct.org. Once there, go to the series of links on the left side of the page, and under “Central Office” click on the link “Financial Information.” From there click on the link “Budget Presentation 2010-2011,” and the PowerPoint presentation should begin downloading onto your computer. Viccaro stated that the budget is a group effort that has been in development since September 2010. There are certain costs that are fixed and are expected with any budget: salaries (which are negotiated with unions), benefits (health benefit costs are rising), utilities, and other factors. Viccaro stated that among other things, the board is trying to sustain current services, such as the curriculum, maintaining staff levels, implementing a long term

garten. The change to full-day can’t be made now given the tough economic times, but surrounding towns already offer this, and it is certainly in our future. A board member asked if this position statement was really a mandate forcing schools to begin providing full-day Kindergarten classes. Given the current economic times the state won’t mandate this yet, but Viccaro said she wouldn’t be surprised to see a mandate come down in five to 10 years. Board chair Tom Hennick then asked for a moment of silence in memory of Howard Kelley, the first superintendent of District 13, who passed away recently. He was described as someone who served the town well and was very well-liked. He did a wonderful job and was very teaching-oriented. Board member Merrill Adams remembered when Kelly first moved to our district, “People thought with this northern guy from New Hampshire, we will never have snow days.” Adams laughed, saying, “and we never had them.” There was also a moment of silence for for-

strategic plan and keeping with the school’s technology plan, among others. There is a proposed 2.88 percent increase in the budget for the 2010-11 budget, bringing the total to $32.1 million. The 2009-10 budget was $31.2 million, representing a .58 percent from the previous year’s budget, a 10 year low. “The majority of the increas-

See BOE budget, page 22

USPS 021-924 Published weekly by Record-Journal Publishing Co., d/b/a Town Times, P.O. Box 265, Middlefield, CT 06455. Periodicals Postage Paid at Middlefield, CT and at additional mailing offices. P O S T M A S T E R: Send address changes to Town Times, P.O. Box 265, Middlefield, CT 06455.

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The Board of Education (BOE) held a meeting on Wednesday, March 3, to discuss the topic on everyone’s mind, the school budget. The meeting started with Durham resident Donia Viola who noted that given the economic hardships everyone is going through, it would be out of line to approve any increases to the school budget. Viola also felt that given the clear trend of decreasing enrollment in the school system (2,124 in 200809 and 2,110 in 2009-10), there is no way that the board can expect to make any new hires or add any programs to the curriculum. Board member Nancy Boyle announced that members of the board will be at Perk on Main from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. on Saturdays, March 13 and 20, to give the public an additional opportunity to informally address the board. Additionally, Boyle wanted to remind the public that the first hour of the March 17 BOE meeting will be designated for

the public to address the board. Boyle suggested the public send their questions in advance so the board can provide answers to queries or concerns. Superintendent’s report Dr. Wysowski will leave Coginchaug at the end of this school year to take the position of principal at Bristol Eastern High School. Wysowski will be with the school district through graduation, and a hiring committee will be formed in the near future. The State Board of Education has come out with a position statement on early childhood. The vision of the State Department Early Learning’s motto is “ready by 5, fine by 9.” The motto more or less means that the goal is that, through early education, students should be ready to learn by the time they enter kindergarten, and as a result should be proficient readers by the time they turn nine. This is difficult to implement given that students who are enrolled in half-day kindergarten are at a disadvantage to their peers who are enrolled in full-day kinder-

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Town Times

Friday, March 12, 2010

The Hassmanns take maple sugaring hobby and run with it By Stephanie Wilcox Town Times Drizzled over a pile of pancakes or ice cream, or stirred into baked beans or barbeque sauce, maple syrup — the real stuff — has a way of pleasing all the senses. Here in Connecticut, we may not produce as much maple syrup as our neighboring New England states, but the syrup we have is award-winning, says Russ Hassmann, a producer of maple syrup at the Durham Sugarhouse. “Connecticut syrup is just so good, and it may have a lot to do with the soil chemistry in the state,” he said. Hassmann and his wife Leslie and children Kyle, Cory and Erin all take part in the family’s syrupmaking activities, which started out through simple curiosity and is now a full-on hobby and side business.

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cient, but it was fun,” said Hassmann. And it wasn’t half bad, so they gave bottles away to family and friends. When people started asking for more, they offered to pay, so the operation grew. Today the Hassmanns have all the necessary equipment to proAbove, the traditional way of collecting duce maple sap from an individual tree. Right, the syrup in high volume. And more advanced way, with a network of here’s how trees and tubing working with gravity. they do it. It all started in 2002 when Between February and the Hassmanns stopped at a March, when daytime temgeneral store while vacation- peratures reach 40 degrees ing in Vermont. Surrounded and nights dip down to 25, the by bottles of real, pure maple Hassmanns collect the sap syrup, they decided to pur- that has dripped into milk chase a few taps to try making jugs, metal buckets or their own at home, which through plastic tubing. If the they did, cooking the tree sap weather cooperates, as maple on a barbeque. “It wasn’t effi- sugarers say, the trees

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scratch our skin. But, he adds, the general rule is don’t tap a tree before it is eight inches in diameter. That means most trees you can tap will be at least 30 years old. At the Durham Sugarhouse, there are 350 taps,

make syrup. When it’s all said and done, you need 50 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup. The season usually lasts about six weeks and so far, the Hassmanns have made about 25 gallons of syrup this year, compared to 50 last year.

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which will each produce a quart of syrup, and there is 4,000 feet of plastic tubing, which works like a vacuum, using gravity to suck all the syrup from the network of trees toward one bucket, thus collecting more, faster. Though you can tap all kinds of maple trees, Hassmann says sugar maples have a higher sugar content and therefore less sap is needed to

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“think” it is springtime, sending sap up to the leaf system, but sap drops back to the trunk when it realizes at night it isn’t quite warm enough. On its descent back to the roots, the sap drips out of the holes, or taps, drilled into the tree, which Hassmann says are not harmful as the tree has an immediate healing process, much like when we

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Above, the evaporator which evaporates water out of sap at about 25 gallons an hour. You will then need about 15 hours if you want to produce one gallon of syrup. After being collected, the sap is fed into an evaporator, which is when the mouth-watering aromas begin to linger. In the evaporator, the sap flows through pathways where the fresh sap pushes the heavy, boiled sap forward. Since sap is about 2 percent sugar and 98 percent water, the water is evaporated out until what’s left is about 59 percent sugar. Right before it reaches its boiling point, Hassmann takes the syrup off of the evaporator and brings it to the finisher, a See Maple, page 23

Town Times

Friday, March 12, 2010

Durham Fair scholarship applications out

Meet Regular Jo: Brenda Eddy By Stephanie Wilcox

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She didn’t know it then but when Brenda Eddy took a job after high school that brought her to Durham, she would never leave this town. Here’s what the owner of Brenda’s Main Street Feed has to say about the place she works and resides and loves. How long have you lived in Durham and how long have you worked in Durham? I’ve lived here for about 23 or 24 years and I’ve worked here for 30. How did you end up here? I grew up in North Haven and at 18 I got a job working for Landmark Farm and Gardens. I was with them for 10 years until they went out of business. Then I opened Durham Feed and Pet Supply where Lino’s Market is, then moved further south on Main Street near TLC Eatery and now I’m at 58 Main Street. What is your favorite part about living and working in this town? I like the sense of community and working in civic organizations; I appreciate them all. I also like the small business atmosphere and being owner-operated. My parents, Harold and Vera Eddy, work with me here, so it’s really nice. They still live in North Haven, but my father was a teacher at Strong School for 37 years. How has Durham changed since you’ve been here? Younger families are coming into town. From my point of view in this industry, we’re losing bigger farms, but smalltime farming, or what I like to call “backyard farming,” is starting up. The farming community reputation of Durham is growing again, so I try to offer everything the town needs. I’m constantly keeping up with what Durham and even Middlefield and other surrounding towns need from me. What are your hobbies? When I have time to do hobbies, I like to travel. Anywhere out of Durham is considered traveling to me. The last trip I went on was St. Croix and St. John. I also spend time with my daughter Keri Salva, who is a senior at Paier College of Art in Hamden. I run Cause For Paws, a kitten rescue group in Durham and Middlefield, and I own 20 chickens and lots of cats and dogs. I love animals. What would people be surprised to know about you? I am a huge fan of Survivor and Lost. In fact, I belong to the Exchange Club and sometimes the meeting will end because — as a joke — someone will say “Meeting adjourned because Brenda needs to go watch Survivor.”

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Town Times Opinion

Friday, March 12, 2010

A life spent ‘loving other people’s children’

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Town Times is published every Friday by the Record-Journal Publishing Co. and is delivered to all homes and businesses in Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall. Sue VanDerzee, Editor Stephanie Wilcox, Reporter Brian Monroe, Advertising Director Joy Boone, Advertising Sales Wendy Parker, Office Manager Contributors: Betsy White Booz, Chuck Corley, Chris Coughlin, Trish Dynia, Kathy Meyering, Judy Moeckel.

The title phrase comes from 1993 Coginchaug graduation speaker and history teacher Tony Dyer who spoke of his gratitude for being given the opportunity to spend his days “loving other people’s children.” It’s a phrase that has stuck in my mind as perhaps the finest description one could give of a successful educator. It is a phrase that also fits a man whose life will be celebrated on Sunday, March 18, at 1:30 p.m. at the Middlefield Federated Church. Howard Kelley, first superintendent of schools in District 13, passed away on Sunday, Feb. 28. Kelley’s route to the superintendency, which he held for 23 years, was not the usual, he confided in an October 2000 interview on the occasion of the Administrative Offices on Pickett Lane being named in his honor. Upon graduation from college with a degree in chemistry, he went to work in a lab and “was miserable. Somehow I didn’t realize I’d be alone all day while I worked.” So he quit to drive a bakery delivery truck, which at least involved some human contact, and finally answered an ad to

teach science in a New Hampshire high school, a position for which he did not have the credentials. “This was the early ‘50s when science teachers were at a premium,” Kelley explained. He took education courses while he taught, eventually steering his occupational course towards administration. In the same interview, he declared that his proudest achievement as superintendent of District 13 was establishment of the choice program, or the opportunity for parents to choose either the Integrated Day or Contemporary program for their child/ren. He noted that of his two children who went through District 13 schools, one went through each program “because that was what was best for them.” He also expressed great pride in his and wife Renee’s blended “yours-mine” family, another example of this fine educator’s talent for “loving other people’s children.” The parents and students of District 13 have lost a true friend with his passing. Sue VanDerzee (See Obituary and a letter of remembrance on page 25.)

Letters to the Editor

Health care

This is a late comment on the guest editorial by Dr. Good which appeared in the February 12 issue of the Town Times. I feel that he very eloquently expressed my own feelings in regard to health care. I have read and seen on TV about other clinics held in various parts of the country, and I had the same feeling he expressed about the thousands of people waiting to see a doctor, and how sad that these people, some very ill, have to wait hours in line to see a doctor. At these clinics sometimes there were even ambulances there to whisk the seriously ill off to the hospital, or to be told, “sorry there is nothing we can do for you. If you have come earlier, maybe we could have helped.” The Republicans in Congress continually say that

“The people don’t want this” or that they don’t want the “government involved.” I don’t know who they talk to because everyone I talk to wants health care. What on earth is Medicare, or Social Security? Isn’t that a government involved? My husband and I, being older, are covered by Medicare and Social Security. God bless Medicare. We are the lucky ones who are taken care of, but what about the millions who are not? Just imagine being ill, or having a loved one who is ill, and there is nothing you can do to help. Or if you need treatment, being told that before anything can be done, you have to come up with $800 or more. This is not an exaggeration. I know this as a fact. Another expression used constantly is that “We have the best health care in the world.” Yes, we have all the expertise and the best health

Letters policy The Town Times intends to present a forum for the lively exchange of ideas and issues. To facilitate the publication of your contributions, several guidelines should be followed. Letters to the editor must be signed, with a phone number included. The writer will be called to confirm authorship. No anonymous letters will be printed. Contributions by any individual or group will not be published more frequently than once a month. Every effort will be made to print all letters received. However, the selection and date of publication will be at the discretion of the editor. Finally, the opinions expressed by our letter writers are not necessarily those of this newspaper. Deadline: Tuesday noon for Friday publication.

care for those who can afford it, or who are adequately covered by insurance, such as the members of Congress. The sultan of somewhere will come here in his private plane to be treated, and yes, he will get the best care. Another expression is that in Canada, say, you have to wait a long time to get treated, but you do get treated. I haven’t heard that Canadians are dying like flies. We are the only industrialized nation without universal health care. Obviously, there is something dreadfully wrong. That it will cost money is a given, but we do have to set priorities. Mary G. DiMella, Durham

Elect Szewczyk I understand letters in support of candidates do not usually get printed until closer to election time in November. However, I will be leaving for Afghanistan next week for a year-long military deployment so I most likely will not be able to write a letter later this year. Since I reside in the district, however, I would be remiss if I didn’t offer a letter of support for your current Selectman John Szewczyk in his attempt to unseat Middletown’s Matt Lesser for the 100th Legislative District (Durham, Middlefield, Middletown) seat, which was

previously occupied by Ray Kalinowski. I have had the privilege of serving with John Szewczyk as a member of the Hartford Police Department for the past eight years. I met him on day one of the Police Academy in 2002 where he was an immediate standout, both physically and academically. As a graduate of Trinity College, John immediately became the academic leader of our class. He often helped other recruits and finished ranked first academically amongst Hartford officers. I then served with John for five years on the streets of Hartford, primarily in Hartford’s North End. John was stern yet fair with citizens, often going out of his way to help those in need. He has been responsible for taking numerous firearms off the streets and for making numerous felony arrests. He, along with one other officer, had the courage to come forward in 2004 when unscrupulous activity to minority citizens was occurring, which led to the restructuring of the downtown police structure in Hartford. He is a team player and has spent numerous hours of his own time at Hartford’s Police Academy mentoring new officers. His dedication to the citizens of Hartford, however, is only trumped by his dedica-

tion to the residents of Durham. He speaks proudly of serving as a member of the Board of Selectmen with Laura Francis. He speaks proudly of his town and the large numbers of volunteers who make it run in the fine manner it does. I urge the residents of this district to elect a fine individual in John Szewczyk to the 100th Legislative District of Durham, Middlefield and Middletown. Steve Zarger, Middletown

Next time, read before you vote

Many of us in Durham and Middlefield are aware that the Durham Fair Association, Durham’s elected officials and first responders have been responsible for successfully planning and safely managing the state’s largest mass gathering event for 91 years. However, this past year Connecticut’s legislature voted to enact new legislation involving mass gatherings (events >2000 People House Bill 2009-6678/Public Act No. 09-232). This new legislation would cost the Durham Fair and others who put on these large events an exorbitant amount of money, much of it spent on unneeded new regulations. Our current State Repre-

See Read, page 26

Friday, March 12, 2010

Town Times Columns

Singing from the same page?

Bring democracy to insurance capitol

2010-11 draft budget, Last month I asked prepared by Joe the question “Does the Geruch and this writer, town make the people was handed on March 1 or do people make the to the Board of Finance. town”? I have a strong As presented it acopinion that what we knowledges lower revthink of ourselves indienues and higher exvidually and as a town penses. The .88 mill inis usually not accurate. crease represents a 1.5 (Excluding the writer of percent reduction in course). For most of my municipal expenses professional (Architecand an assumed 2.5 ture/Engineering) career, common knowl- Jon Brayshaw, Middlefield percent increase in the education budget. If edge was that the state the school budget of Connecticut was not comes in higher than business friendly. Midassumed, then the .88 dlefield, not unlike othmill increase is no er small towns, has a similar reputation. We seem to guard longer valid. Some good news is that we will be every square inch with fervor. All new thoughts are suspect. Developers in paving our roads this year with the the area know all too well that our “cor- help of a $100K grant; we also have porate personality,” our “persona” is $100K left to spend at the park, and not exactly huggable. It’s ok to defend once Powder Ridge is sold (or leased) the $250K nosebleed will be cauterized. our character but only to a point. Last month when Snowtime/Dan For the next two months, the Board of Frank withdrew their interest in devel- Finance will look at every line item oping Powder Ridge, Dan shared with and will ultimately settle on a budget me that he sensed a certain “opposi- for the times. As for other matters, I do want to tion” developing. He picked up that we were not all singing the same tune. If bring to the table the notion of a land we are to revive Powder Ridge and if we swap with the Nerden camp that abuts are to attract development on Route 66 Powder Ridge. I also want to openly we must rethink our thinking! Two discuss the possibility of peeling off hundred acres of prime commercial several building lots from the townproperty sits on Route 66. When/If fully owned property along Hubbard Street. developed, that property alone would Most are opposed to seeing it fall into bring in over $1 million in taxes, not to industrial use which is not fitting for mention jobs. We have 250 acres of the neighborhood. And finally, if you see strange peoprime recreational property sitting at Powder Ridge … just waiting for a buy- ple (lacking Middlefield DNA) wanderer. We are now dealing with possibly ing around the Community Center, three new suitors. If they get a whiff of they most likely are not developers but controversy or an uphill climb, they are working on the census. And finally, finally word is that both will spend their millions somewhere else, and the buildings will rot and your state roads (Route 147 and 157) were hit taxes will increase. So, do things ever by an errant naval air strike leaving change? A few years ago, citizens craters (pot holes) that would hide a picfought (and I mean fought) over buying nic table. Road foreman John Wyskiel the 156-acre Strickland farm on Cherry and I toured the town with our state Hill Rd. The “optimists” beat out the DOT rep. Essentially, you can’t go 100 “Debby Downers” (SNL) by seven feet without losing a front tire so please votes! Again in 1996 the O’s beat out the be careful when driving this spring unD’s by five votes to develop our prized til the patching is completed. WOW. Did I use the word SPRING? (tax-paying) industrial park. Speaking of taxes, the fiscal year Anyone for a garden?

For many years, four largest health inConnecticut was surance companies reknown as the insurported combined profance capitol of the its of $12.2 billion, up world, and it gained an astonishing 56 perthat reputation by the cent from the year beprotection of its insurfore. These large profance companies, its were achieved not which charged among only by the premium the highest premiums rate increases granted in the nation. While by our Insurance DeConnecticut is no partment but also by longer the insurance the sad fact that the inState Senator Ed Meyer capitol, it continues to surance companies act that way. With recovered fewer patients spect to health insurthan in previous ance, both sick people years. and health providers I am supporting two are being slammed. proposals to combat The nonpartisan Connecticut Office this problem. First, I am sponsoring a of Legislative Research recently dis- bill which will allow our Attorney closed, that out of the 23 most recent General and our healthcare advocate rate increase applications by our to intervene in all premium increase health insurance companies, 19 were proceedings before the Insurance Deapproved exactly as submitted. The partment. Currently, those proceedrate increases, on an annual basis, av- ings are closed and clearly not in the eraged about 15 percent, and increases public interest. at such a rate have been granted by the Secondly, Connecticut’s Insurance Connecticut Insurance Department Commissioners, who are appointed each of the last five years. The dramat- by the governor, have traditionally ic multiplier effect of the Insurance De- come from the insurance companies, partment’s approvals is obvious. and their actions have reflected little The travesty of this premium in- independence and a pro-industry bias. crease pattern comes from the fact Thus, I am proposing that the Conthat our health insurance companies necticut Insurance Commissioner be are reporting extraordinary profits. elected by the people. A little more For example, last year Connecticut’s democracy will help!

From The First Selectman

Web update on ethnicity In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, which will be coming up next week on March 17, we decided to ask readers: “What is your heritage?” (or ethnicity, as one reader noted) Based on the 40 people who responded, Durham and Middlefield are, indeed, heavily weighted towards the WASPish, or White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant. In fact, 20 percent of respondents chose English, Scottish or Welsh and another 20 percent chose Irish. Next up were Polish (13 percent) and German (eight percent). One respondent each claimed French, Asian, African-American, Scandinavian, Hispanic and Native American (three percent). We also had one self-reporting Dutchman/woman and 15 percent of “other.” One problem with the survey, pointed out by another respondent, was that readers could not check more than one heritage, which is difficult for many of us. How do you choose, after all, between your Italian father’s background and your Polish mother’s? We are trying to resolve this poll glitch for future questions.

From The State Capitol

Automotive Algebra

In the 1950s, a plaucedes, Jaguar and Linsible answer to the coln buyers receive Joel Camassar question “what do you will purchase a name, drive?” could be “Bel not an acronym. DeAir,” “Thunderbird,” spite the naming issue or “Bonneville.” Now, (it’s physically painful a reply might be “G35 X,” or “745Li,” to type this), BMW is a very successful “F-250” or maybe “R2-D2.” People trail-blazing luxury car company that used to drive cars with names, now everyone else tends to copy. Even they drive what seems to be an alge- though a BMW won’t be caught with a braic expressions. model name, the acronym BMW is I can think of -6d + 7d x 2d plausible memorable and considered synonyreasons for this numeric nonsense. mous with fast, luxurious cars. Theorem numero uno is that we are a Cadillacs used to have proper technocratic society driven by com- names, but they jumped on the letters puter wizardry powered by complex bandwagon. The Deville has become mathematics that very few under- the DTS, the Catera the CTS. The Esstand. Naming a car something that calade model name remains but hassounds like a computer, or a precision n’t completely escaped letters, as built complicated machine sounds im- there is the Escalade ESV and Espressive. calade EXT, which denotes extended Theorem number two was as equal- wheelbase or pickup bed. ly profound as theorem one, but it curLincoln, Acura, Infiniti, Porsche, rently escapes me. Jaguar, Audi and Lexus are all guilty Theorem number three: Every- of playing the letters game too. Someone’s playing copy-car with BMW. times the numbers following a car What BMW owners don’t realize is model’s designation refer to the disthat for all the money they’re spend- placement of the engine. Numeric ing on their cars, they’re being cheat- model designations leads buyers to ed out of a name. Though the majority two incorrect assumptions – that the of luxury car companies copy BMW’s model mathematical mania, MerSee Automotive, page 22

Guest Column

Town Times

Friday, March 12, 2010

Hamiltonians Against Hunger strive to make a difference

Mrs. Hamilton’s sixth grade: Hamiltonians Against Hunger. By Alex Taylor and Parker Tregoning Grade 6, Memorial School The children in Mrs. Hamilton’s class have been learning about hunger and poverty. We visited two food banks last month. One food bank we went to was Amazing Grace in Middletown. “I was very surprised that Amazing Grace feeds 800 families every month,” said Parker Tregoning. That increased by 1/3

from 2008 to 2009 with 600 in need of support in 2008. The class also visited the Connecticut Food Bank (CFB) in Waterbury. At this food bank, people who need food cannot just come in and get what they need. This food bank serves agencies, programs, other food banks and communities like Amazing Grace. The CFB serves 650 agencies and programs and distributes its food to six of the eight counties in Con-

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program serves 30 schools in six towns, including Middletown. “If we don’t help, our world is going to turn to stealing, so if we don’t make the move to help, then we will pay for it later,” commented Katelynn Branciforte. “After we saw that many rely on Amazing Grace and CFB, we decided it was time to put some effort into help,” said Caitlyn Kranich. So that is what the students did. We made friendship bracelets, gimp, decorated shoelaces, and sold small stuffed animals to help Amazing Grace. This class sold these items in the school cafe during lunch. All the materials were donated and made voluntarily. The sale ended

on Friday, Feb. 27, and made $168.27. “Many donate during the holiday season, which is great, but people need to be fed year round so whatever we can get is great,” said Bob from Amazing Grace. The class is very happy and feels great about helping the community in the fight against hunger. “Economic diversity is something we don’t think about every day. I am happy to know this group of caring sixth graders are now more aware of the challenges poverty can create. They also know they can make a difference to help those who are less fortunate than themselves,” asserted Mrs. Maureen Hamilton, teacher.

Below, a class simulation game. Hailey Starr, left, looks sad to tell Kyle Borbas that he does not meet the criteria to qualify for food stamps.

Above, visiting the Connecticut Food Bank with Wolcott partner class. Pictured are Shaun Whitaker and Klea Patusi from Memorial.

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necticut. Since this food bank was founded in 1982, they have distributed 171 million pounds of food or 85,500 tons. Every business day, the CFB dispenses 424 grocery carts of food (nearly 29 1/2 tons). “I thought food banks were pointless, but when I went to one, I really thought about how they help people,” said Tim DeBaise. We also learned the importance of food banks to the community. For children who might not have food for the weekend, the Kids’ BackPack program gives the food needed. On Fridays, students get a bag full of goodies. Some foods included might be fresh or canned fruit, cereal bars, peanut butter, or mac and cheese. The Kids’ BackPack

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Town Times

Friday, March 12, 2010 To support Haitian earhtquake relief efforts: St. Joseph - To donate to Hospice St. Joseph, visit www.hospicesaintjoseph.org, or send a donation to Hospice St. Joseph, 1595 Norwich-New London Tpk., Uncasville, CT 06382. HELO supports Haitian orphanages. Make checks payable to HELO Inc. or donate online at www.HeloHaiti.com. Jazzed for life is dedicated to building opportunities for people around the world. To donate, visit www.jazzed4life.org. Lions International - Donate to the “LCIF Haiti Earthquake Relief” Fund online at www.lcif.org/donate. Make any checks payable to Lions Clubs International Foundation, noting “LCIF Haiti Earthquake Relief” in the memo field. Send checks to LCIF, 300 W. 22nd St., Oak Brook, IL 60523, Attn: Donor Services. Diocese of Norwich Haitian Ministries - To donate, please call 860-638-1018. Mail your gift to Haitian Ministries, 1595 Norwich-New London Tpk., Uncasville, CT 06382. Haiti’s Back Porch,100 Riverview Center in Middletown, supports the work of Haitian Ministries. For info, call 860-344-9547.

Maryann Boord honored for decades of public service Public service was the theme for the evening when nearly 100 people gathered at the firehouse to honor Maryann Boord, former First Selectwoman of Durham at the Lincoln-Reagan-Rell dinner on March 6. Following the keynote address by U.S. Senate candidate Rob Simmons, Bob Poliner presented a declaration by Governor M. Jodi Rell recognizing Maryann’s years of dedicated public service. Joining in the celebration were two of Durham’s own who have opened exploratory committees for service in the State General Assembly: Selectman John Szewczyk, exploring a run in the 100th House District, and Planning and Zoning member Lisa Davenport, exploring a run in the 12th Senate District. Also on hand to enjoy the festivities were U.S. Congressional candidate for the Second District Daria Novak, U.S. Congressional candidate for the Third District Jerry Labriola, and former U.S. Congressman Larry DeNardis. Photos and text submitted by Pam Lucashu

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Durham Government Calendar Notice from Durham (All meetings will be held at the Durham Library unless otherwise noted. Check the town Web page at www.townofCemetery durhamct.org for agendas and last-minute changes.) Tuesday, March 16 Company 6:30 p.m. — Board of Finance at Town Hall Wednesday, March 17 7:30 p.m. — Board of Education at Strong School 7:30 p.m. — Planning and Zoning Commission Thursday, March 18 7 p.m. — Compensation Review/Personnel Policy Commission at Town Hall 7 p.m. — DMIAAB at Middlefield Community Center 7 p.m. — Durham Animal Response Team Monday, March 22 7 p.m. — Board of Selectmen at Town Hall Wednesday, March 24 7:30 p.m. — Board of Education at Strong School Tuesday, March 30 7 p.m. — Ethics Commission Tuesday, April 6 6:30 p.m. — Public Safety Committee Wednesday, April 7 7:30 p.m. — Board of Education public hearing on the proposed 2010-11 budget at CRHS 7:30 p.m. — Planning and Zoning Commission Monday, April 12 7 p.m. — Board of Selectmen at Town Hall 7:30 p.m. — Inland Wetlands and Watercourses

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Notice is hereby given to the patrons of the Old Durham Cemetery, Center Cemetery and Mica Hill Cemetery that all winter covers and decorations must be removed by Thursday, April 15. The planting of trees, shrubs or perennials or the installation of permanent containers shall be made only by the Durham Cemetery Company. Due to maintenance and mowing constraints and possible safety concerns, the use of plastic flowers or plastic greens is prohibited at all times. Patrons are also reminded that each gravesite used for burial must have a permanent marker. For more information and/or questions, call Gerry Brown, president of the Durham Cemetery Company, at 860-349-3023.

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Town planner Geoff Colegrove presented a three-tiered home occupation system to

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the Planning and Zoning Commission during their meeting held on Wednesday, March 3. This system would allow for some home businesses to operate without coming before the commission so long as certain criteria were met. Those businesses without employees or any visible means of telling that there’s a business in the home from the outside would fall into the first tier of the system. This is primarily meant for computer-run businesses and would only require that the business owner register the operation with the town. No fee would be charged for registering. The next two tiers increase the intensity of use. The second tier would apply to businesses operated out of an accessory building or garage and would require a fee paid to the town and state. The final tier for home businesses would apply to those operations with outside employees, signage and/or a need for additional parking. These types of businesses would need to go before the commission for approval. One issue that commission member Dick Eriksen brought up is that a home business should be run out of the home rather than an accessory building. He pointed out that a large property could potentially house a number of businesses in accessory buildings on the land. At the least, he suggested that the commission should be able to review any home occupation business operated outside of the home itself. Retail sales were also brought up, with Catherine Devaux suggesting that the commission might restrict such sales from a home, based on the number of trips to the site, instead of prohibiting them outright. Tying into this, the commission also not-

ed that a list of prohibited uses should be attached to any regulation change for home occupation permits. Commission members also suggested that the neighbors should be notified for any home occupation permit that falls into the second and third tier. Colegrove recommended that perhaps the applicant could gather signatures rather than use certified mail as is currently required by the regulations. In either case, Colegrove agreed to write up another draft based on the commission’s comments that evening. In other business, the commission reviewed an application to use Allyn Brook Park for a one-day pet fair. Applicant Mark Paturzo spoke with the commission, explaining that the fair is meant as a fundraiser to help homeless animals. There will be a police demonstration and an agility course for pets. Furthermore, the event will make use of the restrooms at Korn School in addition to a few portable bathrooms. According to Paturzo, the event drew 1,000 people last year, so traffic was a concern. He suggested cutting off certain roads to help direct traffic, while the commission noted that a state trooper may be required to watch Main Street. Regardless, the commission unanimously approved the application. The commission also met with David Estabrook, who sought a home occupation permit for his mail order fastener business on 694 Higganum Road. Estabrook explained that the business has no employees, no signage and no outside storage. The only traffic generated by the business will be a single UPS truck coming every day. The commission unanimously

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2010 Calendar of Events

Friday, March 12, 2010

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Friday, March 12, 2010

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Durham Town Briefs Thursdays from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Adult class is also offered on Mondays and Thursdays from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Korn. Call instructor Toby Bates at 860-349-3075 for more information. Fee $25 per class session.

(From page 12)

approved Estabrook’s application. Under legal matters, the commission received a Memorandum of Decision noting that the Arrigoni appeal was dismissed. However, there is still a case pending regarding the school’s proposed athletic facilities and there may be legal trouble with John Jackson on the way. The final matter the commission discussed was the need to fix certain sections of the town map for the state. This is due to a number of properties marked as prime agricultural sites that currently have subdivisions located on them. The commission will need to take care of this as part of updating the Plan of Conservation and Development. (In attendance/ Chuck Corley)

Durham Resident State Trooper Peter DiGioia teaches local residents about home security at the Public Safety Committee Neighborhood Crime Watch Presentation on Tuesday, March 2. Photo by Wendy Manemeit most likely is. Residents should not hesitate to call police and have them investigate, or jot down their observations on paper. Many a crime has been solved because of a license plate number or motor vehicle description.” The presentation also provided residents the opportunity to meet with Durham Resident State Trooper Peter DiGioia. DiGioia recounted numerous examples of a neighbor’s watchful eye foiling criminals who were burglarizing other homes in their neighborhood. The Public Safety Committee’s Neighborhood Crime Watch Program is designed to reduce crime by increasing awareness and improving communications between citizens and the police. Residents who wish to learn more about this program are encouraged to attend any of the committee’s informational meetings or contact Frank DeFelice at 860-349-9688.

and May 22, 29, June 5 and 12 for session two. Class times will be as follows: Ages three to eight from 9 to 10 a.m. and ages nine and up from 10 to 11 a.m. The fee for each session is $55. Class has limited enrollment. Co-ed Volleyball will meet at Strong School on Mondays from 6 to 9 p.m. on March 8, 15, 22, 29, April 5, 19. May 3, 10, 17 and June 7. Co-ed volleyball is open to adults living in Durham and Middlefield with no fee. Spring Adult Exercise: Adult exercise meets at Brewster School Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 to 8 p.m. All welcome to join at any time. Cost per class is $5. Instructor is Sue Schade. Class is ongoing and open to community adults. Shoshin Ryu: This class is open to students in grades two through eight and meets at Korn School on Mondays and

Durham Rec spring program Easter Egg Hunt will be held at Allyn Brook Park on Saturday, April 3, at 9 a.m. Mark your calendar for this special egg hunt. The Easter Bunny will hop in for a visit. There will be five age categories with five golden eggs in each group. Bring your basket and come on down to the park. Event is held rain or shine. Age categories are 0-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-9, 10 and up. Youth Gymnastic Class: Registration for gymnastic class will be held at the Durham Town Hall Tuesday, March 23, from 6 to 8 p.m. The class will be held at Brewster School on Saturdays, April 24, May 1, 8 and 15, for session one

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Pastel Class: These will be introductory/intermediate classes. Students will be exploring pastel techniques, color, form and application with instructor Aleta Gudelski. Classes will begin on April 1 and continue through June 3. Students will meet at Town Hall weekly on Thursdays, in the third floor meeting room from 10 a.m. to noon. The cost will be $50 for Durham seniors and $75 for non-residents. To register for classes and information, call Jan Muraca at 860-349-3153. A materials list will be given to students upon registration. Watercolor Class: Water color classes with instructor

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More than 30 Durham residents attended a two-hour presentation Tuesday, March 2, in an effort to prevent crime from occurring in their neighborhoods with the help of the town’s new communications system. The Public Safety Committee’s new neighborhood crime watch program uses the power of the town’s “Safer Durham Notification System” to alert residents to criminal activity in their neighborhood. The system allows the town’s Resident State Trooper to send text messages to residents’ e-mail, PDA or Smart Phone when they enroll in the program at the town’s website (www.townofdurhamct.org). As part of the presentation, residents received training on how to be more observant, and were encouraged to report suspicious activities. According to Public Safety Committee chairman Frank DeFelice, “If something in your neighborhood seems out-of-place, it

Spring art classes

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By Frank DeFelice Special to the Town Times

Aleta Gudelski will begin at 10 a.m., Friday, April 9, at the Durham Public Library and continue each Friday through June 11. These classes are open to intermediate and advanced students, and those who attended the beginner’s class in the fall of 2009. Classes are held from 10 a.m. to noon. There will be both plein air and still life classes. The cost is $50 for Durham residents and $75 for non-residents. Students must provide their own materials. To register for classes or for additional information, call Jan Muraca at 860-349-3153.

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Town Times

Friday, March 12, 2010

Coginchaug Regional High School honor roll Seniors earning high honors: Randy Bertrand, Shaina Bradley, Danielle Charette, Ryan Ciarlo, William Conroy, Makayla Davis, Jeffrey Ducki, Emily Field, Mark Flannery, Katharine Francis, Andrew Gucwa, Kyle Hassmann, Erica Jones, Eric Kelly, Hannah Kowalski, Elizabeth Meiman, Jonathan Monroe, Robert Ober, Joseph Oblon, Dylan Pedersen, Sierra Querns, Edward Ruddy, Ryan Russell, Breanna Rzeczka, Christopher Smith, Kathryn Smith, Lauren Stafford and Chelsea Tuttle. Earning honors: Daniel Comen, Derek Cuneo, Nicole Demoranville, Rachel DiSilvestro, Kevin Donovan, Hannah Doolittle, Taylor Edinger, Samuel Frey, Daniel Jacobs, Kevin Kowalski, Emma Kuehnle, Brian MacDuff, Alyssa Marone, Indiana McCormick, Andrew

Porter, Laura Reimer, Kate Riotte, Benjamin Shoudy, Gregory Smith, Caroline Thomson, Paige Trusty and Sarah Woolley. Juniors earning high honors: Darryl Abbott, Alec Bandzes, Kaitlynn Chabot, Josef Danczuk, Taylor DelVecchio, Kelli Dupre, Zachary Faiella, Zhining Fang, Jamie Garuti, Julia Gossner, Hannah Goulis, Roe Granger, Benjamin Hamilton, Erin Holden, MacKenzie Hurlburt, Nicole Jubelirer, Silas Jungels, Aubree Keurajian, Amritpal Khalsa, Jessie Maniscalco, Lora Manley, Jean Ochterski, Michelle Palma, Thomas Ryan, Brooke Sheridan, Emily Spence and Henry Willis. Earning honors: David Bedding, Paul Benjunas, Jennifer Benson, Kelsey Bogen, Amanda Boyle, Cassidie Cade, Jessamin Cipolli-

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Emma Lerman, Brittany Lowry, James Malcolm, Monika Malek, Samantha Mancinelli, Alexis Martowski, Tanner Pedersen, Justine Plourde, Frank Posca, Brandon Russ, Carley St. Amand, Steven Tyc, Nina Vernali and Rachel Viccaro. Freshmen earning high honors: Michelle Berry, Skyla Bradley, Caitlynn Chabot, Kristen Ciarlo, Kyle Dupre, Justin Etheridge, Alan Haberern, Sean Harper, Jonathan Levine, Floriana Manna, Patrick McDermott, Colleen McLaughlin, William Neri, Kaylee Powers, Jessica Solomon, Conner Thrall, Ashley Vanaman, Carli Wallace and Greta Wilt. Earning honors: Connor Bates, Katie Bednarz, Jacquelyn Benson, Michael Bongiorno, Sean Cavanaugh, Jackson Doyle, Christine French, Jeffrey Giantonio, Melissa Handy, Nicole Ianniello, Mackenzie Kane, Rachel Kowalski, Kyle Monroe, Logan Porter, Aleah Querns, Evan Rand, Matthew Schock, Leah Slawinowski, Natalie Spence, Korinne Stockdale, Christopher Sulli-

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Town Times

Friday, March 12, 2010

Oddfellows presents The Hans Christian Andersen Day School presents ‘Cinderunzelstilskin’

Don’t forget to set your clocks ahead before going to bed on Saturday night, and also remember to change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

rector of the Chorale, will give a brief introduction to the oratorio at the March 18 event. Rabbi Haaz is the newly-appointed leader of Middletown’s Congregation Adath Israel and is a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy, having served in Italy and Spain as a chaplain. Reverend Koenig has served as a pastor for several Evangelical Lutheran churches and on a number of national interfaith committees. Dr. Ayoub is a Professor of Shi‘ite Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford Seminary and a published author on

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Christian-Muslim relations; he has been appointed by the U.S. Department of State as ambassador to the Middle East and Southeast Asia. For more information about this program, contact Joyce Kirkpatrick at 860-347-5709.

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Spring ahead!

Elijah – Illyas (pbuh) – Eliyahu: Our Shared Heritage – a Community Conversation is a public discussion about Elijah that brings Islamic, Christian and Jewish traditions together on Thursday, March 18, at the Russell Library on Broad Street in Middletown. The public is invited to the event, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a gathering time and refreshments from the three traditions. The discussion will be led by Rabbi Seth Haaz, the Rev. Richard Koenig and Dr. Mahmoud Ayoub and will feature the commonalities of three faith communities, particularly as they relate to the prophet Elijah. The community conversation is presented by the Greater Middletown Chorale as a preamble to its performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah on Sunday, May 2, at 4 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center at Middletown High School. Joseph D’Eugenio, artistic di-

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enjoyment for both actors and audience. This is a comedy that will entertain the whole family. A “can-can” preview of Cinderunzelstilskin will be performed on Thursday, March 25, at 7 p.m. Audience members are asked to bring a canned or nonperishable food item for the Amazing Grace food pantry. Additional performances are on Friday, March 26, and Saturday, March 27, at 7:30 p.m. All performances are at Oddfellows Playhouse, 128 Washington Street in Middletown. Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for students and seniors. For more information or reservations, please call 860-347-6143.

Elijah: Bringing Muslims, Christians and Jews together

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Oddfellows Playhouse Junior Repertory Company presents the world premiere of The Hans Christian Andersen Day School presents “Cinderunzelstilskin.” In this fanciful new play, written by local playwright Matthew Pugliese, Lorra Carey directs an ensemble of 17 talented actors aged 12-14 from throughout central Connecticut, including Jacob Cunningham of Rockfall. The story begins as the Hans Christian Andersen Day School is opening its school play, Cinderunzelstilskin. This fractured fairytale centers on the mix-up caused by a witch’s efforts to control the fairytale economy by cornering the market on lettuce. As the parents and school staff argue with the director over details, the students are left to find their own way through the performance. This comic tale of world economics is a little bit Cinderella, a little bit Rapunzel, and a lot of confusion. While the end may never be in doubt, it is the journey that provides the

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Town Times — Friday, March 12, 2010

Friday, March 12, 2010 — Town Times

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In Our Libraries

Levi Coe Library Hours: The library is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visit www.leviecoe.com or call the library at 860-349-3857 for information or to register for any program. You can also renew, reserve and check your library record on the website. The Levi Coe Book Club will meet on Wednesday, March 17, at 1:30 p.m. to discuss Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. “In 19thcentury China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, an ‘old same,’ in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. The laotong, Snow Flower, introduces herself by sending

Lily a silk fan on which she’s written a poem in nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created in order to communicate in secret, away from the influence of men. As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on the fan and compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams and accomplishments.” New members welcome. New Titles: Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson, The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine, House Rules by Jodi Picoult, Staying True by Jenny Sanford, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot and The Politician by Andrew Young. New young adult and children’s titles include H.I.V.E. by Mark Walden, Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks, The

Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade, City of Cannibals by Ricki Thompson, The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by W.R. Philbrick, The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet by Erin Dionne, Here Comes the Garbage Barge! by Jonah Winter, Philippa Fister’s Fairy Godsister by Liz Kessler and Hot Rod Hamster! by Cynthia Lord. To view anticipated arrival dates for new titles, visit our web page www.leviecoe.com, click on Activities and Events and go to monthly calendars.

Durham Library Hours: Regular library hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Visit www.durhamlibrary.org to

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Friday, March 12, 2010 search the catalog, review your account, register for a program or renew your materials online. For information or to register for a program by phone, call 860-349-9544. E-Books are available: If you received a Sony Reader or Barnes and Noble Nook for Christmas or are thinking about getting one, downloadable e-books are now available online from the library. Visit http://lion.lib.overdrive.com and follow the instructions for downloading ebooks to your device. You must have a valid Durham Library card. Taste of Durham: Pictures taken at the 2010 Taste of Durham can be viewed on the library website at www.durhamlibrary.org. Coupons: The library has 20 percent off coupons for admission to the Connecticut Science Center which are free while supplies last. Storytime: The winterspring 2010 story times will run through April 7. Mother Goose for children 18 to 30 months will be on Mondays at 10:15 or 11 a.m., Time for Tots for children ages two and half to three and a half will be on Wednesdays at 10:15 or 11 a.m. and the Preschool Story Time will be on Tuesdays at 10:15 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. Please stop by or call the library to register. Love Your Library by purchasing a favorite title for the library’s collection. Titles are available at the library for purchase and are ready for your special dedication. Participants will receive a special treat bag from Amato’s. There will be a dedication celebration on Saturday, March 13, at 11 a.m. The Mystery Book Discussion Group will meet on Tuesday, March 16, at 7:30 p.m. to discuss Savannah Blues by Mary Kay Andrews. Everyone is invited to join this informal discussion. The Book Lover’s Circle will meet on Wednesday, April 7, at 7:30 p.m. to discuss The Plot Against America by Philip Roth. Copies of the book are available at the library. Everyone is invited to join this informal discussion. Check out new titles: Hell Gate by Linda Fairstein, Deep Shadow by Randy Wayne White, Poisoned Honey by Beatrice Gormley, Forget-Her-Nots by Amy Brecount White, The Silent Sea

by Clive Cussler, The Six Rules of Maybe by Deb Caletti, Our Times: The Age of Elizabeth II by A.N. Wilson, Blood, Iron, and Gold: How the Railroads Transformed the World by Christian Wolmar, Save Big by Elizabeth Leamy, How to Save Your Own Life by Michael Gates Gill and Jane’s Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World by Claire Harman.

Author of ‘Cheap Book’ to appear in Chester Lauren Weber, author of In Cheap We Trust, a new book about American culture, will speak and sign copies of her work on Sunday, March 21, at 9:30 a.m. at Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek in Chester. The program, part of the synagogue’s long-running Books & Bagels series, is free and open to the public. Ms. Weber, a former staff reporter for Reuters and Newsday, is the daughter of members of Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek. In her book she writes of her father, David, a retired economics professor at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, who always kept the thermostat at 50 degrees, and, behind the wheel of his thrifty sedan, coasted to a stop so as not to wear out brake linings. She found herself, later in life, adopting similar tactics. At the same time, the book also addresses the stereotyping of immigrant groups in terms of spending habits, including Jewish and Chinese immigrants. CBSRZ is located at 55 East Kings Highway in Chester. For more information or directions, please call 860-526-8920.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Senior Center

residents or those under 60 pay $3 per class. State Representative Matt Lesser, who is a member of the state legislature’s Energy Committee, will speak on the subject of electricity rates on Friday, April 9, at the Middlefield Senior Center, following a noon lunch. After the talk, Rep. Lesser will answer questions about utility rates or any other matters. This event is free and all seniors are invited to attend. Call Antoinette Astle to sign up for any programs or lunch at 860-349-7121.

No interest housing rehab loans available The town of Middlefield is again accepting applicants for its Small Cities Housing Rehab Loan Program, which provides financial assistance to rehabilitate and renovate housing units occupied by income eligible individuals or families. Loans are available at a 0% interest rate to repair/replace roofs, plumbing, well water hook up, electrical, heating system replacement siding and window replacement, and general rehabilitation and renovations needed to upgrade the Town’s housing stock. Projects such as family room additions,

decks, etc. are not permitted under this program. Although specific income eligibility is based on household size, a household of two with income of less than $51,200 or a family of four with a gross annual income below $64,000 would be eligible for program participation. Both owner-occupants and investor-owners may apply and receive financial aid, but rental units must be maintained as affordable for at least five years after rehabilitation if they participate in the program.

Zoning Board of Appeals Although the Zoning Board of Appeals heard no applications during their meeting on Feb. 23, but the board did review their operating procedures. Of note, chairman Lars Selberg pointed out that four “Yes” votes are required on any application. He mentioned this to emphasize the need for at least five board members to attend any meeting, as otherwise one “No” could shut down an application. However, member Chris Champagne added that an applicant can postpone an application. Members also discussed the difference between a

Middlefield Government Calendar (Unless otherwise indicated, all meetings are held in the Community Center.) Tuesday, March 16 7 p.m. — Board of Selectmen 7 p.m. — Conservation Commission Wednesday, March 17 7 p.m. — Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency 7:30 p.m. — Board of Education at Strong School Thursday, March 18 7 p.m. — Board of Finance 7 p.m. — DMIAAB Wednesday, March 24 6:30 p.m. — Planning and Zoning 7:30 p.m. — Board of Education at Strong School Tuesday, March 30 7 p.m. — Zoning Board of Appeals Thursday, April 1 7 p.m. — Economic Development Commission Monday, April 5 7 p.m. — Board of Selectmen Wednesday, April 7 7:30 p.m. — Board of Education at CRHS; public hearing on the proposed 2010-11 budget. variance and a special permit, offering the explanation that a variance is an exception to something that otherwise can’t be done, while special permits represent something that can be done but that requires approval first. The only other items the board took care of were to

welcome new member Joe Angello to the board and to elect their officers. Selberg will remain as chairman, Champagne will serve as vice-chairman and Dave Glueck was approved as secretary. (From minutes/ Chuck Corley)

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A traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal will be served on Wednesday, March 17, at noon in the Senior Cafe. Corned beef and cabbage with all the delicious fixings will be served. Reservations for this lunch must be made by March 15 and the suggested donation is $2. Please call the center today to reserve your seat. Free income tax assistance is available every Tuesday through April 13. This income tax preparation service is provided by AARP. The IRS-trained counselor will help those 60 years and older with low or moderate income, by appointment only. Call the senior center once you have received all your documents and paperwork for filing as they will not make any appointments until you have all your paperwork. The AARP safe driving course will be held on Thursdays, April 15 and 22, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cost for this course is $12 (AARP members); non-members are $14. Bring a snack or light lunch to the class. The class will be taught by Ray Flynn of Durham. Payment is due upon registration. Please have your AARP number available. Space is limited, so sign up early. Free blood pressure clinics are offered twice a month on the first and third Wednesdays at 12:15 p.m. Exercise classes are offered for Middlefield Seniors on Mondays and Fridays (yes, Fridays are back!) at 7:45 a.m. Gentle yoga is held on Wednesdays at 7:45 a.m. These are drop-in classes; no registration is needed. Non-

Middlefield Town Briefs

Town Times Reviews

Simply the best

Alice in Wonderland is wonderful Burton and Depp. They go together like bread and butter, tea and sugar, mercury and hatters. The very best kind of tea party. It is no “wonder” that in their seventh collaboration this director-actor duo has once again stolen the main stage with the quirky romp that is Alice in Wonderland. Although he could have fallen down his own rabbit hole, Burton does not allow his version of the classic to evolve into any sort of carbon copy. His vision is a fantastical journey with a playful spin – nothing less than you would expect from the man who re-envisioned Sleepy Hollow and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In fact, Wonderland’s creativity lies in your own memories of the well-known tale, taking it a step beyond. The Alice you knew had been to Wonderland in her childhood, only she has outgrown the “dreams” and no longer remembers them. Here, she returns to Wonderland on another journey with new experiences while meeting with old and no less bizarre

Dr. Tanya Feke

Diagnosis: Movies friends and acquaintances. It is a new and fresh way to realize Alice’s story. Visually, the CGI effects are eye-catching. The red queen’s giant head coincides with her obsessively comic “off with their heads” tendencies. The Chesire cat. The Blue Caterpillar. The Dormouse. The March Hare. All are visually exquisite. Then, of course, there is the Mad Hatter. Johnny Depp plays the psychotic madman as a mix of characters – a hint of Sweeney Todd at his angriest, a hint of Willy Wonka at his silliest, even a bit of Jack Sparrow at his flirtiest. The role is endearing and utterly enchanting when he fits hats on the Red Queen. Altogether, the characters are charming yet cartoonishly 2D in a 3D world. It is in the 3D that Wonderland unfortunately falls flat. With the exception of the

Friday, March 12, 2010

dazzling adrenaline-bound fall down, it is a bit lackluster, considering what it could have been. Here is where my expectations get the better of me. Burton has done a wonderful job in giving a story to a formerly story-less plotline. In previous versions, Alice hops from experience to experience without any true purpose. In Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, there is an agenda and a strong-willed theme for women’s independence. It is encouraging, even liberating, and ends too early at 1 hr 49 minutes. The Mad Hatter asks, “Have I gone mad?” Alice’s reply is simply, “I’m afraid so. You’re entirely bonkers. But I’ll tell you a secret. All the best people are.” How true! My rating: 5 stethoscopes out of 5

By Larry Kellum Special to the Town Times To paraphrase the classic Tina Turner mega-hit — Marilyn Horne is, and was, “simply the best, better than anyone” as far as mezzos in the world of opera are concerned. An American superstar, she was to every alto worldwide what Callas was to sopranos and Pavarotti to tenors. Though she began her long career in soprano roles, and was perhaps the most famous Carmen during the 1970s, the singer specialized in the far more difficult and less popular florid operas of Rossini, Handel and Bellini, and often appeared alongside the great, abovementioned tenor throughout his glorious career. On March 7, at St. Joseph’s College in West Hartford, the Connecticut Concert Opera presented the iconic mezzo in a master class at the Hoffmann auditorium. Five talented young women from three neighboring universities, plus an aspiring tenor from war-torn Angola, were selected to

reap the enormous benefits of Ms. Horne’s vast experiences and expertise. This was the third master class conducted by a Metropolitan Opera celebrity diva to come to Hartford since 2006. Like Marina Arroyo, Jackie (as Horne is known in the industry) is also admired for her brand of wit, candor and humor, and here she did not disappoint her enraptured audience of students, music teachers and opera buffs. In essence, the afternoon was a lesson in anatomy, linguistics, theater and confidence development — all the finer things a singer needs to know before even uttering a sound. The Connecticut Concert Opera has an interesting, fun and unusual event coming July 8 — the “American Opera Idol” competition, a classy take-off on the popular TV series, but with an operatic twist. In October, the company also presents a semi-staged version of Rossini’s hilarious Barber of Seville (an old Horne signature role). For info and tickets, call 860-231-5555 or visit connconcertopera.org. 1149085

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Town Times

Friday, March 12, 2010

Wysowski (Continued from page 1)

Wysowski, who was recruited for the job at Bristol Eastern, originally declined. They told him they were looking for someone with significant experience and an understanding of Bristol. When they came back again, he thought long and hard and spoke with the interested school at length, and this time his answer was different. Wysowski was publicly appointed last Wednesday, and a number of students have already approached him, “which is wonderful, but also the saddest part,” he said. Here’s what some students said to us about his leaving: “Being a senior, I am glad that I was able to have him all the way up to graduation,” said Hannah Malcolm. “It wouldn’t be the same to leave Coginchaug without him be-

Spring Fling (Continued from page 13)

same without him.” Wysowski said he has a lot of good memories from D-13, but would never be able to pinpoint just one. He says working with students, parents and staff made his job so fulfilling. Dr. Scott Nicol, principal of Strong School, worked closely with Wysowski and said it was an honor to do so. “He is the consummate professional who has an innate ability to bond with all types of students,” said Nicol. “He was a great partner in transitioning Strong students to CRHS. He will be missed.” Board of Education chair Tom Hennick shared a similar sentiment. “The district will miss him. He’s as dedicat-

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activities were positively impacted, including the facilitation of and increase in student participation for events like Community Round-Up. “He definitely leads by example,” she added. This will make Wysowski happy to hear as he leaves Coginchaug hoping that he has done just that. “I hope I’ve been a role model of hard work and all of the core ethical values for students in District 13,” he said. “I want them to know nothing is easy, but hard work does pay off.” Before District 13, Wysowski worked at Canton Junior and Senior High schools as the athletic director and department chair. There, he earned the Teacher of the Year award in the early ‘90s. He has been in public education for 23 years, and Bristol Eastern will be his last stop. From now until July, when Wysowski transitions to Bristol Eastern, will be a long, slow goodbye to D-13, he says, and “I’m thankful for that.”

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cause he was with us through all the hard times (Ally and Michelle passing away) and fun times like Washington and dodgeball.” Junior Jen Roth says, “I think it’s sad because he was such a good principal, and I don’t know if anyone could fill his shoes.” “He was an awesome principal,” said junior Ben Hamilton. “I feel like we will be missing the heart of the Blue Devil spirit.” “Dr. W. was an amazing principal, and he always connected with the students so easily,” said junior Mackenzie Hurlbert. “I will definitely miss seeing his face around the hallways next year, and Coginchaug won’t be the

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day, May 7, from noon to 2 p.m. There will be refreshments and entertainment with some special, fun awards. There is no fee for this program. There has been a great turnout and a lot of fun the past two years, so don’t miss out on this annual gathering. Call Sherry Hill at 860343-6724 for more information on the gathering. Durham Senior Exercise classes are held at the Durham Firehouse every Monday and Wednesday morning. Two classes are offered. The first class, for the more active senior, is from 9 to 10 a.m. and the second class is for the senior who may want to use a chair and workout at a slower pace from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday yoga classes meet at the Durham Firehouse from 9 to 10 a.m. for the more active seniors, and class two meets from 10 to 11 a.m. for an easier yoga class. New participants are always welcome. Bingo will meet at the Durham Library from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, March 10, 24, April 7, 21, May 5, 19 and June 9. Have some fun and bring a friend. Bingo cards are $1. Call 860-343-6724 for more information.

Photo by Stephanie Wilcox

In his office at Coginchaug, Dr. Wysowski’s desk is covered with thank you cards from students at Korn School where he read books during last week’s Read Across America activities.

ed to the well-being of our students as any administrator I’ve ever met. And he was very instrumental in my daughters’ successful postCoginchaug careers.” Superintendent Susan Viccaro also had children in “his school.” She thinks Wysowski is a great leader from a parents’ perspective, and, of course, from the district’s perspective. “I think it’s a huge loss to the district to see Steve leave,” Viccaro said. “One of the things that impresses me the most about him is his ability to connect with kids, and I think that’s because he’s interested, a great listener and really cares. He has done a very good job of leading the high school and moving it forward. Those are going to be big shoes to fill.” Viccaro went on to say Wysowski helped incorporate site planning as part of the D13 Strategic Plan and worked on the last New England Association of Schools and Colleges evaluation. In addition, under his leadership more curricular and co-curricular

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Town Times Jumps

BOE budget (Continued from page 5) es in the budget are in salaries and in benefits. If it were not for those two items, then there would be close to a 0 percent increase in budget,” said Viccaro. There will be no staff positions cut this year and no new hires or program initiatives for the upcoming school year. The one exception to this is the implementation of the fourth five-year strategic plan, but the presentation does not show this as representing new costs. The Central Office’s budget saw a 7.72 percent increase, totaling $12.8 million dollars and representing the largest budget increase out of any facility or program in the district. This is a $900,000 increase, which Viccaro explained as being due to a $550,000 increase in health insurance costs. At the same time, Special Education faced the largest decrease of $149,000, bringing their budget to $2.8 million. There was a decrease in total enrollment of 14 students between 2009 and 2010. The

schools with the largest enrollment decreases were Brewster School, with a loss of 32 students, and Lyman School with 25 less students. Korn School also had four less students enrolled, and Strong school had five less students. This decline in student population will be more evident once the decreasing enrollment population reaches the upper grade levels. Capital plan and projects One other major part of the presentation was the five year capital plan, which was presented by board member Kerrie Flannigan. District 13 encompasses six separate facilities, which represent 263,000 square feet on 126.6 acres, which is a large area to maintain, clean and provide utilities for. The board has created a five-year capital plan, which includes improvements to capital assets. The costs for all projects, and a complete list of future projects, are listed in the district’s budget PowerPoint presentation. One thing to note is that the athletic facilities project is estimated to cost $3.7 million and will be funded through bonds. That makes See BOE budget, page 24

Friday, March 12, 2010

Automotive model numbers exactly correlate to engine size and that a larger engine is more powerful. A Mercedes S600 has a 5.5 liter V12 producing 493 horsepower, while a Mercedes S63 is powered by a 6.3 liter V12 producing only 444 horsepower. However, these statistics depend on the year of the vehicle. Mercedes likes to fuddle with displacement sizes and switch engines yearly even if they don’t change the model name. Sometimes the engine’s actual displacement is smaller than the model name would suggest by half a liter, sometimes it’s larger. Either way, it’s a misleading practice. Letters at the end of model names sometimes designate further specifications. Infiniti and BMW use “X” to mean allwheel drive, Mercedes and BMW use “D” for diesel engine. On a Chevy, SS means Super-Sport, while SRT on a Dodge or Chrysler stands for “Street Racing Technology,” or what used to be known as Mopar. Cadillac uses the letter “V” for its sports lineup. Seriously, how do branding people expect the common consumer to remember all that?

From an advertising or marketing standpoint it makes no sense to name a product something that no one can remember or isn’t easily differentiated from other products. If I could slap a BMW branding executive every time I heard a person say, “Oh, he drives a BMW 330...no 535... or maybe 335 something or other,” there would be a lot of sore German faces. My beloved Chevy, however, has thrown a wrench into the ridiculous trend by changing a letter and two numbers into a name. Since 1960, fullsize Chevy trucks have been denoted by C for two-wheel drive or K for four-wheel drive, and then 10, 20 or 30 based on the duty rating. The Cheyenne was the base model truck, Scottsdale the midrange model and the Silverado at the top of the line. The year 1999 was the landmark year that Chevy renamed all trucks the Silverado and 1500, 2500 and 3500 according to duty. As a proud Silverado owner, I think it’s a majestic name. Dodge, however, takes the cake for the best truck name. Ram is a brilliant name signifying both the animal and the movement. With the name Ram, Dodge has created memorable marketing slogans

such as “Grab life by the horns” and stickers on the back of trucks reading “If you can’t Dodge it, RAM IT.” Many American truck names are reminiscent of manifest destiny and connotations of the wild west. Durango, Sierra, Aspen, Wrangler, Yukon and Colorado, are all truck names. Can you imagine a Dodge Appalachia, a Ford Newark or a Chrysler Connecticut? Trucks just aren’t named after states whose names cannot be found on a belt buckle. Wyoming buckles have broncos, Colorado buckles the Rockies, Texas belt buckles have a longhorn steer. What would a Connecticut buckle have on it – an angry puritan or a traffic jam? Unfortunately, East Coast states and geological features don’t carry the same rugged aura. The majority of the time, I prefer a hearty, easily-spelled model name rather than a shifty number and letter concoction. A name is easier to remember, easier to market, and sounds more impressive. That being said, car names are not much better than truck names. Consider the Ford Probe. Why name a sports car after a “blunt-ended surgical instrument used for exploring a wound or part of the body”? 1150582

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Town Times

Friday, March 12, 2010

Hunger banquet The Coginchaug Hunger Banquet will be held on Wednesday, March 31, at 6 p.m. At this dinner, everything from where you sit to what you eat reminds you of the inequality of resource distribution worldwide. The event will be held in the Coginchaug cafeteria. Tickets are $4. The best way to purchase tickets is by contacting Mrs. Michael at 860-349-7215, ext.

Above, the different shades of finished syrup show how it changes throughout the season.

Maple

(Continued from page 6)

gas-fired tank that allows better control over boiling the sap. When it reaches 219 degrees in the finisher, the sap is finally considered syrup. After the finisher measures the density, the syrup is filtered and heated to 180 degrees to be bottled. In the beginning of the season, syrup will appear a lighter color and will taste sweeter. As the season goes on, the syrup will darken and become less sweet but more maple-like in flavor. “It’s all a preference,” said Hassmann. His family’s syrup has won first place at the Durham Fair in 2007 and 2008 and what makes it award-winning may be that their sap is cooked every day. Sap, like milk, sours easily so it has to be cooked every day, says Hassmann. “It’s definitely a big job to keep up with it,” he said. In fact, in the off-season, Hassmann and his son cut wood to fuel the evaporator for heavy boiling. For the Hassmanns, making maple syrup is a fun process, and they say anyone

can do it if they have maple trees or ask permission to tap someone else’s. To start out, many people simply boil sap in turkey friers, wood stoves, or barbeques, like the Hassmanns did in the beginning. When you become more involved, that’s when you learn about tree management as you don’t want a high density of trees competing for sunlight, which are disadvantaged when producing sap. It’s at least worth trying to make on your own, the Hassmanns agree, as many brands of syrup in stores surprisingly use corn syrup instead of real maple syrup. The next time you eat maple syrup, remember the process that got it to your plate. And remember, if it’s Connecticut-made maple syrup, you can bet it’s going to be good. The Hassmanns give educational tours at the Durham Sugarhouse. For a tour, to purchase syrup or for more information, call 860-349-6806 or visit www.durhamsugarhouse.com.

Above, Russ Hassmann checks the gravity of the syrup using a hydrometer. Below, Hassmann next to the 500 gallon storage tank which holds sap.

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235. The ECO club encourages you to bring your own utensils and cups to help reduce waste. They would also appreciate a donation of a non-perishable food item to donate to local food banks. After presentations and dinner, enjoy the traditional dessert auction. All proceeds go to global and local hunger relief efforts. Everyone is invited to come and contribute to hunger relief.

Town Times Jumps

BOE budget (Continued from page 22)

the athletic facilities the largest line item, as well as the only line item not funded through the district’s capital fund. There is also maintenance costs associated with the new athletic facilities, which have not been factored into the 2010-11 budget and are only represented in the 2011-12 budget as “turf replacement.” Apart from the athletic facilities, the rest of the line items are set to be funded through the district’s capital fund. The financials behind the capital fund are detailed in the PowerPoint presentation. Flannigan pointed out that there is a cap on how much can be accumulated in the reserve fund, and pointed out that there are three major repairs in the future: replacing/repairing the roof at Brewster School, reworking the window wall at Lyman school, and working on the gym floor at Brewster. All of the projected repairs can’t be paid just through the capital reserve. The district could take out debt to fund these three repairs, and by 2013-14 and 201415 the overall debt in the district will have gone down far enough to absorb new debt. Either way, the district will have to go out and find ways to fund these things as they

come along, and the board is asking the public to think of other sources for financing. The public is encouraged to review the proposed budget and call, e-mail or directly address the BOE so that the budget can reflect the concerns and suggestions of residents. If the public addresses their questions to the board prior to the meetings, then the board will be able to give the public the answers they want at the upcoming meetings. After the budget discussion, the board approved a resolution to finance several bonds, which passed. The board also voted to delete certain redundancies from the district’s policy manual. The budget will be finalized for public hearing on March 24. A public hearing will be held at the Coginchaug auditorium on April 7 at 8 p.m.

Community Suppers continue This month’s Community Supper will be hosted by Notre Dame and the Church of the Epiphany. It will be held at the Church of the Epiphany, 196 Main St. in Durham, on Sunday, March 28, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The dinner is free and open to the public. All are invited; all are welcome.

Where? (Continued from page 1) inhabitants were predominantly of English descent who were unhappy with conditions in their native lands and were courageous enough to leave. In 1846 the Potato Famine in Ireland resulted in great migrations, mostly to the U.S.; a few of these people came directly to Durham. From 1860 on, a few German immigrants settled in Durham after the consolidation of many small states and warfare in their home country. However, most were attracted to the free land in the mid-west. Following the Germans to the U.S. were many Central European immigrants, including Poles, Czechs, Slovaks and Hungarians, a few of whom came to Durham. The bulk of Italians came in the early 1900s and just a few settled in Durham. Similarly, very few French settled in town as those emigrating to North America generally chose Canada as their destination where they could still speak their native language. Few African Americans lived in town, and for about 40 years the one African American in Durham was John Jefferson Jackson who worked as a handyman for the Markham family. After his

Friday, March 12, 2010

death, Durham was an allwhite community until several black families moved in during the 1970s. World War II had the greatest impact on the ethnic makeup of the town. Between 1940 and 1950 the population increased by more than 700, and many servicemen returned home with wives of different ethnic backgrounds and religious beliefs whom they had met in the service. Thus, Durham’s predominantly WASP image was permanently changed. Middlefield’s heritage From Long Ago, Not Far Away, a history of Middlesex County, we learn that the first settler to Middlefield was Benjamin Miller, of English descent, around 1700. A quote from the book reads, “By the mid-19th century, it appears that every man you met in Middlefield was either a Miller or a Coe.” During the Industrial Revolution and the beginning of mills and factories in town, the heritage began to broaden. Many factory workers who lived in Baileyville and Rockfall were immigrants, including the Irish who came following the Potato Famine. By 1890 there were enough Irish to establish their own church, called Saint Colman, which was originally located at the corner of Main and Stowe streets. Prior to this, the Irish went to Saint John’s Church in Middletown.

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According to a 1966 centennial booklet, Reverend Bernard O. Sheridan was the first priest at Saint Colman church. When the cornerstone was opened in 1965, an Irish coin, an American coin, a copy of the Middletown Herald and American-Irish newspaper called Irish World were found within. In addition, the stained glass windows of the original church, which cost $25 each, were inscribed with many Irish names like Donohue, B. Sheridan, O’Connor and Hennessey. One of the stained glass windows was purchased by the well-known Irishwoman Ellen Doyle, whom Ellen Doyle Brook in Middlefield was named after. There is not much information on Doyle, but a quick internet search reveals that she has been described as an interesting and shadowy figure during the early-to-mid 20th century who lived in the area of Ellen Doyle Brook. In the Irish world, Doyle is a common last name for a CelticViking mix.

Italians followed the Irish in the late 19th century and a large influx of people from Central Europe came in the early 20th century, including Poles trying to escape WWI, who mainly established themselves in Rockfall.

One of the first Poles to settle in Middlefield was John Piehota. At the time, many Polish immigrants worked at Rogers Manufacturing. They formed the Tadeusz Kosciuszko Society, or the “K Club” in Rockfall, named after a famous general of the American Revolution.

The 2000 census for Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall shows that our towns are also home to the following: Asians, Asian Indians, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, Alaska Native, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and other Hispanic or Latino descendents. This is also a plug for filling out your 2010 census form when it arrives this month; among other information, it allows us to know where we all come from.

But, come next Wednesday, we can all be excused for being Irish!

Town Times Obituar y

Friday, March 12, 2010

Remembering Howard Kelley Let us not forget a sampling of organic, hormone free venison and delicious home fries. Howard was a generous man. Back in the days of Middlefield’s Lion’s club carnival, I remember playing the dart game … hit the apple three times and win a stuffed animal. After I tried and tried to no avail, I walked away. Howard said “Jamie … turn around.” As I did, he threw me a stuffed animal to take home. Howard always retained a boyish playful side to his demeanor as well. When woodchucks were ravaging his garden, he would try to root them out with smoke bombs. When that didn’t work, he would threaten to scare them with a shot from his .22 or perhaps a .410 caliber. A bit of Elmer Fudd in Middlefield! The Kelley home would not be what it was without his prized bearskin rug in the den! Howard allowed his son Bryan and I to dress up as hunters for

Howard Francis Kelley

Halloween and responsibly carry our beloved BB guns as props. With taught responsibility comes trust. Later in life, Howard expressed his desire for the younger generations to step up to the plate and get more involved in our community. That community involvement is what makes our towns as special as they are. Do what you can and make a difference. I can still remember the joy he had at the first sight of his beloved White Mountains of New Hampshire from the interstate while driving to his utopia … Ossipee Lake. That same smile would also appear at the mention of Regional District 13. Although he is silent now, I do not doubt that imprinted on that kind heart of his is a map of Middlefield and Durham. Jamie Roraback, Middlefield

Howard Francis Kelley, 79, of Durham, beloved husband of Renée, died peacefully Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010, in Middletown. He was born in Boston, MA, the son of the late Howard and Mary (Kavanagh) Kelley. Howard had a 40-year-long career in education, the majority of which was spent serving as a superintendent of schools, including 23 years in Regional School District 13. After retirement, he was interim superintendent in Old Saybrook, Woodbridge and Pomfret and went on to become CEO of the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford. Howard enjoyed hunting, fishing, cooking, boating and the great outdoors. His greatest enjoyment was spending time with his grandchildren. Howard will always be remembered for his love of his wife, family, church and friends. In addition to Renée, he is survived by his children Paul Kelley; Bryan Kelley and his wife, T. Nicole Kelley; Ann Whalen and her husband, Jamie Whalen; Neal Anderson and his wife, Jennifer Anderson; Michele Zito and her husband, Michael Zito; grandchildren Matthew Kelley, Trisha Kelley, McKenna Kelley, Grayson Kelley, Jade Grim, Shae Grim, Kyle Whalen, Trevor Whalen, Brendan Whalen, Abbigale Zito, Haley Zito, and Elli Zito. A celebration of Howard’s life will be held at the Middlefield Federated Church, 402 Main St. in Middlefield, on Sunday, March 14, from 1:30-3:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to Emmanuel Church, 50 Emanuel Church Rd., Killingworth, CT 06419, or the Coginchaug Regional High School Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 120, Durham, CT 06422. Biega Funeral Home has care of the arrangements.

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Regional District 13 community has recently lost one who has for so long been an important figure in our educational system and our towns. Howard F. Kelley was brought into our towns as our first Superintendent of Schools, just when the district was forming. He remained in that position for nearly a quarter of a century. Once people got to know him, he was very warmly accepted into our communities at a time when that was not an easy feat to accomplish. His work ethic, infectious smile, and that ever present Bostonian accent (which he never lost) made him right at home here. Certainly Howard is well known in our communities as being the Superintendent of Schools who very, very, rarely called school off because of snow. I remember listening to Bob Steele on AM radio waiting for the District 13 number to be called. More often than not, Mr. Steele would read “Regional District 12 … closed … Regional District 14 … closed! “Although it is indeed a different world today, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the fact that a little snow would not get in the way of important things like school. My parents appreciated the fact that a good work ethic was being developed and promoted. At his very core, however, Howard was a teacher. I had the privilege of growing up in the center of Middlefield near the Kelley’s home (between Coe Library and the Federated Church). Howard taught us kids in the neighborhood how to trout fish, ice fish, properly and responsibly use our BB guns, gather local berries and make jam, and turn sumac into a delicious drink. The list goes on and on. Howard was as organic as it gets, but deep down I believe he wanted us to appreciate and respect everything we had. If you wanted jelly with that peanut butter sandwich … learn to make it! Howard, I’m sure, would very much agree with the saying, “Teach a person to fish … and you feed a person for a lifetime.” Mr. Kelley was a great cook. I can still remember from about 35 years ago the perfectly cooked sunny side up egg he cooked for me with a hint of black pepper sprinkled on top!

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Read (Continued from page 8) sentative Matt Lesser (Durham, Middlefield, Middletown) has promised to “fix the issue” regarding the unreasonable regulations that the state of Connecticut is now requiring the Fair and others to abide by. He is blaming state agencies, calling it “mission creep” on their parts and has publicly stated that the new governor should help rein in state agencies to “stay within the purview of their statutory authority.” However, it was the legislature, and not the Department of Public Health, who voted for and passed these new regulations into law. To make matters worse, Mr. Lesser himself actually voted in favor of these new regulations that he now is promising to fix. (House Bill 6678, Roll Call Number 401 taken on 06/03/2009)

More Town Times Letters

Friday, March 12, 2010

the bills before you vote on them, and we will not get into these issues in the first place. Francis S. Willett, Durham

by the Middletown Press, he refused to comment specifically on what was his “highest legislative priority” only one week earlier. Honesty should be the most important trait in any elected official. In this situation, Lesser has clearly shown a lack of it.

I find there to be a serious disconnect between Mr. Lesser and the residents of the 100th District. Shouldn’t his opposition to this bill have come before he voted in favor of it, instead of after the fact? I would expect our State Representative to be fully aware of all the mass gatherings that are occurring in his or her district, especially one as big as the Durham Fair. That way, events such as the Durham Fair, which are run in a safe and professional manner, are not punished by costly legislation. As for Mr. Lesser, I strongly urge you to become more familiar with your district as the legislation you originally voted for also affects other large events in your district. Blaming the Department of Public Health when this was, in fact, a legislative vote not only shows a lack of respect to the residents, but also does nothing to help the desired goal of fixing this problem. Please read

Disgusted with Lesser I couldn’t help but be a bit surprised by State Representative Matt Lesser’s (Durham, Middletown, and Middlefield) assertion that the “highest legislative priority” this year is fixing the new legislation that affects the Durham Fair. In a time when there is close to double digit unemployment, a sagging economy and increasing taxes, I would hope our legislator would put his time and energy elsewhere. That being said, the new regulations do need to be fixed as it is completely unnecessary and costly, in this day in age, to require the Durham Fair to install hundreds of pay phones amongst many other things. However, why did Repre-

sentative Lesser vote in favor of enacting these new regulations on the Durham Fair in the first place, just eight short months ago? Is Representative Lesser trying to create a problem so he can now be the one who fixes it in an election year? Representative Lesser should have brought this to the attention of his colleagues before he voted in favor of it instead of starting a fire and then standing around the corner so he could be the hero who gets to put it out. Moreover, why did Representative Lesser spend weeks blaming state agencies publicly calling it “mission creep” on their part and that our new governor must “rein in state agencies” when in fact it was the legislature, Lesser included, who voted in favor of putting these new regulations into effect. Furthermore, when the matter was brought to light and Lesser was confronted last week about his dishonesty to his constituents

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Town Times Spotlight

Friday, March 12, 2010

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has named Dr. Gail Sullivan, of Durham, as editor of the Journal of Graduate Medical Education (JGME), the first peer-reviewed journal focused on all aspects of the education of medical residents and fellows. Sullivan is the associate director for education at the University of Connecticut Center on Aging as well as professor and program director of the geriatric medicine fellowship at the UConn School of Medicine.

Danielle (Dee) Wilcox, of Portland, daughter of Dan and Cindy Wilcox of Middlefield, graduated in December 2009 from Central Connecticut State University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and minors in business management and entrepreneurship.

Abigail J. Mancinelli, of Durham, made the honor roll at the Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford.

find this game, search for Space Miner, or visit http://itunes.apple.com/us/ app/space-miner-space-orebust/id353853276?mt=8. Ailis Rose McBurnie Peplau, a first year undeclared major at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, has been named to the dean’s list for the fall 2009 semester. A graduate of Choate Rosemary Hall, she is the daughter of Gail Sullivan of Durham and Victor Peplau. Allie Dickson, of Durham, has been named to the dean’s list at Merrimack College for the 2009 fall semester where she is majoring in International Business. Alexandra Turley, of Durham, a senior food science and technology major in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, has been named to the dean’s list at the University of Delaware.

The following local students have been named to the dean’s list for the fall 2009 semester at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. To be eligible for this honor, a student must compile an academic grade point average of 3.0-3.49. From Durham, Alexandra Muzik studying Business Administration; from Middlefield, Michael Bertrand studying Sport Management, Daniel Cowett studying Social Science and Matthew DeRosa studying Business Administration. Congratulations to the Lesley University women’s basketball team of Cambridge, Mass, for winning the New England Collegiate Conference Championship 2010.

27 Transportation. Connecticut’s largest, full-service taxi company was cited for introducing a hybrid electric taxi cab, creating a suite of charge and debit cards to reduce paper consumption, recycling 3,000 gallons of used motor oil per year to heat its seven-bay Service Department and for working with CL&P to retrofit the West Haven headquarters with energy-efficient lighting. Pictured below, from left, are Business New Haven editor Michael C. Bingham, Isabelle and Bill Scalzi, Business New Haven and publisher Mitch Young.

Durham’s Erika Hill, a 2009 graduate of Coginchaug, led the NECC in three point field goal percentage (56.5 percent). Erika is the daughter of Russell and Sherry Hill of Durham. The regional publication Business New Haven feted 20 of Greater New Haven’s “Green Makers” for bringing sustainability into their thinking and planning across all aspects of business operations. Metro Taxi, owned by Isabelle and Bill Scalzi, of Durham received Business New Haven’s 2010 Green Business Award in

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Town Times Sports

Friday, March 12, 2010

Boys’ basketball team’s outstanding efforts fail at Hyde By Alan Pease Special to the Town Times

On Tuesday, March 2, the Coginchaug boys traveled to Wilbur Cross in New Haven to take on the Howling Wolves of Hyde in a semi-final game for the Shoreline Tournament championship. Despite an absolutely brilliant effort by the Devils, the Wolves were able to steal the game in the final minutes, coming away with a 46–42 victory. Before I get into this any further, let me get my standard disclaimer out of the way. I am a Coginchaug fan. I make no claim to be an impartial observer – what I see and what I say are undoubtedly colored by the fact that I want the Devils to do well – I want to see them win. I also want to acknowledge that officials have a hard job – no matter what they do, half of the crowd will think that they are wrong. I even considered the possibility of trying to be-

come an official at one point, but I decided that I would not be able to deal with the pressure – plus, I kind of like what I’m doing (writing these stories, still playing three times a week) right now. However, given the fact that Hyde was allowed to get steals by going through a player’s body, that a Coginchaug shooter could get literally flattened, and no foul would be called, that Eric Hewitt had their big guys riding his back all night long, and only one over-the-back was called (I’m sure he must have been at least a little black and blue the next day) all night – it is truly impressive that the Devils kept this a close game. Hyde is clearly a more talented and athletic team than Coginchaug, but that night, the team who played better and worked harder, the team who deserved to win, came away empty. The game started as if it would be a typical Hyde rout

(they’ve won every game this season by an average of more than 25 points), as they reeled off the first six points of the game. But then the Devils stepped up their defense and went on a 14–2 run over the remainder of the period. Tommy Ryan scored five points, Erikson Wasyl scored four, Jeff Tiedemann and Andrew Markoski each scored two and Hewitt scored one point in the run. Again in the second period, Hyde started with a bang, scoring the first eight points to go on top 16–14. A Ryan-assisted basket by Markoski broke a four-and-a-half minute scoring drought, and tied the score, then Markoski assisted on a Ryan trey that again gave the Devils the lead. The Howling Wolves scored back to back baskets to go on top 20–19, but Hewitt tied the score with a single free throw. Hyde responded with a single free throw of their own, but Hewitt assisted

on a Tiedemann bucket to give the Devils a 22–21 lead at the half. The third period was a low scoring affair, as both teams had trouble finding the bottom of the net. Coginchaug surrendered seven points, but scored only six themselves, on three foul shots by Hewitt, and a key EJ Lutherassisted three-pointer by Wasyl to close the scoring for the period and tie the game at 28-all. The final period started with the Wolves hitting one of two from the line to go on top by one, but a Ryan bucket, assisted by Tiedemann, again gave the Devils a slim onepoint lead. Hyde connected on a rebound put-back to retake the lead, but a Ryan steal and conversion gave Coginchaug what proved to be their final lead of the night at 32–31. The Wolves again went in front on an old-fashioned three-point play, and followed that up with another basket to make

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Ryan led the Devils with 12 points, two steals, two assists and a rebound. Tiedemann had 11 rebounds, nine points, two steals and an assist. Eric Hewitt pulled down nine rebounds, and added seven points, three assists and a steal. Tiedemann and Hewitt were monsters on the boards, as the Devils matched the much taller and more athletic Wolves in rebounds at 26 boards apiece. Markoski scored six points, and added four steals, two assists and a rebound. Wasyl had eight points, a rebound, a steal and an assist.

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the score 36–32. Hewitt responded with an inside basket, to cut the deficit to two points, but Hyde hit a shot from beyond the arc to again push the lead to five points. Tiedemann answered that with a Hewitt-assisted trey to make the score 39–37. Hyde added those three points back on with an old-fashioned three-point play, but Tiedemann then converted a nice Markoski feed into two points, then a Hewitt feed to Markoski made the score 41–42 to tighten things up. In the final two minutes, Hyde could manage only one basket plus two of four from the line, but that was enough to hold off Coginchaug, which only managed a single Wasyl free throw in that time to make the final score 46–42 in favor of the Howling Wolves.

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By the time you read this, the Devils will have won against University Magnet on Monday, March 8, leading to a game on March 10 against St. Paul. They won that game 8559, and will be in the state Class S quarter-finals against Valley Regional or Terryville on Friday, March 12, at a neutral site. If they can keep the level of intensity they showed against Hyde, and perhaps catch a break or two, I would not bet against them.

Town Times Sports

Friday, March 12, 2010

Lady Devils dominate the Bulldogs, slip past Clippers By Alan Pease Special to the Town Times

Putnam On Thursday, March 4, the Coginchaug girls, the fifth seed in the Class S tournament, hosted the 12th seeded Clippers from Putman. In a game that went back and forth all evening, with either a tie or a lead change in every period, the Devils finally prevailed by three points in a 45–42 win. The Clippers started the scoring with a basket, but Audrey Biesak tied the score on a Taylor Edinger assist, then put the Devils on top with

first a rebound put-back (not bad for the smallest player on the court), then an old-fashioned three-point play off of a steal and assist from Liz Meiman. Four successful free throws from Katelyn Tarr of Putnam were bracketed around a Samantha Mancinelli-assisted basket by Edinger, with another Putnam basket making the score 9–8, with the Devils on top. A couple of consecutive offensive rebounds earned Cassidie Cade a free throw, with Tarr of Putnam hitting two more from the stripe to tie the game at 10. In the final minute, Biesak knocked in an Esposito-assisted trey, with Putnam answering with a three-point shot of their own, to make the score 13-all at the end of one. The second period started slowly for both teams with few shots, all misses, for each. Finally, two minutes into the period, Mancinelli hit Cade for a short jumper to put the

Devils on top. The Clippers came back with a trey to go on top, but Mancinelli answered with a steal, leading to an oldfashioned three-point play for an 18–16 lead. Putnam re-tied the game with a basket, and in the final minute, each team had four free throw tries, with Mancinelli and Edinger each hitting both of theirs, while the Clippers connected on three of four to give the Devils a 22–21 lead at the half. Counting the end of the first half, all of the third period, and the beginning of the last period, Coginchaug would go 13 minutes without a successful field goal attempt. They did start the third with a single conversion from the line by Mancinelli, but at that point, Putnam went on an 8–0 run to lead by six at 29–23. A free throw from Esposito broke the run, but the Clippers scored the next three points from the stripe. Another single free throw, this time from

Biesak, was answered by a basket from Putnam, giving them a nine point lead at 34–25. Mancinelli’s two free throws in the last minute of the period still left the Devils with a seven point deficit to make up as they started the final period. Amanda Boyle hit a free throw to make the deficit six points, but the Clippers pushed it back to eight with a bucket. Mancinelli hit on two free throws, then on the Devil’s first field goal in 13 minutes to make the deficit four. Biesak traded a single free throw with Putnam to make the score 37–33 with four minutes remaining in the game. Then the Devils started to make the big plays they needed to pull out the win. First, Mancinelli got the ball to Esposito for a basket, but Putnam hit two from the line to make the score 39-35. Then, in See Devils, page 30

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On Monday, March 1, the Coginchaug girls, the number five seed in the state Class S tournament, hosted the Bulldogs of Stafford, the 28th seeded team, in a first round tournament game. Coginchaug, coming in with a record of 19 wins and four losses, dominated throughout against the 8–12 Bulldogs, ending with a 60–41 wire-to-wire win. Samantha Mancinelli opened the scoring, converting a rebound put-back early on, followed quickly by two from the charity stripe by Audrey Biesak, providing the Devils with a lead that would never be surrendered. For the period, Biesak scored eight (matching the Bulldogs total output for the period), Taylor Edinger scored five, Mancinelli dropped in three points and Laura Esposito scored two, to give Coginchaug a 18–8 lead. The second period also started well for the Devils, as a Biesak steal and assist led to a Mancinelli lay-up, then Mancinelli returned the favor, as her steal resulted in an assist on a Biesak three-pointer. For the period, Lauren Esposito scored four, Biesak and Cassidie Cade each scored three, and Mancinelli, Edinger, Erica Jones, Amanda Boyle and Jessica Solomon each scored two points. Coginchaug led 38–21. Mancinelli, Edinger and Liz Meiman each scored four points in the third period, while Esposito chipped in with two to make the score 52–34 entering the final period. Even in the final period, with the bench players seeing lots of action, the Lady Devils still managed to outscore the Bulldogs 8–7, making it a clean sweep of all four quarters. Biesak and Amanda Boyle each scored four points in the period, resulting in a final score of 52–34. Biesak led the Devils with 15 points, adding five rebounds, three steals and an assist. Edinger scored 11 points, and also had six rebounds and two steals. Mancinelli had a complete stat line, with nine points, four rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal. Esposito contributed eight points, three rebounds, three

steals and two assists. Boyle had six points, six rebounds and a steal. Meiman had six rebounds, four points and a steal. Cade scored three points, and added four rebounds and an assist. Jones had three rebounds, two points, a steal and an assist. Solomon had two steals, two points and an assist. Andrea Braga had a rebound.

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Town Times Sports

Men’s league play

Friday, March 12, 2010

Blue Devil cheerleaders

By Scott Strang Special to the Town Times

break layups by Mike Baranoski (19 pts) to regain the lead, and held on for the win.

The Young Gunz (4-2) picked up their second straight win, holding off Orange 71-63 in the highest scoring Men’s League game this season. Alex Schade hit five threes and finished with 22 to lead the Gunz. Orange (1-5) trailed by 11 at the half, but tough play inside by Pete Donecker (12 pts) and Scott Marks (14 pts), along with outside shooting by Ryan Donecker (18 pts) put them up by five points with eight minutes left to play. The Gunz countered with three straight fast

Torrison Stone faced their toughest game this season, but held on for a 56-45 win over Team Red in Week six of Men’s League action. Matthew Sullivan and Frank DeFlippo each scored in double figures for Red (1-5), but they ultimately could not shut down the powerful inside play of Torrison (6-0). Jason Troiano and Adam Poturnicki each finished with 17 to lead Torrison.

Devils (From page 29)

For much more league info, become a fan of Durham Men’s League on Facebook.

Local man tackles the tower On March 27, local resident Jack McShane will “Tackle the Tower at Hartford 21” and compete in the American Lung Association’s Fight for Air stair climb event. Jack, along with his daughter, Katelyn McShane, will be racing up 68 flights of stairs. Proceeds from this event benefit the programs and services of the American Lung Association. Responsible for one in seven deaths in the U.S., lung disease is the third leading cause of death in our country. “Team McShane” will raise funds for lung disease research, education and advocacy. Helping to bring hope to the 35 million Americans who are living with lung disease, Jack and his daughter are confident that they will survive the 686 steps. To support this cause, visit the team page at www.mrsnv.com/evt/e01/part.jsp?id=2832&acct=9000345718 &rid=0, or send donations to American Lung Association, 45 Ash St., East Hartford, CT 06108, and mention “Team McShane.” If you would like to join our team for a fun and rewarding experience, please contact Jack McShane at jackmcshane52@gmail.com.

The Coginchaug cheerleaders competition squad won third palce at East Haven High School. They did a superb job with terrific creativity. The routine was designed mostly by Tayler Dontigney, Sarah Hanks, and Callan Pollitt. Above, back row, from left, Kate Chabot, Stephanie White, Juliane Prusinski, Kate Bednarz and Alyssa Tiedemann; middle row, Taylor Salva, Jessica Williams, Carlie St. Amand, Katelyn Hill and Heather Poturnicki; front row, Callan Pollitt, Jaci Adams, Tayler Dontigney and Sarah Hanks. At left are the four seniors who competed: Callan Pollitt, Jaci Adams, Tayler Dontigney and Sarah Hanks. Photos by Karen Freelance Kean

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probably the biggest basket of the night, Mancinelli got dribble penetration down the lane and kicked the ball out to Biesak, who swished the three-pointer to put the score at 39–38. Successive blocks by Mancinelli and Edinger led to two from the line for Erica Jones, who dropped both through for a 40–39 lead, their first since early in the third period. Coginchaug went into a four-corner slow down offense, to draw the Putnam defenders away from the basket. When the Clippers finally bit on the strategy, coming out to try to challenge the ball, Mancinelli was able to drive the lane and drop the ball to Edinger, who converted the short jumper for a three-point lead. In the final 30 seconds, Putnam’s three-point tries were all rebounded by the Devils, and Esposito hit on two from the line, with Mancinelli dropping in a single free throw try. Just before time expired, another Putnam long distance shot finally connected, but it was too little, too late, as the Devils came away with a 45–42 win, and a chance to play fourth-seeded Capital Prep at Mercy on Thursday night. The best player on the floor was Katelyn Tarr of Putnam, who scored 28 points. But her teammates could not give her enough help to overcome the more balanced Blue Devils. Biesak led Coginchaug with 15 points, and added five rebounds and three steals. Mancinelli scored 13 points, and added five assists, three rebounds, a block and a steal. Edinger pulled in a team high seven rebounds, and added six points, two steals, a block and an assist. Esposito scored five points, adding a rebound, a steal and an assist. Cade pulled down four rebounds, scored three points and added a steal. Jones had two each of blocks, points and rebounds, and added a steal. Boyle had a rebound and a point. Elizabeth Meiman had an assist and a steal.

Town Times Real Estate

Friday, March 12, 2010

Real estate professionals workshop: ‘Reading the Land’

Spring classes at Green Street Arts Center include dance and discussion

Learn about web-based soil maps, get the facts about septic systems and wetland permits, and hear about Low Impact Development practices at the Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District workshop for real estate professionals, “Reading The Land.” This workshop will be held on Thursday, April 29, from 9 a.m. to 12:35 p.m. at the deKoven House Community Center, 27 Washington St. in Middletown. Registration begins at 9 a.m. The fee is $30 and includes workshop materials. “Reading the Land” is approved for three CEUs by the Real Estate Commission, CT Department of Consumer Protection. The agenda includes: “Soil Maps at Your Fingertips: Using the Web Soil Survey” by Margie Faber, USDA NRCS assistant state soil scientist; “Inland Wetlands Identification and Permitting” by Darcy Winther, DEP environmental analyst; “Low Impact Development” by Chester Arnold, Jr., UConn Coopera-

Wesleyan University’s Green Street Arts Center is now accepting registrations for spring classes, workshops and after-school program offerings. Classes include Balinese dance, salsa, drawing, screenwriting, acting and creative sound. Wesleyan professors, who will present new research and cutting-edge information, lead the informal Sunday salon discussion series. The Green Street Arts Center is located at 51 Green Street in Middletown. To register for classes or request more information, visit www.greenstreetartscenter.org or call 860-685-7871. Green Street members receive a 20 percent discount on all classes. The Green Street Arts Center of Wesleyan University is a vibrant center for arts edu-

Durham and Middlefield Property transfers Dills, 35 Cherry Ridge Road, $420,000; Frimberger Estate and Angela Frimberger to Eric and Linsey Ekblade, $200,000; Michael and Sandra Lane to Renee and Jorge Tellez, 48 Industrial Park Access, $295,000; Nationstar Mortgage to Dean and Robert Giglletti, 10 Pickawee, $139,500; Michael and Andrew Hetsko to George and Karen Sima, 31 Burt Drive, $230,000; Athena Androulidakis to Nancy and Richard Boynton,

12 Lake Shore Drive, $305,000; Delia Rettberg and Lisa Marenna to Larry Sekoll and Jeannine Marino, 56 Meriden Rd. $185,000; Diane Raffanello to James Chapman, 20 Cedar Street, $230,000; John Ricci to Jonathan and Erica Fenwick, 16 Lake Shore Drive, $355,000; Nancy Hersey to Thomas Sebold, 5 Cherokee Road, $145,000 and Marie Baginski, to Ryan Capega and Lori Sharbaugh, 176 Ross Road, $240,000.

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Durham Muriel Hofman to Alexis Meurs, 115 Pamelee Hill Road, $235,000; Shawn Hopkins to Williams Zanks, 481 Madison Road, $360,000; Lawrence Banasse to Charles and Katina Diamalis, 37 Edwards Road, $269,000; Carolyn Munro to Joseph and Elizabeth Bossoli, 22 Birch Road, $192,000; Mary Ann Adams to Clifford and Karyl Morton, 162 Maple Avenue, $212,000; Adam and Melissa Moore to Jennifer Forster, 228 Guilford Road, $300,000;, Jean Parmelee to Catherine Parmelee, 76 Creamery Road, $195,000 and David and Kristin Rinaldi to Annette and Ilona Komlo, 166 Maple Avenue, $355,000. Middlefield Robert and Margaret Dodds to John Kulman, lot 12 Cherry Hill Road, $330,000; Martha Mason to Cheryl Ruggioro, 40 Maryland Drive, $206,000; Thomas and Barbara Dlubac to Philip and Amy

(NEAT), and a variety of local arts groups, Green Street promotes communication through creativity and collaboration.

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The Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District is a nonprofit organization based in Middletown. Our mission is to promote the sound use and management of our natural resources through technical assistance and education. For information about the district’s programs and services visit www.conservect.org/ctrivercoastal. Durham and Middlefield are part of the district.

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Contact Barbara at the district office at 860-346-3282 for registration and information. The registration form is also available at www.conservect.org/ctrivercoastal. Payment is by cash or check only. Class size is limited and pre-registration is recommended. Walk-ins will be accommodated as space allows.

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Town Times

Friday, March 12, 2010

Make your voice heard, tell your elected officials...

KEEP GOVERNMENT DON’T LET CONNECTICUT OFFICIALS REMOVE YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW FROM THE NEWSPAPER. KEEP PUBLIC NOTICES IN YOUR NEWSPAPER! Pending legislation may remove your right to read public notices in newspapers, moving them from the public domain to the internet. We’re concerned. And you should be, too. Public notices are an important tool in assuring an informed citizenry. They have helped develop America into a participatory democracy for hundreds of years and where it counts the most: how your tax dollars are spent, how policy is made and how our futures are charted.

They are located in easy-to-find sections of your newspaper. And they are fully accessible to everyone - unlike the internet, which is not accessible to everyone. Less than 10% of the U.S. population views a local, state or federal government website daily, according to the May 2009 release of U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Estimates of Resident Population. This means more than nine out of ten people may never see a given notice. This compares dramatically to the fact that 83% of adults read a community newspaper every week, according to the

Connecticut daily newspaper, is National Newspaper Association. Furthermore, a public notice printed in automatically uploaded to that newspaper’s the newspaper produces a permanent web site and CTPublicNotices.org. Newspapers are your watchdogs. Don’t record. The internet does not, nor does it assure timeliness. And a newspaper is let that role be changed now. Voice your archived for years; not subject to opinion. To keep your notices in the computer crashes and hackers. Newspapers are easily verifiable, fully newspaper, contact your local elected transparent and represent a secure third officials or: party who has nothing to gain from any Governor Jodi Rell - 860.566.4840 notice. Connecticut’s recent ethical lapses shed a glaring light on the full meaning of Senate Democrats - 860.240.8600 House Democrats - 860.240.8500 this problem. It’s like putting the fox in Please call for corrections at 203-317-2308 - after 5 pm call 203-317-2282 Ad#:TOWN TIMES LOGO Pub:PERM Date:07/21/07 Day:SAT Size:6X2 Cust:TOWN TIMES Last Edited By:EALLISON on 12:20 PM. Salesperson: Tag Line: Color Info: charge of the hen house. Senate 7/20/07 Republicans - 860.240.8800 TOWN TIMES LOGO - Composite Every public notice, which runs in a House Republicans - 860.240.8700

Tow n Times Visit www.ctdailynews.com to contact your legislator today

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