Volume 18, Issue 8
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
Memorial Day 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
Education budget passes By Cheri Kelley Town Times The Regional School District 13 budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year passed Thursday with a total of 1,053 “yes” votes and 927 “no.” There were 692 voters total in Middlefield: 320 voted “yes” on the $34,786,974 budget and 372 voted “no.” There was a total of 1,288 voters in Durham, with 733 “yes” and 555 “no” votes. These numbers include absentee ballots. Norman Hicks, member of the Board of Education (BOE) who was at the Durham polls, stated, “And now we go back to the business of moving the school forward.”
In Middlefield, BOE member Nancy Boyle gave an excited, “Yes!” upon news of the budget passing. The first referendum on May 3 failed to pass by 80 votes. The budget total after more cuts were made put the net increase at 3.45 percent over the current year.
In this issue ... Calendar ........................................4 Durham Briefs.............................16 Middlefield Briefs .......................17 Obituaries...............................28-29 Sports ...........................................30
It’s summer vacation. Do you know where your children are working? By Cheri Kelley Town Times
Above, Grand Marshal Richard Duval and wife Harriet under an umbrella. Right, Daisies march in the rain. Below, onlookers are still all smiles despite being soaked. More photos page 25. Photos by Cheri Kelley
Last year, Durham participated in a summer youth employment program through Workforce Alliance, and this year Middlefield is looking to get in on the action. Durham First Selectman Laura Francis stated, “Last year was the first year we participated. We employed seven students, all at different offices within the town of Durham, including the public works department, the First Selectman’s office, tax collector’s office, town clerk and finance.” Middlefield is looking to employ kids within the town as well, including “Parks and Recreation and at the firehouse and community center building doing custodial work,” said Middlefield First Selectman Jon Brayshaw. He met with the folks from Workforce Alliance on Tuesday to learn more about the program but encourages companies within the community to take this opportunity to employ youth through the program as well. Brayshaw said, “Lots of kids will apply and only a few will be chosen; there aren’t enough placements for all the kids. Salary is paid for 100 percent by the program, and businesses employing the kids could never be more instrumental in building a young person’s self-esteem. It gives kids a sense of accomplishment.”
Francis agreed and said, “The feedback we received from the students and their parents was very positive. One parent told us that her child pointed to a street sign he installed with a sense of pride and accomplishment. I feel the more we can connect our youth to their government, the more likely they are to get involved when they are adults. For some of the students, this was their first job experience, which I hope can be leveraged for future employment.” Salaries are funded through the Workforce Alliance program, and local kids are able to get work for six weeks over the summer in their town. The kids are paid minimum wage and learn what it is like to have a job and be responsible. Robert Fort of Workforce Alliance explained: “Federal stimulus funding is gone,” he said. “The state has stepped up and is funding $3.5 million statewide, of which South Central Connecticut will receive about $750,000, less than half of what we received in 2010. Individual cities, including New Haven, Middletown and Meriden, are investing in their youth and supplementing the state funds. Despite our financial setback, Workforce Alliance expects to work with 15 municipalities this summer.” Interested students and companies should contact their town hall for more info or call Robert Fort at 203-606-2998.