Volume 20, Number 40
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
www.TownTimes.com
Friday, Januar y 17, 2014
New school superintendent starts By Mark Dionne Town Times
Dr. Kathryn Veronesi’s tenure as superintendent of schools in District 13 began with several days of weather events. Her first official day, Jan. 2, was the start of a twoday storm that required an early dismissal of students followed by a snow day. Her first full week began with a day of thaw followed by plummeting temperatures freezing everything that just melted. Needless to say, Veronesi’s first district work days have started in the very early morning, with phone calls to facilities workers and
neighboring superintendents. Having spent her professional career in Connecticut, Veronesi is used to snow days, but noted that the weather disruptions have delayed her plans to visit the schools. In an interview with Town Times, Veronesi described her first days as “a very smooth start.” Already, she said, “I feel like I’ve been here forever.” Veronesi steps into a district in the midst of signif icant mandated and potential changes. The switch to Common Core State Standards is changing the curriculum and testing. The Board of Education
is currently studying the future of the district’s schools, with a possibility of school reconfiguration or closings. Coginchaug Regional High School also needs a permanent principal. Veronesi said she was drawn to the position because of the community and the CORE ethical values articulated by the district. “I don’t think there’s a place I go where there isn’t someone from Durham or Middlefield,” she said, describing the community as truly supportive of education. As she did at the BOE meeting where she was officially hired, Veronesi referred
to the CORE ethical values of respect, responsibility, honesty, kindness, and courage which school officials pledge to instill in the district. “That last CORE value of courage, that’s an unusual CORE value for a school district to identify and that spoke to me,” Veronesi said. “We have to have the courage to do what we believe is best for the kids.” According to Veronesi, the small town of Hebron, where she worked as an elementary principal and interim superintendent, shares some characteristics of District 13, such Dr. Kathryn Veronesi, new superintendent of District 13 See Superintendent / Page 20 schools.
Saddlebrook Farm horses deal with harsh winter By Diana Carr
We know winter tempera- what it’s like for the horses tures can take a toll on us, you pass on your way somebut did you ever wonder where? Are they counting the days ’til Spring, too? “Horses do better in the cold than people think,” said Jeff Doyle, trainer at Saddlebrook Farm, Durham, which is home to 35 horses. Doyle said, “In moderately cold weather, they do better than in the heat, which can bring on heat exhaustion and dehydration. Horses are very similar to people in a lot of ways. Some do better in the cold than others. It’s just common sense. If it’s hot, keep them cool. If it’s cold, keep them warm. “In winter they don’t want to stay out. Some go out for four to six hours, and others go out for a half-hour and then want to come in. Two to six hours is the norm. If it’s below 20 degrees they With frigid temperatures bearing down, horse farm don’t go out. Instead, we put owners Jeff and Kathy Doyle take special precautions them, one at a time, into our to care for their 35 horses. Special to Town Times
indoor ring.” “We put hay out for them when they go outside in the winter,” said his wife, Kathy, “but they have nothing to graze on, so they get bored.” Although there are coyotes in the area, this has never been a problem, the Doyles said. Coyotes usually come out at night, when the horses are in. Winters do require some adjustments in the care of horses. They’re blanketed, both inside the barn and when they are outside; except for one pony. “Clyde will not wear a blanket,” Doyle said. “He just rips it off. But his coat is so thick that he doesn’t need it.” The horses need a bit more hay in the winter, to build body heat. When the temperatures are frigid, Doyle puts hot water over their grain at night to warm the meal. “It’s like us having
a bowl of oatmeal in the winter,” he said. Most important is the water. Because they tend to drink less in the winter, Doyle gives the horses salt to make them thirsty. “If they don’t drink, their bowels and their intestinal tract dry out and they get impacted,” he said. “They can’t pass anything and so they get colic, which is a blockage in their intestines. If we have a horse with digestive problems, we put vegetable oil or corn oil in their feed to keep things flowing. If that doesn’t work, we put some probiotics in there, too. “I like to move them around in the winter, to keep the circulation going. I work them all winter, but not as hard as I usually would. I don’t want to stress them.” Doyle finds the winters See Horse / Page 11