Volume 16, Issue 4
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
District 13 education budget defeated By Sue VanDerzee and Stephanie Wilcox By a margin of 112, voters in District 13 defeated the proposed $31.8 million net budget for 2009-2010. That budget represented a 2.42 percent increase over the current year’s budget. The votes by town presented the picture seen most frequently in the last several years. Durham passed the budget by a razor thin margin, 578570, while Middlefield defeated it, 267-387. Less people voted in Durham and more voted in Middlefield than last year. “Disappointed” is the one word board member Deb Golschneider used to sum up
her feelings about the referendum results. Board chairman Tom Hennick said he isn’t completely shocked that it was, considering these economic times. “We worked hard in difficult times to come in with a 2.42 percent increase,” he said. With a special meeting called for 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6, at Coginchaug High School, it’s “back to the drawing board” for board members. “Everything is on the table,” added Superintendent Susan Viccaro. So what’s going to be looked at? When asked about reconsidering the teacher that was added after parents
Friday, May 8, 2009
Waiting to begin the season ...
spoke up about class size concerns over the course of developing the budget, Hennick said it’s not what he thinks but what the 10 board members think altogether. “We added that teacher in response to a lot of residents coming forward and supporting it,” he said. Then comes the question of staff give-backs, but “a contract is a contract,” Norm Hicks said. “If we came out with a surplus, would we distribute it to the employees? So why should we take it out on them?” While some questions have yet to be answered, the board can expect to hear See Budget, page 26
Big news in a small town: Responding to H1N1 flu By Stephanie Wilcox Town Times A confirmed case of swine flu, or H1N1 flu, in a Middlefield child is big news for a small town. Big enough for major news networks and print media to attend a community-wide forum on the topic with representatives from the Connecticut Department of Health (DPH), Board of Education, personnel from the school district and town health officials. “We’re here tonight for an information session so we can talk about the facts that have been going on the last couple of weeks,” said Region 13 health director and Durham physician Dr. Brad Wilkinson at the forum on Monday, May 4. “We feel, naturally, this is a very important issue that needs to be addressed with common sense and all the facts on the table.” Dr. Wilkinson was joined at the podium by Region 13
Superintendent Susan Viccaro, state epidemiologist Dr. Matthew Cartter of the DPH, and school liaison to the DPH, Debbye Rosen. Before questions and comments, which ranged from extremely positive to extremely negative on the way the local case was handled, the speakers brought everyone up to date on the specifics of the case. According to Dr. Wilkinson, two weeks ago, after vacationing in Mexico, a child who attends John Lyman School in Middlefield came down with symptoms of the flu. She was subsequently diagnosed, but never returned to school after the vacation. She was treated with Tamiflu and antiviral medications, as was a sibling, who eventually did return to school. The child who was affected has been a-symptomatic for eight days as of Monday, Wilkinson said, and “using CDC (Center for Disease Control) guidelines,
the child can return to school tomorrow.” He then added, “Every decision Sue Viccaro has made has been in close concert with the DPH in what has been sometimes minute-byminute advice.” Dr. Cartter, who has been with the DPH for 25 years and has connections with a child in District 13, felt he was the right person to attend the forum to answer questions. “This is a difficult time, I understand that, for parents,” he said. “We’ve learned so much in the last 12 days, and we ask for your patience as we share the information we know with you. I understand not everyone will agree with the DPH’s decisions.” He went on to say that influenza, or flu, is a very specific illness, and is not like the common cold. Connecticut’s season for the flu is generally between November and the end of February into
Town Times photo by Stephanie Wilcox
Cade Buckheit, above, waits in the outfield for some action on Opening Day of the Coginchaug Little League on Saturday, May 2. The season is now in full swing at fields around Durham and Middlefield. See more photos of Opening Day on pages 32-33. March, so there are many seasonal flu cases going on right now. Every year, about 36,000 Americans die from the flu, and 15 to 20 percent of the population comes down with it, he said. In Connecticut, one to two kids die each year from the flu. When H1N1 flu was declared a public health emergency last Sunday, one of the biggest questions was See Flu, page 11
In this issue ... Calendar ........................4-5 Devil’s Advocate .......17-24 Durham Briefs ..........14-17 Libraries.........................35 Middlefield Briefs .....12-14 Mini Pages .................43-44 Obituaries ......................32 Spotlight .........................31 Summer Options .......36-37