Volume 17, Issue 51
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
Dads are just big kids!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Middletown water system connection is best option for Durham By Cheri Kelley Town Times Two dozen people came to the public hearing on the water main extension feasibility study update and environmental impact evaluation on March 23, and annoyance was expressed for how long the study took — and how long the improvements will take. The recommendation
by Fuss & O’Neill is to connect to the Middletown system. As it stands today, Middletown does not have enough water supply to fill the town of Durham’s need, but with additional supply sources it is possible in the future. When contaminated water was found on Main Street at the location of the Durham Manufacturing and Merriam
Manufacturing companies’ sites, the town began looking for a clean water source. A study on this issue was commissioned about 12 years ago, and then an additional study was done about three years ago. The purpose of the most recent study was to update the first study, as far as identifying the superfund See Water System, page 24
Durham BOS disbands Public Safety Committee By Stephanie Wilcox Town Times First Selectman Laura Francis stated at the March 28 Board of Selectmen meeting that public safety is one of the town’s main priorities, “and we’ve shown that in a number of ways.” But in the last year in particular, Francis noted that she has given a
Kieran Driscoll with his dad, Jon, went to Durham CoOp’s annual Dad’s Night. This year’s theme was Western, and this duo played the part all the way! See more photos on page 22. Submitted MIca Machnik
lot of thought to what role the Public Safety Committee (PSC) has in how public safety is handled. She explained that an informal executive committee had formed, which includes the fire chief, EMS chief, emergency management director, resident state trooper and fire marshal; these are the decisionmakers with whom Francis
worked with directly regarding budgeting, planning,
See Durham BOS, page 19
In this issue ... Calendar ............................4 Durham Briefs.................12 Middlefield Briefs ...........13 Sports ...............................26 Obituary...........................19
Middlefield’s Chili Master
BOE brings budget down to 3.98 percent increase, takes out a nurse By Elisabeth Kennedy Special to the Town Times The March 23 Board of Education (BOE) meeting opened with high-spirited public comment accusing the board of scare tactics with threats of loss of accreditation and layoffs of 40 teachers. Other public comment was both in favor of and opposed to combining bus routes, and all were opposed to increasing class sizes and cutting additional
teachers. Suggestions concerned charging for programs and changing insurance packages. Superintendent Susan Viccaro confirmed there is no intent to charge for programs, and both Viccaro and business manager Ron Melnik indicated the district did well with a 9.9 percent insurance increase as the industry standard is 13-14 percent. Melnik further explained See BOE, page 23
On Thursday, March 10, the Middlefield Firehouse heated up with fierce competition amongst the Lions in their much-anticipated Chili Cook-Off. This year there were eight contestants vying for the bragging rights of “Chili Master.” There were some excellent combinations of ingredients and creative twists, making for a very enjoyable evening of good food, friends and lots of laughs. This year was a tight race for number one, but Mark Gribko managed to pull it off again. This is Mark’s second win (he won the event in its first year, three years ago)! Last year David Lowry was the winner. The eight Lions who made chili for this year’s event were Lisa Steward, Chris Hurlbert, Mary Roberts, Mark Gribko, Marc D’Amato, Jay Dalo, David Lowry and Melissa Kowal. Submitted by Melissa Kowal