Volume 20, Number 34
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
www.TownTimes.com
Friday, December 6, 2013
RINGING IN THE HOLIDAYS AT FIRST NIGHT
Neither the cold nor the loss of the town green’s giant pine tree kept families from enjoying Middlefield Park and Recreation’s First Night and tree lighting ceremony Nov. 30. Santa also honored the annual tradition. Families dressed for warmth and gathered for carols on the green, stories in the library, food at the fire house, and crafts at Middlefield Children’s Center and the Community Center. | (Mark Dionne\Town Times.)
Before Santa’s arrival, Park and Recreation Director Chris Hurlbert, left, gathered children for songs with Middlefield First Selectman Jon Brayshaw, in back. Brass musicians from Coginchaug Regional High School, including the trumpet section, accompanied carol singing at Middlefield’s First Night celebration. | (Mark Dionne\Town Times.)
Local dog and owner train for international competition By Charles Kreutzkamp Town Times
Middlefield trainer Monique Plinck and her dog Tiki participate in agility competitions in the U.S. and around the world. | (Monique Plinck/Submitted)
Monique Plinck’s dog Tiki has been running through tubes, leaping over obstacles and weaving through posts, hard at work training for the upcoming International Federation of Cynological S p o r t s Wo r l d A g i l i t y Championships, being held in Holland this May. Plinck, a Middlefield resident, and Tiki have won awards at dog agility competitions in the past, including several at the United States Dog Agility Association’s BARK Agility event. Tiki is a 6-year-old male papillon. Plinck explained that preparing for agility competitions takes two to three years of training. Plinck developed an interest in the sport 20 years ago when she owned a
“very smart, very active rottweiler who was doing really well in obedience school but needed more than obedience could provide. It was recommended that I check out Agility. There weren’t many in the area at that point, so I started out in Newtown and I’ve continued from there.” Plinck now trains Tiki at Criterion Agility, a facility she owns and operates in Middlefield, where she teaches her dogs and shares her expertise with others part time to “help pay for my habit,” Plinck said. Plinck said she began participating in competitions because, “You get to a point in your training where you are really excelling at the sport and someone recommends that you compete. Everybody See Agility / Page 14