Volume 19, Number 32
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
www.TownTimes.com
Friday, December 12, 2014
Seekers of fuel assistance face long wait times By Charles Kreutzkamp Town Times
It’s a busy month at Middlefield social services, with Medicare open enrollment, holiday food assistance, and fuel assistance. Social services Director Joan Lombardo said that local need remains high, despite an improving economy. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported good job numbers for November, with employment increasing by 321,000 in that month alone and the unemployment rate “holding steady” at 5.8 percent, having dropped substantially from 9.9 percent See Fuel / Page 15
POPs presents holiday home tours
The first job for a team returning to CRHS is to unload their bags into carriages. | Mark Dionne/Town Times
Community Round-Up brings people together
By Mark Dionne Lisa Larsen, Coginchaug Regional High School music teacher, and the Parents of Performers booster group have planned a new and festive way to support CRHS students involved in the music program. On Dec. 14, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. POPs will run a “Candlelight Home Tour.” A number of Durham and Middlefield homes will be decorated for Christmas and opened for visitors, who will have an opportunity to enjoy treats and music provided by CRHS students. The home tour is a first for POPs. Larsen said, “I always thought it would be a great thing to do here, but it took many years to get around to organizing the tour.” The home tour also is a first for Nina Healy, whose home will be one of the destinations, which currently number eight. Healy was asked to volunteer and decided to offer her home as one of the stops because her babysitter, Lauren Badin, is a Show Choir member. “We wanted to support her and the program,” Healy said. Healy said she usually does quite a bit of See POPs / Page 6
By Mark Dionne Town Times
Rainy and cold weather did not stop the ninth annual Community Round-Up from being a success. On the morning of Dec. 6, teams of volunteers once again roamed Durham and Middlefield, picking up non-perishable food items and monetary donations to help those in need locally. Organizers of the event, co-sponsored by Regional School District 13 and the Local Wellness Council, said that participation seemed higher than ever. Rebecca Sinusas, Strong School Guidance Counselor and event co-chair, said, “Because we’ve been doing this for
nine years, it’s become a family tradition.” Organizers said that 78 teams left with their mapped routes and Coginchaug Regional High School, which serves as home base for the Community Round-Up was well-staffed with volunteers. “I think we had more people stay at Coginchaug and help than ever,” Sinusas said. Collectors agreed that the event seemed like a success. Leslie Anderson of Durham, who drove a team, said she thought better publicity helped encourage people to leave more donations and respond positively when the students knocked on doors. “Houses were leaving a lot,” and often multiple bags, Ander-
son said. The four volunteers in her car were competing with each other in teams of two to see who could collect the most items. The Community Round-Up is not just a tradition for residents who leave donations out every year, it’s a tradition for the students. Sophomore Rowan O’Connell said, “I’ve been out every year since third grade.” For the first time this year, Rowan stayed at CRHS to unload and count. Sophomore Hayley McIntyre, who partnered with Rowan for the work and the trivia contests, said she has been involved in the last three Round-Ups. “I feel good for helping people See Round-Up / Page 5