Volume 16, Issue 11
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
Friday, June 26, 2009
Third time’s the charm: Running for (and with) the Troops Friday, June 19, LyD-13 budget passes by 213 manOnschool held a special By Sue VanDerzee
Voting for the third time, 1,967 voters in Durham and Middlefield passed a District 13 education budget for next year with the smallest raise in anyone’s memory — less than one percent. The total vote was 1,090 yes, 877 no, and slightly fewer people voted this time (1,981 votes were cast on June 2; 1,802 were cast in the first referendum on May 5). In Durham, 25 percent of registered voters voted, and in Middlefield 22 percent voted. What was perhaps most satisfiying to many — was that the budget passed in both towns this time around. In the earlier two referendums, the budget had passed narrowly in Durham both times and been defeated in Middlefield. This time Durham’s votes were 746 yes and 544 no. Then the call came from Middlefield announcing they also had approved the budget, 344 yes, 333 no. Superintendent Sue Viccaro said, “I’m just glad it’s over and we can move on. Now we can begin planning ahead for next year and get
contracts out.” The actual budget number voted on included $118,090 worth of cuts after the second defeat, for a gross bottom line of $33.76 million. Because each town pays its share based on the number of students it sends to district schools, Middlefield’s share is expected to carry a lower mill rate with Durham’s holding steady though what exactly happens in that regard depends on passage of a state budget. As for avoiding multiple referenda in the future, Viccaro said, “Every time we go through the process, we try to improve on it. I’m sure the board will want to do some things differently.” District 13 Board of Education chair Tom Hennick added: “We’re relieved and gratified that the budget passed. From the start, we’ve done the very best to be mindful of the needs of the school system and the community in these difficult economic times. Judging by the vote, we’ve achieved the right balance, though we did cut things we were reluctant to cut.”
program called Go Far’s Run for the Troops. Students wrote and gathered hundreds of letters to U.S. Armed service members stationed around the world. Active and retired service members were invited to the school to run and walk with the students. The program began with students singing a patriotic song and then with a presentation of the letters and a banner to the servicepeople. Top photo, Alexandria Grenier and Ashley Dana get autographs from a local serviceman sent from the Middletown Recruiting Office to be part of the fun. At right, an enthusiastic group holds a banner they made. See more photos on page 13. Photos submitted by Jen Schulten
‘Don’t be alarmed. It’s only a drill.’
Killingworth and Durham firefighters will take part in a Mutual Aid HazMat drill on Sunday morning, June 28, at Durham Manufacturing, located at 201 Main Street. There will be a simulated leak in the propane tank located at the rear of the property. Teams will be deployed to monitor the situation with metering devices, as well as training on the proper hose placement to dissipate the vapors with water fog streams. Durham Manufacturing has always been a partner in training endeavors, and they stepped up to the plate again
for this exercise. In addition to Killingworth and Durham, Durham EMS will provide medical standby, with tankers from Middlefield, North Madison and Chester providing additional water supply for the operation. To kick off the exercise, Michael Callan, an expert in Hazardous Materials training, will conduct an hour-long classroom session to review the hazards in dealing with situations like a leaking propane tank , whether it is a small 20 lb. cylinder on your gas grill or large tank used commercially as at Durham
Manufacturing. Water to the drill site will be shut down, so you may encounter some traffic delays between 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. on the following roads: Haddam Quarter Road, Brick Lane, Maiden Lane, Maple Avenue and Main Street. The Durham Fire Department drills every month on different subjects and completes a certain amount of hours of training each year as part of their OCEA requirements. However, the HazMat drill is a mutual drill that hasn’t been done in a while and hasn’t ever been done with
In this issue ... Killingworth before. “Durham works very closely with its mutual aid towns, and we try to drill every year with one of them,” said Fire Chief Harry Hall. “This is Killingworth’s turn. The reason we’re doing this is because we have to be ready for anything. Killingworth has a big AmeriGas facility, and we have a big tank at Durham Manufacturing. Also, we have newer members who will benefit from this drill.” This was submitted by Durham Fire Chief Harry Hall with additional reporting by Stephanie Wilcox
Calendar ..........................4 CRHS H&D grads ....6 & 19 Durham Briefs ..........10-11 Middlefield Briefs.....11-12 Obituaries .................22-23 Scouts .............................24 Sports.........................25-30
See our next issue on July 3 for Coginchaug Regional High School graduation coverage; go to our website — www.towntimes.com — for graduation photos as soon as we can get them online.