B EE I NTELLIGENCER B EE I NTELLIGENCER Informing the towns of Middlebury, Southbury, Woodbury, Naugatuck, Oxford and Watertown Volume VIII, No. 9 Friday, March 2, 2012 A FREE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER FREE Prst. Std. U.S. Postage Paid Naugatuck, CT #27 “Nobody really cares if you’re miserable, so you might as well be happy.” ~ Cynthia Nelms Book Review .................... 2 Adoptable pets................. 8 Classifieds ........................ 7 Community Calendar........ 2 Computer Tip ................... 8 Fire Log............................ 2 Frugal Mummy ................. 5 In Brief ............................. 4 Legal Notices ................... 7 Library Happenings........... 2 Obituaries ........................ 5 Parks & Rec ...................... 6 Puzzles............................. 7 Reg. 15 School Calendar ..3 Senior Center News.......... 3 Varsity Sports Calendar..... 6 Inside this Issue Published weekly by The Middlebury Bee Intelligencer Society, LLC - 2030 Straits Turnpike, Middlebury, CT 06762 - Copyright 2012 Editorial Office: Email: [email protected]Phone: 203-577-6800 Mail: P.O. Box 10, Middlebury, CT 06762 Advertising Sales: Email: [email protected]UPCOMING EVENTS Our office is at 2030 Straits Turnpike, Suite 1 203-577-6800 Mail: P.O. Box 10, Middlebury, CT 06762 THURSDAY March 8 Region 15 Budget Workshop When: 5 to 7 p.m. What: Discuss budget-related concerns with Board of Education members Where: Central Office Large Conference Room in Middlebury Middlebury Boy Scouts Troop 5 Bottle Drive When: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. What: Scouts will collect Connecticut deposit bottles, cans and plastics Where: Village Square Plaza at 530 Middlebury Road in Middlebury SATURDAY March 10 Giants fan heads to Super Bowl with Pats families Page 6 By CRISTINA COMMENDATORE If Region 15 School Superintendent Dr. Frank Sippy prevails, the school budget will remain as is for 2012-13. Sippy recom- mended a flat $60.25 million budget to Re- gion 15 Board of Education (BoE) members during Monday’s meeting. Sippy’s proposal includes $832,475 in savings for costs including health insurance, textbooks, and sick and severance pay. In addition, both towns will receive extra money in education funding from the state – Middlebury will receive $744,282 ($30,048 more than last year), and Southbury will receive $2.6 million ($96,669 more). Sippy also anticipates a $350,000 savings for re- tirement incentives, depending on how many teachers take advantage of the plan. Two weeks ago, Sippy suggested the dis- trict add Scientific Research-Based Inter- vention (SRBI) specialists to provide more in-depth support for students who need it. SRBI relies on scientific-research-based instruction and intervention to meet stu- dents’ needs and looks at achievements in reading, math and social/behavioral per- formance. His proposal includes reassign- ing 7.6 full-time teachers, mostly as inter- vention specialists, and hiring another high school media center teacher and one spe- cial education chairman, whose position would be funded by a grant. The proposal also includes using $400,000 from the capitol carryover account to pay for a new physical science lab at Pom- peraug High School, install a new heating and air conditioning system in the eighth- grade wing at Memorial Middle School, and add 35 SMART Boards to the middle schools. The proposal does not fund an elemen- tary technology program, expansion of the world languages program or a health pro- gram at the middle schools. Sippy said none of these programs are bad ideas, but adding one may negatively impact something else. At the end of his presentation, Sippy gave the BoE and those in attendance his ze- ro-increase recommendation. “We’ve done our due diligence,” Sippy said. “We’ve done what we said we would do. We understand the process and to do it well, you have to think about the whole system, not just its parts.” BoE Chairman Janet Butkus thanked Sippy and Region 15 Finance Director Keith McLiverty for the late-night number crunching to get to this proposal. “I didn’t see the number ahead of time,” she said. “I’m very excited to see this.” During citizen comments, Maureen Nee, a mother of three Pomperaug Elementary School children, said she believes it will be difficult to teach students 21st-century skills without expanding the world languages program or adding a technology teacher at the elementary schools. “I think it really puts our kids at a disadvantage,” she said. The budget remains the same even Sippy recommends flat school budget By TERRENCE S. MCAULIFFE The Middlebury Conservation Commission (CC) at its Feb. 28 meeting approved changes to the Bullet Bowl ride at Quassy, re- quested remediation details for a re-subdivision at Burr Hall Es- tates, accepted applications for two new permits and three permit modifications, and requested a remediation plan for an oversize retaining wall at 79 Watertown Road. The Quassy addition of a 40- by 50-foot splash pool, a tube slide and two regular slides to the Bul- let Bowl water raft ride was unan- imously approved, as was relo- cating a giant slide previously planned for the wooden roller coaster area. Attorney Michael McVerry told commissioners the additions all would fit in the for- mer Mad Mouse footprint, and Quassy owner Eric Anderson said a self-contained water recircula- tion would produce much less backwash than other systems in the park. Michael Ferrara’s application to modify a re-subdivision of Lot 1b Burr Hall Estates on Burr Hall Road was continued to March 27. Ferrara told commissioners the 2008 approved placement of a proposed house would not fit an anticipated in-law configuration nor be as aesthetically pleasing as an alternate placement in the pro- tected area, and he staked the new and old locations for a site visit. Commissioners agreed the new placement worked better in the steep topography and asked him to provide a mitigation plan to add wetlands in place of disturbed areas in a ratio of three to one. An application by Rick Err- ichetti to modify permits for ren- ovation of Lake Quassapaug beachfront property at 1814 Mid- dlebury Road was unanimously accepted. Errichetti said he wanted to increase the size of a swimming pool, move it closer to the shoreline, and move a dock closer to a stone wall for aesthet- ics. A Quinnipiac Game Associa- tion application to swap the phas- ing of dredging at Atwood Pond was unanimously accepted. As- sociation representative Paul Luc- china said the area of higher depth needed to be dredged be- fore the more shallow side, requir- ing a change to the labeling of approved plans. A County Line Nissan appli- cation to correct an unapproved installation of oil and fluid collec- tion tanks was unanimously ac- cepted. A violation notice was issued Jan. 31 when Wetlands Enforcement Officer Deborah Seavey told commissioners the tanks had no containment area to control spills. Paul Lavallee of Dy- mar said a miscommunication between project teams caused the permits to be overlooked. He said the four double-walled tanks would contain new and used oil, new transmission fluid and used antifreeze. A draft plan to con- struct an enclosed delivery area with 14-inch containment was agreed after lengthy discussion. An application by Toula Ka- loidis to construct a driveway over wetlands at 2065 Middlebury Road was unanimously accepted. Ioannis Kaloidis told commis- sioners the driveway was neces- sary so land owned by his mother could be subdivided for him to build a house. Civil Engineer Ron- ald Wolff said a new driveway would extend from an existing driveway and utilize a culvert to allow water flow between wetland ponds he described as partially manmade during 1980s construc- tion. Landscape designer Lisa Turoczi told commissioners she was developing plans to enhance the property and restore wetlands to be natural and useful for wild- life. Kaloidis agreed to stake the proposed house and driveway for a site walk. An application by Chemtura to clear cut a 25-foot perimeter of woody vegetation around Long Meadow Pond Dam was unani- mously accepted. Environmental professional Stuart Manley of Conestoga-Rovers and Associates said clear cutting was a necessary first phase to assess the amount of additional routine mainte- nance necessary in a subsequent repair phase. In enforcement matters, Fer- nando Banco responded to a vi- olation notice for a concrete block retaining wall he built at 79 Wa- tertown Road at least three times higher than the five feet approved in August 2010. Commissioners cited the danger of his swimming pool collapsing the wall and al- lowing chlorinated water to spill into wetlands as well as construc- tion debris and unsightliness. Chairman Paul Bowler said the commission reluctantly agreed to allow a retaining wall when Banko said he wanted a flat space for the safety of his twin sons. Bowler said the approved five-foot wall had become a dangerous 15-foot cliff that never would have been ap- proved. Banko argued he had an en- gineering report certifying the wall was safe, but Bowler said the problem was the difference be- tween what was approved versus what was built. He called it a nightmare and one of the worst projects he’d been involved with in 10 years of being a commis- sioner. Seavey said Banko had two options: either come back to the commission with a plan to bring the wall into compliance with his permit or face a restoration order and legal action. The next regular CC meeting is Tuesday Mar. 27 at 7:30 p.m. Conservation Commission notes – See Budget on page 8 The snow coating trees on the Middlebury Green last week is an unusual sight this winter. By Tuesday, warm weather had taken most of the snow away, but a new snow storm was due in Wednesday afternoon. (Marjorie Needham photo) By MARJORIE NEEDHAM A Sunday “blue law” bill an- nounced by Gov. Dannel P. Mal- loy in a Saturday, Jan. 14, press conference in Enfield may appear to help consumers and Connecti- cut businesses, but two local package store owners say the bill will harm, not help, their busi- nesses. Both Robert Heusted of Middlebury Fine Wine and Spir- its and Bob Zabit of Larry’s Wine and Spirits went to Hartford Tuesday for the public hearing on the bill. Zabit said Wednesday, “People see the headlines, ‘Cheaper Prices, Open Sunday,’ and they don’t realize what is in the bill.” He said what scares him most is the quantity discount, which is not currently allowed. Package store owners now pay the same per-case price whether they buy one case or 50 cases. The bill will allow quantity discounts, so the more cases a store buys, the less the store will pay per case. That’s not the only discount the bill offers. Now, a store is lim- ited by minimum pricing. It can sell a bottle for no less than what it paid for the bottle. If the bill passes, a store will be able regis- ter five items each month that it will sell for as much as 10 percent less than it paid for the items, Zabit said. This would move Con- necticut package stores into the area of loss leaders, something frequently seen in grocery stores. Loss leaders are sold for less than their cost with the idea customers will purchase other items that will make up for the loss. Heusted agreed the bill isn’t just about allowing liquor stores to be open Sundays. “Sundays is the mildest piece,” Heusted said Monday. “And it’s the piece the public supports.” Heusted said the bill also would create a medallion system for liquor stores in which each existing liquor store would be issued a medallion. Medallions could then be sold anywhere in the state, i.e., under the original proposal there could have been an unlimited number of liquor stores in Middlebury. Malloy Monday night changed that pro- vision back to the existing limit of one liquor store for every 2,500 residents in a community. Heusted also is concerned about the bill doing away with minimum pricing. He said this would put large warehouse op- erations at a distinct advantage over small locally owned pack- age stores. “When you add it all up, this is a bill to let big money and deep pockets take over the business in Connecticut,” Heusted said. “This looks like a political payoff to me.” While Malloy has pitched this as a way to lower prices for con- sumers, Heusted said having three to four small package stores in town causes lower prices nat- urally through competition. Noting that many shopping centers have grocery stores and a small package store, Heusted said, Malloy’s bill would allow grocery stores to put in their own package stores. “It’s just handing the industry to big business,” he said. Malloy’s original bill also raised the number of stores a person or entity could own to nine from two. However, he mod- ified that Monday night, too, lowering the number to six. Zabit said the liquor commis- sion has said it wants Connecti- cut to be competitive with sur- rounding states. But, Zabit said, the commission didn’t mention package stores in surrounding states pay lower excise taxes and lower sales taxes. He said most of the legislators at Tuesday’s hearing appeared sympathetic to the small package store owners, and he said he was very proud of the package store owners who attended. “They were calm, the meeting was or- derly, and there was no shouting, even though these are people’s livelihoods that are threatened,” he said. The proposed bill is Gover- nor’s Bill No. 5021. It’s not about Sunday
Transcript
Bee IntellIgencerBee IntellIgencerInforming the towns of Middlebury, Southbury, Woodbury, Naugatuck, Oxford and Watertown
Volume VIII, No. 9 Friday, March 2, 2012A FREE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
FREE
Prst. Std. U.S. Postage PaidNaugatuck, CT
#27
“Nobody really cares if you’re miserable, so you might as well be happy.” ~ Cynthia Nelms
Book Review ....................2Adoptable pets.................8Classifieds ........................7Community Calendar ........2Computer Tip ...................8Fire Log ............................2Frugal Mummy .................5In Brief .............................4
Legal Notices ...................7Library Happenings ...........2Obituaries ........................5Parks & Rec ......................6Puzzles.............................7Reg. 15 School Calendar ..3Senior Center News ..........3Varsity Sports Calendar .....6
Inside this Issue
Published weekly by The Middlebury Bee Intelligencer Society, LLC - 2030 Straits Turnpike, Middlebury, CT 06762 - Copyright 2012
Region 15 Budget WorkshopWhen: 5 to 7 p.m. What: Discuss budget-related concerns with Board of Education membersWhere: Central Office Large Conference Room in Middlebury
middlebury Boy scouts troop 5 Bottle DriveWhen: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.What: Scouts will collect Connecticut deposit bottles, cans and plasticsWhere: Village Square Plaza at 530 Middlebury Road in Middlebury
saturdayMarch 10
Giants fan heads to Super Bowl with Pats families
page 6
By CRISTINA COMMENDATORE
If Region 15 School Superintendent Dr. Frank Sippy prevails, the school budget will remain as is for 2012-13. Sippy recom-mended a flat $60.25 million budget to Re-gion 15 Board of Education (BoE) members during Monday’s meeting.
Sippy’s proposal includes $832,475 in savings for costs including health insurance, textbooks, and sick and severance pay. In addition, both towns will receive extra money in education funding from the state – Middlebury will receive $744,282 ($30,048 more than last year), and Southbury will receive $2.6 million ($96,669 more). Sippy also anticipates a $350,000 savings for re-tirement incentives, depending on how many teachers take advantage of the plan.
Two weeks ago, Sippy suggested the dis-trict add Scientific Research-Based Inter-vention (SRBI) specialists to provide more in-depth support for students who need it. SRBI relies on scientific-research-based
instruction and intervention to meet stu-dents’ needs and looks at achievements in reading, math and social/behavioral per-formance. His proposal includes reassign-ing 7.6 full-time teachers, mostly as inter-vention specialists, and hiring another high school media center teacher and one spe-cial education chairman, whose position would be funded by a grant.
The proposal also includes using $400,000 from the capitol carryover account to pay for a new physical science lab at Pom-peraug High School, install a new heating and air conditioning system in the eighth-grade wing at Memorial Middle School, and add 35 SMART Boards to the middle schools.
The proposal does not fund an elemen-tary technology program, expansion of the world languages program or a health pro-gram at the middle schools. Sippy said none of these programs are bad ideas, but adding one may negatively impact something else.
At the end of his presentation, Sippy gave
the BoE and those in attendance his ze-ro-increase recommendation. “We’ve done our due diligence,” Sippy said. “We’ve done what we said we would do. We understand the process and to do it well, you have to think about the whole system, not just its parts.”
BoE Chairman Janet Butkus thanked Sippy and Region 15 Finance Director Keith McLiverty for the late-night number crunching to get to this proposal. “I didn’t see the number ahead of time,” she said. “I’m very excited to see this.”
During citizen comments, Maureen Nee, a mother of three Pomperaug Elementary School children, said she believes it will be difficult to teach students 21st-century skills without expanding the world languages program or adding a technology teacher at the elementary schools. “I think it really puts our kids at a disadvantage,” she said.
The budget remains the same even
sippy recommends flat school budget
By TERRENCE S. MCAULIFFE
The Middlebury Conservation Commission (CC) at its Feb. 28 meeting approved changes to the Bullet Bowl ride at Quassy, re-quested remediation details for a re-subdivision at Burr Hall Es-tates, accepted applications for two new permits and three permit modifications, and requested a remediation plan for an oversize retaining wall at 79 Watertown Road.
The Quassy addition of a 40- by 50-foot splash pool, a tube slide and two regular slides to the Bul-let Bowl water raft ride was unan-imously approved, as was relo-cating a giant slide previously planned for the wooden roller coaster area. Attorney Michael McVerry told commissioners the additions all would fit in the for-mer Mad Mouse footprint, and Quassy owner Eric Anderson said a self-contained water recircula-
tion would produce much less backwash than other systems in the park.
Michael Ferrara’s application to modify a re-subdivision of Lot 1b Burr Hall Estates on Burr Hall Road was continued to March 27. Ferrara told commissioners the 2008 approved placement of a proposed house would not fit an anticipated in-law configuration nor be as aesthetically pleasing as an alternate placement in the pro-tected area, and he staked the new and old locations for a site visit. Commissioners agreed the new placement worked better in the steep topography and asked him to provide a mitigation plan to add wetlands in place of disturbed areas in a ratio of three to one.
An application by Rick Err-ichetti to modify permits for ren-ovation of Lake Quassapaug beachfront property at 1814 Mid-dlebury Road was unanimously accepted. Errichetti said he
wanted to increase the size of a swimming pool, move it closer to the shoreline, and move a dock closer to a stone wall for aesthet-ics.
A Quinnipiac Game Associa-tion application to swap the phas-ing of dredging at Atwood Pond was unanimously accepted. As-sociation representative Paul Luc-china said the area of higher depth needed to be dredged be-fore the more shallow side, requir-ing a change to the labeling of approved plans.
A County Line Nissan appli-cation to correct an unapproved installation of oil and fluid collec-tion tanks was unanimously ac-cepted. A violation notice was issued Jan. 31 when Wetlands Enforcement Officer Deborah Seavey told commissioners the tanks had no containment area to control spills. Paul Lavallee of Dy-mar said a miscommunication between project teams caused the
permits to be overlooked. He said the four double-walled tanks would contain new and used oil, new transmission fluid and used antifreeze. A draft plan to con-struct an enclosed delivery area with 14-inch containment was agreed after lengthy discussion.
An application by Toula Ka-loidis to construct a driveway over wetlands at 2065 Middlebury Road was unanimously accepted. Ioannis Kaloidis told commis-sioners the driveway was neces-sary so land owned by his mother could be subdivided for him to build a house. Civil Engineer Ron-ald Wolff said a new driveway would extend from an existing driveway and utilize a culvert to allow water flow between wetland ponds he described as partially manmade during 1980s construc-tion. Landscape designer Lisa Turoczi told commissioners she was developing plans to enhance the property and restore wetlands
to be natural and useful for wild-life. Kaloidis agreed to stake the proposed house and driveway for a site walk.
An application by Chemtura to clear cut a 25-foot perimeter of woody vegetation around Long Meadow Pond Dam was unani-mously accepted. Environmental professional Stuart Manley of Conestoga-Rovers and Associates said clear cutting was a necessary first phase to assess the amount of additional routine mainte-nance necessary in a subsequent repair phase.
In enforcement matters, Fer-nando Banco responded to a vi-olation notice for a concrete block retaining wall he built at 79 Wa-tertown Road at least three times higher than the five feet approved in August 2010. Commissioners cited the danger of his swimming pool collapsing the wall and al-lowing chlorinated water to spill into wetlands as well as construc-
tion debris and unsightliness. Chairman Paul Bowler said the commission reluctantly agreed to allow a retaining wall when Banko said he wanted a flat space for the safety of his twin sons. Bowler said the approved five-foot wall had become a dangerous 15-foot cliff that never would have been ap-proved.
Banko argued he had an en-gineering report certifying the wall was safe, but Bowler said the problem was the difference be-tween what was approved versus what was built. He called it a nightmare and one of the worst projects he’d been involved with in 10 years of being a commis-sioner. Seavey said Banko had two options: either come back to the commission with a plan to bring the wall into compliance with his permit or face a restoration order and legal action.
The next regular CC meeting is Tuesday Mar. 27 at 7:30 p.m.
conservation commission notes
– See Budget on page 8
The snow coating trees on the Middlebury Green last week is an unusual sight this winter. By Tuesday, warm weather had taken most of the snow away, but a new snow storm was due in Wednesday afternoon. (Marjorie Needham photo)
By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
A Sunday “blue law” bill an-nounced by Gov. Dannel P. Mal-loy in a Saturday, Jan. 14, press conference in Enfield may appear to help consumers and Connecti-cut businesses, but two local package store owners say the bill will harm, not help, their busi-nesses. Both Robert Heusted of Middlebury Fine Wine and Spir-its and Bob Zabit of Larry’s Wine and Spirits went to Hartford Tuesday for the public hearing on the bill.
Zabit said Wednesday, “People see the headlines, ‘Cheaper Prices, Open Sunday,’ and they don’t realize what is in the bill.” He said what scares him most is the quantity discount, which is not currently allowed. Package store owners now pay the same per-case price whether they buy one case or 50 cases. The bill will allow quantity discounts, so the more cases a store buys, the less the store will pay per case.
That’s not the only discount the bill offers. Now, a store is lim-ited by minimum pricing. It can sell a bottle for no less than what it paid for the bottle. If the bill passes, a store will be able regis-ter five items each month that it will sell for as much as 10 percent less than it paid for the items, Zabit said. This would move Con-necticut package stores into the area of loss leaders, something frequently seen in grocery stores. Loss leaders are sold for less than their cost with the idea customers will purchase other items that will make up for the loss.
Heusted agreed the bill isn’t just about allowing liquor stores to be open Sundays. “Sundays is the mildest piece,” Heusted said Monday. “And it’s the piece the public supports.”
Heusted said the bill also would create a medallion system for liquor stores in which each existing liquor store would be issued a medallion. Medallions could then be sold anywhere in the state, i.e., under the original proposal there could have been
an unlimited number of liquor stores in Middlebury. Malloy Monday night changed that pro-vision back to the existing limit of one liquor store for every 2,500 residents in a community.
Heusted also is concerned about the bill doing away with minimum pricing. He said this would put large warehouse op-erations at a distinct advantage over small locally owned pack-age stores.
“When you add it all up, this is a bill to let big money and deep pockets take over the business in Connecticut,” Heusted said. “This looks like a political payoff to me.”
While Malloy has pitched this as a way to lower prices for con-sumers, Heusted said having three to four small package stores in town causes lower prices nat-urally through competition.
Noting that many shopping centers have grocery stores and a small package store, Heusted said, Malloy’s bill would allow grocery stores to put in their own package stores. “It’s just handing the industry to big business,” he said.
Malloy’s original bill also raised the number of stores a person or entity could own to nine from two. However, he mod-ified that Monday night, too, lowering the number to six.
Zabit said the liquor commis-sion has said it wants Connecti-cut to be competitive with sur-rounding states. But, Zabit said, the commission didn’t mention package stores in surrounding states pay lower excise taxes and lower sales taxes.
He said most of the legislators at Tuesday’s hearing appeared sympathetic to the small package store owners, and he said he was very proud of the package store owners who attended. “They were calm, the meeting was or-derly, and there was no shouting, even though these are people’s livelihoods that are threatened,” he said.
The proposed bill is Gover-nor’s Bill No. 5021.
It’s not about sunday
PAGE 2 Friday, March 2, 2012The Bee-Intelligencer
middleburyPuzzlemania in March
The Sixth Annual Puzzlema-nia Contest will be Tuesday, March 6, at 5:30 p.m. at the li-brary. Call the library at 203-758-2634 to register your team, or stop in and pick up a set of rules at the circulation desk. Pre-reg-istration is a must as entrants are limited to 10 teams.
Free Walk-In Basic Computer Classes
The next free basic computer class will be Wednesday, March 7, from 9 to 10 a.m. It is a basic introduction for the first-time user and those seeking to refresh their PC skills. Topics covered are Microsoft Word, Internet searching, and email accounts. Classes are on a walk-in basis with a five-seat limit per class. No reservations accepted. For more information, contact Tech-nology Service Librarian Jo-Ann at 203-758-2634.
Brown Bag Book Discussion
The brown bag book discus-sion group will meet Wednes-day, March 7, at 1 p.m. to discuss “Sacred Hearts” by Sarah Du-nant. New members are wel-come. For more information, call Sue at 203-758-2634.
The Middlebury Library is at 30 Crest Road in Middlebury.
naugatuckTequila Grill Fundraiser
Thursday, March 8, from 5 to 9 p.m. at The Tequila Grill at 9 Church St. in Naugatuck, sup-port the Howard Whittemore Library while enjoying a great meal with family and friends! Specials for this night only will be $5 on select appetizers and margaritas.
Donate Cartridges, Electronic Equipment The library greatly appreci-
ates donations of old computer cartridges, cell phones, and dig-ital cameras for its recycling program. A portion of the pro-ceeds generated from this ongo-ing program will benefit the book budget and programs at the library.
The Howard Whittemore Me-morial Library is at 243 Church St. in Naugatuck. For informa-tion, call 203-729-4591.
southburyGet Children MovingThe Children’s Department is
launching a new monthly club to get kids in grades one to three
moving. The first “Wii Have Fun” meeting will be Tuesday, March 6, at 4 p.m. in the Kingsley Meet-ing Rooms. A variety of Wii games will be available for play, and light snacks will be served.
Registration is required; call 203-262-0626, ext. 3, or stop by the Children’s Department.
Lunch Bunch The Children’s Department
will offer a special Lunch Bunch program for children of all ages and their parents or guardians Thursday, March 8, at 12:30 p.m. They are invited to bring a brown bag lunch to the library for an “indoor picnic.” A newly released movie also will be shown. For more information, call 203-262-0626, ext. 3.
Teen Tech Week 2012Duct Tape Tech Covers
Teens in grades five to 12 can make duct tape covers Tuesday, March 6, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Protect those tech toys – smart phones and iPads and Kindles – with covers. Registration is re-quired.
Teen Tech Petting ZooTeens in grades five to 12 can
bring their devices to the first ever Teen Tech Petting Zoo Fri-day, March 9, from 4 to 5 p.m. Share the latest and greatest technology has to offer and learn how to download audio and e-books from the library’s website. Registration is required.
Needle Felting for TeensLocal crafter Katie Stevenson
will instruct teens in grades five to 12 in the art of needle felting Thursday, March 8, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Create a 3D sculpture using this fun and easy technique. Reg-istration is required. Call 203-262-0626, ext. 110, to register.
Parenting Book ClubThis ongoing book club ded-
icated to parents and caregivers
will meet Thursday, March 15, at 10 a.m. in the Brown Meeting Room to discuss “Loser” by Jerry Spinelly. The Parent/Parenting Book Club’s goal is to share and learn about the parenting adven-ture. It meets the third Thursday of every month and is facilitated by Southbury resident Yarel Mar-shall. Copies of the book are available for pickup at the circu-lation desk.
Youth Art Month Exhibit
Region 15 schools are observ-ing Youth Art Month with a dis-play of local student art work at the Gloria Cachion Art Gallery in the Southbury Public Library Wednesday, Feb. 29, through Thursday morning, March 29.
Check www.southburylibrary.org for more information. The library is at 100 Poverty Road in Southbury (203-262-0626).
WoodburyContainers
That Won’t QuitThe first in a series of garden-
ing programs will feature Amy Ziffer Saturday, March 10, at 2 p.m. as she shows there’s no mys-tery to creating container plant-ings that look great for months. By using the best plants for long-season performance, learn-ing how to imagine the finished container at planting time, and following up with a little needed maintenance, you can have a beautiful container garden in nearly any spot right up until frost. Ziffer has been designing container plantings for more than 10 years. Registration is re-quired as seating is limited.
Dr. Seuss Birthday PartyChildren are welcome to cele-
brate Dr. Seuss’s birthday Satur-day, March 10, at 3 p.m. They will decorate Cat in the Hat cupcakes, listen to some of his beloved sto-
ries, and enjoy their special treat. Registration is required.
Children’s Science Club Children ages 8 to 11 are wel-
come to join the library’s new FETCH! Science Club based on the PBS kids show. The club will meet Thursdays, March 15 to April 5, at 6 p.m. During the four weeks children will construct a catapult and launch marshmal-lows, test for the best way to make invisible ink reveal itself, learn about bridges and how they support weight, and learn about heating and cooling by making ice cream. Space is limited; reg-istration is required.
Block Island Art Exhibit
This month, Dr. Vincent de Luise of Woodbury will share an exhibit of photographs and post-ers of Block Island at the library. Thursday, March 15, the public is invited to a reception at 7 p.m., followed by a lecture at 7:30 p.m.
The de Luise family has lived in Woodbury more than thirty years, and during that time they have visited Block Island every year for summer vacations and autumn and spring getaways.
For de Luise, Block Island re-mains his “psychic space,” the place to which he enjoys going to rest, re-energize and recharge his batteries. He has spent count-less hours hiking the Greenway trails, biking its quiet roads and studying the many animals and plants of the island, some of which live virtually no where else on earth. This show brings to-gether some of the photographs the de Luise family has taken over the years, along with several of the more iconic Block Island posters they have collected.
Programs are free and open to area residents. For information, call 203-263-3502 or visit www.woodburylibraryct.org. The li-brary is at 269 Main St. South in Woodbury.
“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”
By Jonathan Safran Foer
Reviewed by Mary Conseur and Cristina Commendatore
“Extremely Loud and Incred-ibly Close” is the story of an 11-year old boy, Oskar Schnell, whose father was killed in the 9-11 bombings at the World Trade Center. A film version of this novel has been released and is showing in area theaters.
The film and the book both begin with Oskar’s father’s fu-neral and his empty coffin. Oskar is desperate for closure, saying, “If I could know how he died, I wouldn’t have to invent him dy-ing inside an elevator stuck be-tween two floors, and I wouldn’t have to imagine him crawling down the outside of the building, or trying to use a tablecloth as a parachute. There were so many ways to die and I just wanted to know which was his.”
Oskar is a loner with Asperger’s disease. He has no siblings, and, in the book, his widowed mother soon finds a boyfriend to console her. In the film, Oskar’s mother, as far as the viewer can tell, doesn’t have a boyfriend. Some uneasy feelings about Oskar’s mother and her new relationship can arise in the novel, which is told through Oskar’s perspective. The movie, also shown through Oskar’s eyes, leaves out his moth-er’s relationship, which makes her a bit more likeable.
Oskar’s only friend was his father. The only concrete re-minder he has of his father is the six voice messages his dad left on the home phone while he was dying in the World Trade Center on 9-11. Though being con-sumed by the flames, his father repeated, “I’m OK. Don’t worry. The firemen are coming. I’ll call again soon.” (pp. 14 and 15) His father’s phone calls and voice messages and Oskar’s reactions to them are just as moving in the
book as they are in the film.Both reader and viewer un-
derstand Oskar’s relationship with his father through Oskar’s flashbacks. A lot of their relation-ship is based on a game they used to play – a scavenger-type hunt for New York’s sixth bor-ough. After his father’s death, Oskar finds a key in his father’s closet and, believing it has some-thing to do with their game, de-termines to find the door or lock-box the key will open.
Oskar spends eight months scouring the five boroughs of New York City looking for an an-swer. He meets many people, each of whom teaches him a les-son about life and helps him on his road to self-discovery. He also learns he may never unlock the secret of his father’s death. Oskar’s adventure comes to a heartwarming, gratifying end in both the novel and the film.
The story doesn’t focus just on the 9-11 bombings; it also ties in the World War II bombings that Oskar’s German grandparents endured and the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The book goes into much more detail than the film, and a main differ-ence between the book and the film is in the film Oskar develops a close relationship with his grandfather, who was so psycho-logically traumatized by the bombings in Dresden in World War II he is mute.
The movie marquis touts stars Sandra Bullock and Tom Hanks as Oskar’s parents. Though they do a fine job, the performance of young Thomas Horton as Oskar is absolutely stunning. Keep a handkerchief handy while read-ing the book or watching the film.
Tuesday, March 6AARP Chapter 4960 Meeting12:30 p.m. .............................................. Middlebury Senior Center
Land Preservation6 p.m. ............................................................Town Hall Conference
Mental Health Support Group6 p.m. ........................... Russell Place, 1F, 969 W. Main, Waterbury
Water Commission7:30 p.m. ........................................................ Shepardson Room 26
Wednesday, March 7Zoning Board of Appeals7:30 p.m. .......................................................... Shepardson Room 5
Thursday, March 8Parks and Recreation7 p.m. ............................................................... Shepardson Room 1
Calendar dates/times are subject to changeIf your organization would like your event included in the community calendar, please e-mail the information to [email protected]
Middlebury Community Calendar
Middlebury Elementary School (MES) launched its “iPads For All Learners” program with a $2,220 grant from Thomaston Savings Bank Foundation. The MES Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) used the money to purchase four iPads and specialized applications so the school could launch the pilot pro-gram.
A multi-disciplinary team will direct using the iPads as an assistive device to provide special education students with customized educa-tional content, communication as-sistance, organizational support and academic tools as deemed neces-sary.
Initiated by school leadership with support from the school’s PTO, this program builds on demon-strated success in use of this tech-nology to help educate, communi-cate with and motivate special needs students in an instantaneous and portable way.
“At MES, we believe that learning must be personalized and reflect
the individual needs of each learner. Used properly, technology such as iPads and their specialized pro-grams can be a great tool for work-ing with each student in a way that makes sense to them, and we believe that this kind of flexibility is critical to the progress and well-being of students,” said MES Principal Jack Zamary.
MES PTO President Mary Barton shares the school’s enthusiasm for this project. “The school does a great job integrating technology through-out its educational programs and practice, and we see directly how it helps to facilitate learning for stu-dents of all abilities. The PTO is grateful to Thomaston Savings Bank Foundation for supporting this ef-fort,” Barton said.
School leadership will evaluate the program’s progress toward meeting current grant objectives. Based on progress and funding, the school hopes to expand its use of this technology in future academic years.
Bank helps fund ipad program
A Middlebury Elementary School student (name withheld at parent’s request) uses one of the school’s new iPads.
(Submitted photo)
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Friday, March 2, 2012 The Bee-Intelligencer PAGE 3
By CRISTINA COMMENDATORE
Middlebury Police Commis-sioners discussed the police de-partment’s vehicles and region-alizing the town’s dispatch during Monday’s meeting. They also heard Police Explorer Advi-sor Officer Otis Baskins’ take on Middlebury’s Police Explorers program, and Commissioner Cipriano mentioned out-of-town use of Middlebury’s police dog.
Cipriano reported two police cruisers are out of service due to old age, high mileage and me-chanical issues. One car has 93,000 miles; the other has 139,000 miles. He also thinks two more cars – one with 96,000 miles and another with 80,000 miles –may bite the dust soon.
“It’s our duty as commission-ers to see that our cars are in tiptop shape,” Cipriano said. “I don’t want to see what happened in Middletown years ago when an officer was killed in a pursuit happen here. I don’t want to be playing Russian roulette with these cars.”
Two new cars are in the select-men’s 2012-2013 budget pro-posal, but Cipriano expressed concern for the other two cars. Chairman Donald Ford said Po-lice Chief Richard Guisti makes decisions on the cruisers. Since Guisti wasn’t at the Monday meeting, Ford tabled the discus-sion for the next meeting.
Cipriano also said he’d like to see police use the motorcycle more to save on car and gas costs. “The motorcycle has only been used for parades and funerals and special events. I’d like to see it put to use this summer,” he said. Ford and Commissioner Paul Bowler agreed. The matter was tabled for discussion with Guisti March 12.
Cipriano then broached re-gionalization of police dispatch-ing. “I’ve been asked on the street by people saying they read in the newspaper we were going out of town for dispatch,” he said. Ford
said residents should address questions to the first selectman. Bowler agreed, saying, “It’s cur-rently outside our realm. There’s also a pending mandate on re-gionalization.”
Ford reported due to recent burglaries and larcenies, resi-dents should not leave valuables in their cars parked along the greenway, especially as the weather gets nicer.
Commissioners then heard Officer Baskin’s Middlebury’s Police Explorers program pre-sentation. Baskins said 20 youth are in the program, and they are seeking 10 more participants. The program is teamed with Wa-terbury’s Explorers, which has 200 kids. Boys and girls ages 11 to 20 who are interested in crim-inal justice careers can partici-pate.
The program includes three-hour meetings every Tuesday in Middlebury; physical training for summer competition events; and instruction in police department activity and procedures such as motor vehicle stops, handcuffing
techniques, undercover work, police dogs and drugs. Explorers also assist police at local events and volunteer around town when needed.
“It’s very, very strict,” Baskins said. “We have our own struc-ture. Kids have their own chief and two lieutenants. The kids run the program; I just get them started.”
Middlebury Explorers will hold an open house May 22 and a fundraiser June 2 to help pay for their equipment and uni-forms. For more information, call 203-577-4028.
Before the meeting ended, Cipriano said Naugatuck had written a letter thanking Middle-bury for using its police dog re-cently at Naugatuck High School. “We’ve offered the dog to our region, but they haven’t used it,” Cipriano said, noting the recent drug-related incident at Memo-rial Middle School.
The commission will meet Monday, March 12, at 6 p.m. in the Town Hall Conference Room.
If the diagnosis is Mild Cogni-tive Impairment or Alzheimer’s disease, would you want to be told? Does it matter whether it’s about you, or about a family member? Does that change your mind?
Dozens of studies were brought together to explore all facets of Mild Cognitive Impair-ment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease.
One of the studies revealed between 30 and 60 percent of doctors don’t disclose a diagno-sis if it’s dementia for fear of causing additional stress in both the patient and families.
But patients with MCI who already have stress didn’t get any worse after being told the diag-nosis, and sometimes the stress levels went down for both the patients and their families. Fam-ilies and patients want to know the memory or behavior prob-lems have a name, a diagnosis. Three-quarters of individuals in another study said it was impor-tant to know so they can explore all possible treatments and plan for the future.
When it comes to Alzheimer’s, 93 percent of people want the diagnosis disclosed if it’s about them. The reasons were possible early treatment and the basic right to know, as well as planning for assistance and learning to cope. But only 76 percent of fam-ilies felt the diagnosis should be revealed to the patient – which means there could be Alzhei-mer’s patients who won’t get told, if the families have their way.
Now the issue of labeling has taken a turn: It has been pro-posed that many patients who’ve been diagnosed with “very mild and mild” Alzheimer’s could more rightly be labeled as having
Mild Cognitive Impairment, based on their ability to carry out daily activities.
Matilda Charles regrets she cannot personally answer reader questions, but she will incorpo-rate them into her column when-ever possible. Write to her in care of King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475, or send email to [email protected].
(c) 2012 King Features Synd., Inc.
to tell, or not
senior Center News
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(Kathleen Brown-Carrano cartoon)
Spring Gala 2012
Call (203) 598-0186 for ticketsTickets are $35 for Adults and $20 Seniors/Students
Featuring a new, original production of Beauty & the Beast
SaturdayMarch 17, 2012 at 6:30pm
Mainstage Theater at Naugatuck Valley Community College750 Chase Parkway, Waterbury, CT 06708
Was She Your Doctor?Retired pediatrician Dr. Jessa-
mine Goerner will celebrate her 100th birthday Tuesday, March 6, at 2:30 p.m. at Middlebury Conva-lescent Home on Middlebury Road. Her friends and former pa-tients are invited to help her cele-brate; a head count is needed. Call 203-758-2471 to have your name put on the list of attendees.
AARP Meets WednesdayAARP Chapter 4960 will meet
Tuesday, Feb. 7, at 12:30 p.m. They will show a movie, and refresh-ments will be served. For more information or to reserve a seat, call 203-577-4166.
Computer Fundamentals Class
Bob Baron’s eight-week “Com-puter Fundamentals” class starts Wednesday, March 7, from 9 a.m. to noon. The course will cover computer basics, basics of word processing, using the computer keypad, using a database, file man-agement, an introduction to the Internet, and the basics of email.
The $35 cost includes the class instruction book. For reservations, call 203-577-4166.
St. Patrick’s Day PartyThe Middlebury Senior Center
St. Patrick’s Day party will be Fri-day, March 9, at 11:45 a.m. Tom “T-Bone” Stankus will entertain in the traditional Irish way, and the menu will be the traditional Irish corned beef and cabbage with the works. The cost is $7 per person. Call 203-577-4166 to reserve a seat.
Making Your Computer Safe
This computer safety class taught by Don Chabot will meet Monday, March 12, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. The class is a must if you are concerned about com-puter security. Learn how to safe-guard your personal information while using the Internet, what to look for in avoiding those nasty computer viruses, how to find out who is tracking you and how to limit your personal information exposure. Find out how to safely access and protect your financial
accounts/information.The fee is $10. Call 203-577-
4166 to reserve a seat; class size is limited.
Trips
West Point Dress ParadeTravel to West Point Academy
in New York to view its famous dress parade Saturday, April 28. With great pomp and circum-stance, the cadets march in full uniform in cadence with military music, presenting arms in unison. Enjoy a bountiful buffet at the Ho-tel Thayer, which offers an assort-ment of salads, hot and cold en-trees and an extensive sweets ta-ble. Also included in the excursion are guided tours of West Point’s highlights: the Cadet Chapel, Tro-phy Point and the Hudson River Lookout.
A Friendship Tours luxury coach will depart from Shepard-son Community Center at 8 a.m. and return to the lot at 6 p.m. The cost is $83 per person. Call Mid-dlebury Parks and Recreation at 203-758-2520 to reserve a seat.
Girl Scouts of Connecticut will be joined by Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, legislators, Girl Scouts, and supporters on Girl Scout Day at the State Capitol Wednesday, March 7. The focus of the day is for Girl Scouts to discuss and advocate for key is-sues impacting girls statewide.
An 11 a.m. press conference will detail Girl Scouts of Connecticut’s commitment to more educational opportunities in science, technology, engineer-ing, and math (STEM) for girls. A recently released study by the Girl Scout Research Institute, “Generation STEM: What girls say about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math,” reports
a majority of girls find STEM fields interesting, but only a small percentage pursue the fields as their top career choice. In fact, 57 percent of girls say if they went into a STEM field, they would have to work harder than a man to be taken seriously. Girl Scouts of Connecticut believes that these attitudes must be changed to ensure girls have just as much opportunity to succeed in these critical fields for the future. For more information, visit http://www.girlscouts.org/research/.
A reception in which legisla-tors can become a part of the Honorary Girl Scout Troop at the Capitol will immediately follow the press conference. Merrill will hand the torch of Honorary Girl
Scout Troop Leader to Wyman, who also is the 100th anniversary spokesperson for the organiza-tion.
“This day is an important part of what our organization is about,” Girl Scouts of Connecticut CEO Jennifer Smith Turner said. “We are advocates for all girls and a voice for girls statewide. It is important that girls have an op-portunity to speak with their own legislators, as the legislators can hear from the girls themselves about critical issues concerning them.”
All Girl Scouts, supporters, friends, and family are welcome to attend the day’s festivities. For more information, visit www.gsofct.org.
girl scouts to advocate for girls statewide
Pomperaug Woods residents, left to right, Dorothy Wargo, Barbara Cooper, Phyllis Baab (front) Mary Stratford, Jeannie Henry, and Virginia Armstrong prepare sandwiches for the homeless. Pomperaug Woods is partnering with Oxford Cadet Girl Scout troop 60187 to bring sandwiches to the Spooner House Homeless Shelter twice a month. (Submitted photo)
region 15 school CalendarMonday, March 5
CMT and CAPT ........................................................................... Begins
Tuesday, March 6LMES PTO ................................................................................9:30 a.m.PES PTO .........................................................................................7 p.m.
Wednesday, March 7PTO Advisory Council .....................CO Conference Room, 9:30 a.m. (10:30 a.m. for delayed opening)
Thursday, March 8Middle School ............................................................ Progress reports
Friday, March 9RMS ................................................................. March Madness at PHSCMEA Middle School Festival ............................................ Snow date
Saturday, March 10CMEA Middle School Festival ............................................ Snow datePHS ................................................................................................... SAT
Region 15 website: www.region15.org
1255 Middlebury Road (the Hamlet)Offering beer, wine & distilled spirits
With the stove in the kitchen at Middlebury’s Shepardson Community Center in dire need of replacement, Middlebury El-derly and Social Services Direc-tor JoAnn Cappelletti asked for donations towards a new stove. She said Tuesday donations are at $4,432. But she said those who use the stove the most aren’t the
biggest donors. An exception is the Knights of
Columbus, which uses the stove monthly and for its corn beef community dinner. It stepped up immediately with a $1,000 do-nation. The next two biggest do-nations came from the George Tzepos campaign, which do-nated $826.14, and Friends of Ed St. John, which donated $498.03.
Private citizens and local busi-nesses have contributed sums as large as $500. But most of the local nonprofits that benefit from the stove and use it often for fundraisers have donated noth-ing.
The highest donation from a local church is $100, yet some of the local churches use the kitchen multiple times through-out the year for fundraisers, sometimes for entire weekends. Local youth organizations that also use the kitchen for fund-
raisers haven’t donated anything either. And a local community service organization that uses the kitchen for its fundraisers also has donated nothing.
“I don’t know why they haven’t contributed,” Cappelletti said. “I’ve run into some of the mem-bers around town, and they told me they were going to donate, but we haven’t received dona-tions from them.”
Cappelletti said funds col-lected thus far are about what it will cost to buy the stove. How-ever, a new hood also will need to be purchased and installed, and a gas line will need to be run to the kitchen before the stove can be put in.
Donations can be sent to Shepardson Senior Center, ATTN: JoAnn Cappelletti, 1172 Whittemore Road, Middlebury, CT 06762. For more information, call 203-577-4166.
Robotics, Arts Open Houses
Robotics And Beyond and Vil-lage Center for the Arts (VCA) will share Open House Day Saturday, March 3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at VCA at 12 Main St. on the New Milford Green and at the railroad station at 11 Railroad St. in New Milford.
VCA will offer hands-on activ-ities, live music, classes-in-prog-ress, demos, games and refresh-ments. For more information on VCA, visit www.villagecenterarts.com or call 860-354-4318. For more information on Robotics And Beyond, visit www.robot-icsandbeyond.com or call 203-788-5971.
French ClassesThe Alliance Française of
Northwestern Connecticut (AF-NWCT) will offer a beginner class in French for adults on five con-secutive Saturdays beginning March 3 from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. at the Southbury Library at 100 Poverty Road in Southbury. Intermediate classes in French for adults will be in Watertown Tues-day evenings from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m starting March 6. The cost is $66 depending upon enrollment. For information, call 203-262-8594 or email [email protected].
Kosher Ski TripThe Chabad community will
converge at the Butternut Ski area for the “Ski With Chabad” event Sunday, March 4, beginning with a hot kosher breakfast at 7 a.m. at Chabad at 7 Village Green Dr. in Litchfield. Then attendees will board a coach bus to the Butternut Ski Area (www.skibutternut.com). Also featured will be a Great Slopeside all-you-can-eat kosher barbecue. The bus is scheduled to be back in Litchfield at 5:30 p.m. Reserve your space at www.cha-badNW.org/SKI or by calling 800-297-6864.
Alzheimer’s Support Group
A monthly support group for friends and family of people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias will meet Thursday, March 8, at 10:30 a.m. at the Fed-eration, Jewish Communities of Western CT at 444 Main St. North in Southbury. There is no charge for this open and ongoing group, whose purpose is to provide emo-tional, educational and social support for caregivers through regularly scheduled meetings.
Heather Hitchcock, Northwest-ern Regional Director of the Alz-heimer’s Association, will facili-tate. For more information, call Debby Horowitz, Brownstein Jewish Family Service director, at 203-267-3177.
Survival Skills For Women
Jane Doe No More, Inc. will offer Escape Alive-Survival Skills, a self-defense and survival skills training program for women, be-ginning Thursday, March 8, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the University of Connecticut Waterbury campus. Classes also will be offered throughout at other Waterbury locations and in Southbury, Mid-dlebury, Naugatuck and Litch-field.
Each session includes both lecture and physical training com-ponents; no experience is neces-sary. Classes are open to women ages 15 and older; participants younger than 18 must be accom-panied by a parent or guardian at the time of entry. Girls 12 and younger are welcome in the moth-er-daughter sessions; visit www.escapealive.net for complete de-tails and classes. For questions or to register, call Daniele Serrano at 203-768-2866 or email her at [email protected].
Money Matters For Women
Money Matters For Women will give an introductory seminar on money management for women Thursday, March 8, at 6 p.m. in the Wykeham Room of the Gunn Memorial Library at 5 Wykeham Road at Rte. 47 in Washington, Conn. The program is free and open to the public.
Registration is recommended. For more information or to reg-ister, contact Joan Kaplan at [email protected], visit www.moneymatters2women.com, or call the library at 860-868-7586.
Troop 5 Bottle DriveMiddlebury Troop 5 Boy
Scouts will hold a bottle drive Saturday, March 10, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Village Square Plaza at 530 Middlebury Road in Middlebury. All Connecticut de-posit bottles, cans and plastics will be accepted. If you need bot-tles and cans picked up, call Mi-chael Zinko at 203-758-8599 be-fore March 9.
Fly Fishing ExpoThe Housatonic Fly Fisher-
men’s Association annual Fly Fishing and Fly Tying Expo will be Saturday, March 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episco-pal Church at 65 North Main St. in Wallingford. Admission is free; visit www.hffa.net for directions.
The expo will feature fly tying demonstrations, including a spe-cial saltwater fly tying class. The cost is $3. Fly rod casting demon-strations & lessons (weather per-mitting) will be available. Fish-ermen can also bring their own fly fishing gear to sell or swap.
Seating is limited for the classes. For more information,
Middlebury Girl Scouts will celebrate the Girl Scouts’ 100th birthday Monday, March 12, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the firehouse on Tucker Hill Road. All are welcome to attend. Refreshments will be served.
Garden Club Bee LectureMiddlebury Garden Club will
present “Making Peace with Bees,” a lecture by Kathy Olson, a.k.a. The Bee Lady, Tuesday, March 13, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Larkin Room at the Middle-bury Public Library. Colony col-lapse disorder and other bee concerns will be discussed. A honey tasting will follow the lec-ture.
The public is invited to attend. The suggested donation is $5. For more information, call Christine Peckaitis at 203-758-8165.
Dunkin’ Donuts Scholarships
Dunkin’ Donuts will award 50 $1,000 scholarships to qualified high school seniors in the state. The application deadline is Thursday, March 15. Apply at www.dunkindonuts.com/schol-arship.
The merit-based scholarships will be awarded to students who demonstrate a well-rounded character both in and out of the classroom.
Von Trapp PerformanceElisabeth von Trapp, heir to
the legacy of the Trapp Family Singers, will perform at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, Conn., Saturday, March 24, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $40 each and can be reserved by calling St. John’s at 860-868-2527 or emailing [email protected]. Visit www.stjohnswashington.org for more information. St. John’s is at 78 Green Hill Road in Washing-ton, directly across from the town green.
Documentary ScreeningThe Jewish Federation of West-
ern CT and B’nai Israel synagogue will sponsor a free film screening of the documentary “UNMASKED: JUDEOPHOBIA” Sunday, March 25, at 10 a.m. at The Walzer Fam-ily Jewish Community Campus Social Hall 444 Main St. North in Southbury. A post-screening dis-cussion will be led by Director/Producer Gloria Greenfield.
“UNMASKED: JUDEOPHO-BIA” examines rising anti-Jewish ideology and threats to the exis-tence of Israel. The film screening is open to the public. Please RSVP to [email protected].
Bee IntellIgencerin•tel•li•gencer: n. One who conveys news or information
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed.
Issued every week by:The Middlebury Bee-Intelligencer Society LLC
Rochambeau Middle School (RMS) Student Council Officers, left to right, Kaleigh Studdert, Caroline Sanicola, Griffin Namin, Brooke Majewski and Lauren Oemcke are shown with Anne Morris, executive director of Susan G. Komen for the Cure Connecticut, after they gave her a $172 check. In October, RMS students and staff donated $1 on “Pink Day” for the privilege of wearing pink and/or buying a pink ribbon to help find a cure for breast cancer.
(Submitted photo)
“Pink Day” Donation
State Sen. Andrew Rorabak (R-30), speaking on Fox 61 News Tuesday night, summed up Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s Connecticut blue laws bill perfectly. He said of Bill 5021, “If you loved what Home Depot did to your local hardware store, and you loved what CVS did to your local drug store, you are going to love this bill.”
Touted in Stop and Shop stores as a bill that puts Connecticut consumers first and gives them the right to buy beer on Sunday, the “Connecticut Blue Laws” bill does much more than open pack-age store doors on Sundays.
At www.endctbluelaws.org, paid for by the Connecticut Food Association, of which Stop and Shop is a member, a benefit of the law is listed as, “In conjunc-tion with the creation of a new state-wide market for liquor li-cense medallions, Connecticut
grocers could purchase medal-lions to open separate package stores adjacent to their main stores.”
And what do you think will happen to all the small, locally owned package stores if this bill takes effect? The owners, whose actions Malloy describes as “out-rageous,” are mostly mom and pop operators. They are our friends and our neighbors. And with few exceptions, these small businesses won’t be able to com-pete against the large corpora-tions that will benefit from Mal-loy’s bill.
The website change.org offers a petition to reject Malloy’s bill. The site states the bill “will en-danger your local, independently owned wine and spirits shops” and “is a nod to out-of-state big box stores … and major super-market chains.” It predicts the bill could cost as many as 7,000 jobs
and run hundreds of small fam-ily-owned package stores out of business.
We agree. And we urge you to speak up for our small business owners.
Let’s get serious. The bill has been presented as a benefit to the consumer. Instead, it is a benefit to large corporations that will take over what has been a cottage industry and shut down hun-dreds, if not thousands, of small, locally-owned businesses.
How many small local hard-ware stores remain? How many small local drug stores remain? Do we want to live in a world where every company we do business with is a giant corpora-tion based in another state, or do we want to do business with our friends and neighbors and see the money we spend in these businesses continue to circulate in our own communities?
Liquor bill hurts small local businesses
stove donations don’t match stove use
Friday, March 2, 2012 The Bee-Intelligencer PAGE 5
Frugal Mummy
Obituaries
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Please ask your funeral director to send obituaries and photos to us at beeintelligencer@gmail. For more information, call 203-577-6800.
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Communities across the country are setting up spaces for gardens to be used by residents. If your town doesn’t have a com-munity vegetable garden yet, approach local leaders about setting one up on public prop-erty.
If you can identify in advance locations that would make good sites, you’ll have taken care of one possible objection. Look for vacant areas without trees that would block the sun (you need six hours per day, minimum), and stay clear of industrial sites because of the possibility of chemicals in the soil. Look for a flat location with access to water and parking.
If you provide town officials with a petition with signatures of people who would make use of the garden, so much the better. Enlist the input of your county extension office and any master gardeners you can find.
Once you have a suitable lo-cation, either community or pri-vate property (private schools, hospitals and churches are a good bet), decide on the size of each plot. You’ll need them to be uniform (provide two sizes) with paths between the plots. Plot sizes of 10 by 16 feet and 8 by 10 feet should be large enough to provide families with quantities of fresh vegetables.
Decide on a fee to charge for rental of the plots, with a portion of it to be given back at the end of the growing season if the plot is cleared of trash, and weeds have not been allowed to grow. Fees of $20 to $30 are reasonable.
Decide whether you want to provide tools or leave it to indi-viduals to bring their own. Query local hardware stores about the possibility of donations. Insist the whole garden be organic, with no insecticides or weed kill-ers allowed. (Pollutants can drift from one plot to the next.)
An area with a fence to keep out wildlife is ideal.
Set aside a large separate area
and require all those who have a plot to spend a certain number of hours working the community section with the vegetables going to food pantries and shelters.
For more specifics on how to begin, go online and search for “start a community garden” and add your state. Hunt, too, for towns near you that have already created a garden. They could provide a wealth of information. Setting up a community garden can be as easy – or as compli-cated – as you make it.
David Uffington regrets he can-not personally answer reader questions, but he will incorporate them into his column whenever possible. Write to him in care of King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475, or send email to [email protected].
(c) 2012 King Features Synd., Inc.
start a community vegetable garden
By CLAIR BOONE
Spring is just around the cor-ner, and with it we come out of enforced hibernation and feel motivated again. If I’m not alone in feeling a little extra pep, per-haps you, too, are thinking of ways to get organized again and even spring clean. Here are six easy ways to simplify your life and organize your belongings.
1. The one-year clothing rule. My closet space isn’t huge, but my array of clothes is, and so to accommodate them all I ro-tate. As I see winter disappearing and spring blooming, I go through my clothes and fold them into big totes that are housed in the basement. Before I store the clothes, though, I give them a good look. Those I love but have “magically shrunk in the wash” I reason with. Is it re-ally worth it to house these for another season?
The Rule: Those clothes that
haven’t been worn this past sea-son need to hit the thrift store.
2. Ditch the plastic contain-ers. Does your plastic ware col-lection look a little like mine used to? Boxes all over that somehow mysteriously lose their lids in the dishwasher like socks lose their match in the dryer? I received glass storage containers for Christmas and now use those instead. There are only five of them, and that’s just enough to make sure we use our leftovers.
3. Toy cleanup simplified. If your kids have more toys than hours in the day, you need cleanup help! Gather five baskets or containers and fill each with different toys. I decided to sepa-rate mine into categories. Then clean out a closet and put the baskets in there. Each day let your children pick a basket and get just that one out. It makes pickup easier and is a simple way to get toys out of the way.
4. The one touch rule for
mail. Designate one place for mail. If it comes when you’re running out or don’t have time place it on a table for later. Once you have a minute open each piece and sort into three piles: bills, junk, freebies. Move the bills to wherever they get paid, the junk to the recycle bin and the rest to its new home.
5. The two-minute cleanup rule. Do you ever feel over-whelmed by all that cleanup and just don’t know where to start? If so, then this easy rule is for you: If a job takes two minutes or less to do, then do it!
6. Make your bed daily. There’s something about a fresh-ly-made bed that sets you off right and helps pick you up the rest of the day, too!
Join Clair Boone and thou-sands of other savvy shoppers at www.facebook.com/mum-mydeals.org, or read her other tips at www.mummydeals.org.
6 steps to simplicity
Middlebury Road (Opposite the Shell Station)Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily
Anthony Calabrese 203-758-2765
Local eggs. Fresh daily. $3 per dozen
Deer Corn • Livestock and Poultry Feed
Bird Seed Headquarters Black Oil, Premium Mix, Sunflower Hearts,
Niger Seed (thistle for finches)Voted the best pizza in Middlebury
for 2012 by the Patch Readers.
203-598-7221One Store Rd., Middlebury, CT
~ Wood-fired Oven ~Closed Mondays
OPEN lunchand dinner
Happening at Pies & Pints
• Sunday: 1/2 price appetizer with any drink
• Tuesday: $2 select drafts• Thursday: Martinis and
margaritas for $5
•SAT., MAR. 3“80’S PARTY!!!”DJ, giveaways, drink specials,prizes for best 80’s outfit
The Westover School Varsity Flute Ensemble, front left to right, Director Lucy Heidkamp and Sunah Hong and back left to right, Sarah Krueger, Kathy Lee and Allison Rogers are shown at St. George’s Church in Middlebury. The ensemble performed there Jan. 30. (Submitted photo)
Judith A. D’AmbroseMiddlebury Resident
Mrs. Judith A. D’Am-brose, 77, of Middle-bury, passed away Feb. 27 at her home. She was the widow of Louis A. D’Am-brose Jr.
Judy was born in Waterbury Sept. 15, 1934, the daughter of the late Paul C. and Doris M. Allnutt. She was a graduate of Crosby High School and Waterbury Hospital School of Nurs-ing (class of 1955) in Waterbury and began her nursing career at Water-bury Hospital, where she worked on Pomeroy 5 and in the Hemodialysis Unit for 16 years. She continued her career at Abbott Terrace, where she was the director of staff develop-ment.
Following her retirement, she filled in as a school nurse for Pom-peraug Regional School District 15 and was on the staff of Sugar Plum Day Care in Naugatuck. She was de-voted to caring for others.
Judy enjoyed the beaches of Ogunquit and Wells, Maine, and Cape Cod, Mass. She also liked to spend time quilting, baking, watch-ing the New York Yankees and en-joying her family and friends, espe-cially her grandsons.
She was a member of the Mill Plain Union Church and the Ladies Guild, Order of Rainbow for Girls, Waterbury Hospital Alumni and Na-tional Gerontological Nursing Asso-ciation.
She is survived by her daughters, Lee Anne D’Ambrose; Jane Connery and her husband, Eric; and Barbara Henson; her grandsons, Christopher Henson and Justin Connery; her aunt, Evelyn McKay; and several cousins. She also leaves behind her extended family at 127 Joy Road.
Her family would like to thank the staff on Pomeroy 7 at Waterbury Hospital, Dr. John Mazzucco, Dr. Thomas Rockoff, Dr. Victor Chang and the staff of VNA Health Care of Waterbury HOPE Team for their care during her illness.
Her memorial service will be Sat-urday, March 3, at 11 a.m. at Mill Plain Union Church at 242 South-mayd Road in Waterbury. Her fam-ily requests those attending wear bright colors at this celebration of her life. Burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers, Judy requested contributions be made to the Mill Plain Union Church Endowment Fund, 242 Southmayd Road, Water-bury, CT. The Alderson Funeral Home of Waterbury is handling the arrangements. For online condo-lences, to share a story or light a candle, visit www.aldersonfuneral-homes.com.
Frank LanteriBrother of John Lanteri
Mr. Frank Lanteri, 46, of Water-town, passed away unexpectedly at home Feb. 24. He was the beloved husband of Dina (Zappone) Lanteri.
Frank was born in Water-bury May 25, 1965, a son of Johanna (Rossi) Lanteri and the late Vincent A. Lanteri Sr. He graduated from Kennedy High School and attended Mattatuck Community College. Frank was employed by Crystal Rock, LLC for the past 23 years and cur-rently held the position of route sales manager.
Frank was known for his charm-ing personality that touched the lives of his family and friends and his extended family at “The Rock.” Frank was very passionate, which fueled his love of sports and music and in-terest in politics, economics and astronomy. He will be missed by the many lives he touched and will never be forgotten.
Besides his wife and mother, Frank leaves his daughter, Francesca Estelle Lanteri, the pride and joy of his life. He is also survived by five
brothers: Joseph (Susan) of Water-bury, Vincent Jr. of Torrington, Mi-chael (Kim) of Waterbury, John of Middlebury, and James (Laurie) of Bristol in addition to a sister, Lois Lanteri of Gainesville, Fla. He also leaves his parents-in-law Robert and Beverly Zappone of Waterbury,brother-in-law Robert Zappone (Mi-chaele) of Thomaston and several nieces and nephews. He was pre-deceased by a sister, Susan Dunn.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. today, Friday, March 2, at Our Lady of Loreto Church in Waterbury. Burial will follow at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Wa-tertown. The Snyder Funeral Home at 114 Willow Street in Waterbury has been entrusted with arrangements. Online condolences may be ex-pressed at www.snyderfh.net.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations please be made in Frank’s memory to Francesca Es-telle Lanteri Trust Fund, c/o Webster Bank, 544 Straits Turnpike, Water-town, CT 06795.
John M. Sheedy Sr.Brother of Hon. B.J. Sheedy
John M. Sheedy Sr. passed away Feb. 28 at Saint Mary’s Hos-pital VITAS Unit, sur-rounded by his fam-ily, to begin his heavenly journey. He
was husband to Patricia (Sevigny) Sheedy.
John was born in Derby Aug. 24, 1944, a son of the late Christopher and Barbara (Trant) Sheedy. He re-sided in Naugatuck most of his life and retired from the State of Con-necticut Department of Transpor-tation after 35 years of service. He was a former member (retired) of the National Guard, Headquarters 2nd 102D. He served on the firing squad for military funerals, always believ-ing in honoring those who served. He belonged to the Eagle Club and the American Legion in Naugatuck.
He was a homebody who enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, watching the history chan-nel and taking care of his home. During his final days, John was sur-rounded by his nieces and nephews, family and friends. Please perform a random act of kindness in his honor. To the angels of VITAS, the family salutes you and thanks you for your special care.
Besides his wife of 38 years, he leaves his precious son, John Mi-chael Sheedy and fiancée, Jennifer Plonsky, of Stratford; his sister, Hon. B.J. Sheedy of Middlebury; his twin brother, Gerald Sheedy and his wife, Joyce, of Wolcott; his mother-in-law, Regina Sevigny and the late Ronald Sevigny Sr. and Ronald Jr.; his sisters-in-law, Louise Sheedy, Trudy Sheedy and Carol Tiso; his goddaughter, Heather Lynn Sheedy; and several nieces and nephews. He was pre-deceased by two brothers, Chris and Gary Sheedy; his sister, Ann Fitzger-ald; and his brothers-in-law, Bill Fitzgerald and Jim Tiso.
A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated today, Friday, March 2, at 11 a.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Church at 318 Church St. in Nauga-tuck. Friends are asked to meet di-rectly at the church at 10:45 a.m. Full military honors will be accorded at the church. To send an online con-dolence, visit www.naugatuckval-leymemorial.com.
Grace SutterlinLongtime Middlebury
Resident
Mrs. Grace (Town-send) (Moeckel) Sut-terlin, 93, of Water-bury, passed away Feb. 23 at the Aurora Senior Living Facility of Bucks Hill. She was
the widow of Harry Collier Moeckel and Albert Sutterlin. Her memorial service was Feb. 26.
Mrs. Sutterlin was born in Middle-bury Nov. 16, 1918, a daughter of the late Samuel and Grace (Foote) Townsend and was a graduate of Lar-son Junior College, now known as Quinnipiac University.
She was a longtime resident of Middlebury and had run the popcorn stand at Quassy Amusement Park for more than 35 years. She was a mem-ber of Middlebury Congregational Church and co-owned Park Florist in Waterbury for a number of years.
She leaves one son, Lonnie Sut-terlin and his wife, Karen of Moor-esville, N.C.; one daughter, Sandra Moeckel of Waterbury; five grand-children, Samantha Moeckel, Mi-chael Sutterlin, Neil Sutterlin, Silas Moeckel, and Emma Moeckel; and one great-grandson, Gunther Moeckel. She was predeceased by a son, Harry Collier Moeckel; a sis-ter, Hazel Mintie; and a grandson, Jeremy Sutterlin.
Burial will be at the family’s con-venience. For more information or to send an online condolence, visit www.aldersonfuneralhomes.com.
Martha A. VelezisMother of Nicholas A. Velezis
Mrs. Martha A. (Pis-tolas) Velezis, 96, of Waterbury, beloved wife of the late Atha-nasios D. Velezis, fell asleep peacefully Feb. 22 at Waterbury
Hospital. Her funeral was Feb. 25.Martha was born in Eptachorion
Kastoria, Greece, Jan. 20, 1916, the daughter of the late George and The-odora (Tziavas) Pistolas. She emi-grated from Greece Jan. 17, 1951. She left behind the horrors, displace-ments, and memories of her burning home caused by World War II and the subsequent Greek Civil War not only to seek a better life for her fam-ily, but also to reunite with her par-ents in the U.S.
Martha worked for the Siemon Company in Watertown for many years. She was a life-long member of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church and participated in many of their associations, including the church choir, Ladies Philoptochos, St. George Eptachorian Society, and Pan-Macedonian’s Association Chap-ter “Pindos” and served as the City of Waterbury’s “Greek Mayor of the Day.”
She devoted her life to her family and to her church. She enjoyed not only selling the pastry at the annual Greek Festival, but baking them as well. She was a contributor to the UConn Hellenic Culture Center and enjoyed gardening, singing, knitting, and baking.
Martha leaves five children, Nicholas A. Velezis and his wife, Ef-terpy, of Middlebury; James A. Vele-zis and his wife, Ramona; Elpiniki Gagas and her husband, Steve; George A. Velezis and his wife, Hel-ena; and Paul Velezis and his wife, Sonia. Her 10 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren will miss their beloved “Yiayia.”
Burial was in New Pine Grove Cemetery on Meriden Road in Wa-terbury. Memorial contributions may be made to Holy Trinity Greek Or-thodox Church Memorial Fund,
937 Chase Parkway, Waterbury, CT 06708. For more information or to send e-condolences, visit www.chaseparkwaymemorial.com.
MiddleburyMiddlebury Knights of Columbus will
hold its St. Patrick’s Day dinner Wednesday, March 14, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in the Shepardson Community Center audito-rium. Doors open at 5 p.m., and the Horgan Academy of Irish Dance will per-form at 7 p.m. The menu is a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner with a side dish, beverage, coffee and tea, and dessert.
Tickets are $14 for adults, $11 for se-niors, $7 for youth, free for children younger than 8 and $35 for five immediate family members. Tickets will be available at the door. All proceeds will go toward the Knights of Columbus Scholarship Fund.
St. John of the Cross Church will hold a St. Patrick’s Day luncheon and bingo for Middlebury seniors Saturday, March 17, at 12:30 p.m. in the Father Fanning Hall. RSVP by March 13 at 203-758-1346. The person wearing the most green will win a prize. The Middlebury mini bus will be available for those who need it. Call 203-577-4166 to reserve seats on the bus.
OakvilleVFW Post 7330 Ladies Auxiliary will
host a corned beef and cabbage dinner Sunday, March 4, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the post on 85 Davis St. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children younger than 12 and free for children younger than 5. Call 860-274-5225 for more information.
st. patrick’s Day Dinners
FInd US on
PAGE 6 Friday, March 2, 2012The Bee-Intelligencer
Litter VolunteersThe Parks and Rec Depart-
ment is providing supplies to volunteers who want to help pick up trash along the Greenway. Stop by the Parks and Rec office to sign up and get your supplies.
Pop Warner Football, Cheer Teams
The Pomperaug Pop Warner Football and Cheer Teams are open to Middlebury and South-bury residents who enjoy youth football and cheerleading. The football program is for players ages 7 to 15; the cheerleading program is for ages 5 to 15.
Register Saturday, March 3, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Mid-dlebury Parks and Recreation of-fice in Room 5 at the Shepardson Community Center at 1172 Whit-temore Road, or register at the
Southbury Parks and Recreation office Wednesday, March 7, from 6 to 9 p.m. or Saturday, March 10, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Registration is walk-in only! Football players must be present to be weighed in! Football and cheer participants must present a certified copy of a raised-seal birth certificate or passport! For more information, visit www.pomperaug warriors.com.
Babysitting ClassAn instructor from CPRO
Heart, LLC will teach a babysit-ting class for youth ages 11 to 15 Saturday, March 10, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Shepardson Commu-nity Center in Room 5. The course covers skills necessary to care for children of all ages with a focus on safety and basic first aid, including CPR, and an em-phasis on prevention. Other top-
ics include hand washing, dia-pering, feeding and fire safety. Please bring lunch and a snack. The fee is $57 for residents and $67 for nonresidents.
Bus TripNew York City
Two-Option TripSaturday, April 14, a deluxe
motor coach to New York City will depart from Shepardson Community Center at 9 a.m. on a trip that offers two choices: New York City on your own or a “Million Dollar Quartet” mati-nee. The bus will depart NYC at 5 p.m. for the return trip.
For New York City on your own, enjoy the sights, sounds and food of NYC at your leisure. The 24 seats for this option cost $30 per person.
The “Million Dollar Quartet” option includes a 2:30 p.m. mat-
inee of the acclaimed Broadway musical that recreates a 1956 gathering of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins at Sun Records in Mem-phis for one of the greatest jam sessions ever. The performance lasts 1-1/2 hours. The 20 seats available for this option cost $96 per person. Call 203-758-2520 for information or to reserve seats.
DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I’ve al-ways heard that at older ages, it doesn’t matter how high the first number of a blood pressure read-ing is; it’s bound to rise with age. My blood pressure is 185/70, and my doctor wants me to go on blood pressure medicine. My sec-ond number is fine. Why is he making a fuss? I am 67. I don’t like taking drugs. – W.S.ANSWER: You have heard wrong. Both numbers of a blood pressure reading are significant. If either is higher than normal, it indicates high blood pressure. It is true sys-tolic pressure, the first number, rises with age. And it is true the second number, diastolic pres-sure, tends to plateau after age 50. However, a higher-than-normal systolic or diastolic pressure con-stitutes hypertension, high blood pressure.
The first number is the pressure imparted to blood when the heart pumps it into the aorta. It takes a great deal of pressure to circulate blood through all the body arter-ies. The second number is the pressure in the heart as it fills with blood. Normal pressure is less than 120/80. High blood pressure is 140/90 and above. Numbers between those two pressures are called prehypertension, a short stop lower than actual high blood pressure.
You have high blood pressure, hypertension. You doctor made a fuss because uncontrolled high
blood pressure causes artery hard-ening, leads to strokes and heart attacks, puts the kidneys out of action, contributes to congestive heart failure and promotes de-mentia. Still think your pressure is OK?
If you are overweight, weight loss brings pressure down. So does shunning salt. It’s not the salt-shaker on the table that pushes people over the recommended daily limits (1,500 mg of sodium), but it is commercial foods. Become a reader of the sodium content of the foods you buy. Potassium lowers blood pressure. Potassium-rich foods are baked potatoes, bananas, orange juice, peas, beans, milk, spinach, squash, watermelon, figs and can-taloupe.
Be as physically active as your doctor allows.
If your pressure doesn’t fall, then you have to resort to medi-cines. Eight large drug families, yielding more than 57 different medicines, give you a wide choice
to bring your pressure down with-out side effects.
The booklet on high blood pres-sure will convince you of the im-portance of blood pressure con-trol. To order a copy, write to Dr. Donohue – No. 104W, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order for $4.75 U.S./$6 Canada with the recipi-ent’s printed name and address. Allow four weeks for delivery.DEAR DR. DONOHUE: What hap-pened to DMSO? It used to be available, but it has disappeared. Why? – W.K.ANSWER: DMSO – dimethyl sul-foxide – was very popular as a treatment for arthritic joints. It is rubbed on the skin over the aching joint. The Food and Drug Administration never approved it for that use, and that may be why it lost its appeal.
There is a dedicated doctor and a dedicated group of DMSO fans who feel the same as you. They’re trying to get the FDA to re-evalu-ate its stance on this substance.
DMSO is approved for the treat-ment of interstitial cystitis, a pain-ful bladder condition. The ma-terial is instilled into the bladder.
Dr. Donohue regrets he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his col-umn whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newslet-ters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.
(c) 2012 North America Synd., Inc. All Rights Reserved
Middlebury Legal Filings
1. Name the last rookie manager before Don Mattingly of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2011 to beat the defending World Series champions on Opening Day.
2. Only two major-league teams since 1900 started a season 0-6 and made the playoffs. Name either one.
3. Name the last 11-win team to not make the NFL playoffs.
4. In 2011, Doc (1980) and Austin Rivers became the sec-ond father-son basketball duo to be named McDonald’s All-Americans. Who was the first?
5. When was the last time an NHL team won back-to-back Northeast Division titles?
6. Name the first Major League Soccer team to win consecu-tive U.S. Open Cups?
7. In 2011, Joseph O’Brien be-came the youngest jockey to win a Breeders’ Cup race. How old was he?
Answers:
1. The New York Yankees’ Lou Piniella in 1986.
2. The 1974 Pittsburgh Pirates and the 1995 Cincinnati Reds.
3. The New England Patriots in 2008.
4. Milt (1981) and Dajuan (2001) Wagner.
5. Never since the division was formed before the 1993-94 season.
6. Seattle Sounders FC won three consecutive Cups (2009-11).
7. Eighteen.
(c) 2012 King Features Synd., Inc.
FInd The Bee-InTeLLIgenCer on
Middlebury Parks & recreation
Pomperaug high school Varsity Games
We need sports reportersWe want to cover local sports! Our readers want us to cover
local sports. We just need reporters to attend games/matches/meets and write about them. Reporters can be students or adults.
Would you like to help us cover sports? We’ll help you learn newspaper style, you’ll get a byline so everyone will know what you have written, and you’ll have clips to show colleges/potential employers. If you write well, love sports and would like to report on them for this newspaper, please call us at 203-577-6800 or email us at [email protected].
March 3 to 10, 2012CheerleadingSaturday, March 3 ............... Hartford Competition (A) .......................... TBAFriday, March 9 ................... State CIAC Championships (A) ................. TBASaturday, March 10 ............. State CIAC Championships (A) ................. TBA
Girls Indoor TrackSaturday, March 3 ............... New England Championships (A) .............. TBA
Boys SwimmingWednesday, March 7 ........... CIAC Diving Trials/Finals (A)............. 5:30 p.m.Saturday, March 10 ............. CIAC Qualifying (A) .......................... 3:30 p.m.
(H) Home (A) Away
Blood pressure: Both numbers are important
See our class schedule at usagymnastics.net 811 Straits Turnpike • Watertown, CT 06795
USA GyMNASTICS 860-945-6970
InstructIonal classes • BIrthday PartIes • cheerleadIng• Great foundation for other activities • Meet new friends
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We sell • Service • InstallMulch • Topsoil • Stone
Coming Soon – Trees, Shrubs, flowersDelivery available
tel. 203-723-9705 fax 203-723-9718open 7 days • 1483 New Haven Road, Naugatuck
By CRISTINA COMMENDATORE
Travis Allen, 27, of Southbury vividly remembers watching the 1991 Super Bowl, when the New York Giants beat the Buffalo Bills. He was 7. Since then he has been a huge Giants fan, and this year he got to go to the Super Bowl to see the G Men defeat the New England Patriots. Oddly enough, a Patriot gave Allen his ticket.
Allen, a 2002 Pomperaug High School graduate and a sergeant in the U.S. Army, came home from active duty in Germany in December. Now he is inactive in the reserves for the next year. Al-len served in Afghanistan for a year and in Iraq for 15 months during his seven years in the Army.
While Allen was in Afghan-istan, his sister, Lexi, began dat-ing Patriots offensive lineman Nate Solder before he was drafted. Allen met Solder at Christmas.
During the playoffs, when Al-len had a feeling the Giants would make it into the Super Bowl, he text messaged his sister about getting tickets. She told him Solder had only 15 tickets, and Allen wouldn’t be able to go. Soon after, she told him he had a ticket.
“I had no interest in going to a Super Bowl if it were two other teams going,” Allen said. “But the Giants at the Super Bowl is a dif-
ferent story.”Allen traveled to Indianapolis,
Ind., with Patriots friends and family members, flying on one of the team’s chartered jets. He was the lone Giants fan amid a crowd of 250.
“Nate knew I was a Giants fan,” Allen said with a smile. “His whole family knew. I made it very vocal before.”
Allen got to the game a few hours before it started. His seat was 21 rows back from the field, directly above the Giants’ en-trance tunnel.
“When I first went and sat down, I was kind of dumbstruck,” Allen said. “I don’t know how I got that seat when he had aunts, uncles and cousins in higher sec-tions.”
Allen wore his Victor Cruz jer-sey to the game. He sat with Sol-der’s uncle during the game and behind Patriot wide receiver De-ion Branch’s sister. Allen’s sister sat on the other side of the sta-dium. Throughout the game and when the Giants won, Allen jumped over aisles to high five surrounding Giants fans. He said he was relieved when the Giants won.
“I don’t hate the Patriots or anything – it’s not like they were playing the Eagles or Cowboys or a team I hate,” Allen said. “I did feel bad for Nate. Lexi was angry.”
When Allen met his sister after the game, he took off his jersey
Southbury resident Travis Allen, sporting his New York Giants Victor Cruz jersey, stands by his seat at this year’s Super Bowl in Indianapolis. Allen got his ticket to the game from his sister’s boy-friend, New England Patriots offensive lineman Nate Solder.
(Submitted photo)
giants fan heads to super Bowl with pats families
and tucked it in her purse before heading to a Patriots after party. Allen didn’t want to gloat in front
of the 250 Patriots relatives and friends who would share his re-turn trip to New England.
Period Feb. 1 – 15, 2012
Information provided courtesy of the Middlebury Town Clerk. Date given is the date the transaction was recorded.
Despres, Vanessa for CMB Ex-change LLC dba American Oil Solu-tions on 2/1, Trade Name File (403 Washington Dr.), Trade Name.
Placke, Beth to Pisani, Giuseppe N. / Pisani, Mary Jean on 2/1, 119 Falcon Crest Rd. via War for $520,000.
Fletcher, Edward W., Est. / Fletcher, Marilyn J., aka / Fletcher, Marilyn J., Tr. to Fletcher, Edward W., Est. / Fletcher, Marilyn J., aka / Fletcher, Marilyn J., Tr. on 2/1, 38 Avalon Dr. / Vol 261 Pg 220 / Trust Affidavit, Affidavit.
Moniot, Richard Paul aka Est to Moniot, Richard Paul aka Est. on 2/2, Fiduciary Appointment, Probate.
Trentalange, Michael W. to Trentalange, Paul, Tr. on 2/3, 530 Whittemore Rd. via Q.C. for -0-.
DeSantis, Michael for DeSantis
Farm on 2/6, Trade Name File (68 Old Watertown Rd.), Trade Name.
Widman, James for Widman En-terprises on 2/7, Trade Name File (94 Watertown Rd.), Trade Name.
D’Angelo, Concetta K. to D’An-gelo, Concetta K. / D’Angelo, An-thony P. on 2/8, 215 Upper Whitte-more Rd. via Q.C. for -0-.
Marcone, Vita J., aka / Marcone, Vita Guiseppina, aka to Marcone, Ferdinando on 2/8, Parcel “A” At-wood St. aka Ave. CDEV.
Hummel, James T. to Hummel, Carline C. on 2/9, 15 Jericho Rd. via Q.C. for -0-.
Strakosch, Gisela M. to Strakosch, William D. on 2/9, 106 Skyline Dr. via Q.C. for -0-.
St. Germain, Sharon to St. Ger-main, Kenneth on 2/10, Lake Shore Dr. via Q.C. for -0-.
Fletcher, Edward W., Est. to Fletcher, Edward W., Est. on 2/14, Rel Est Tax / V261 P220 / Avalon Dr., Probate.
WoodbridgeA one-day volleyball tourna-
ment will benefit Easter Seals Saturday, March 24, at the Con-necticut Sports Center. The tour-nament is designed for all skill levels. Registration is $250 per team. For more information or to register, contact Carolee Kalita at 203-754-5141, ext. 243. Forms are at www.waterburyct.easter-seals.com. Registration deadline is March 12. The event also in-cludes a celebration after play at Señor Pancho’s Mexican Restau-rant at 280 Cheshire Road in Prospect.
OakvilleVFW Post 7330 will host a
dance to benefit “Canines for Combat Veterans” Saturday, April 21, from 7 to 11 p.m. at the post at 85 Davis St. The cost is $10 per person. Tickets are avail-able at the post until April 15. DJ and finger foods will be provided; feel free to bring your own snacks. A check will be presented to John Moon, director of pro-grams and communication for “Canines for Combat Veterans.” For more information, call 860-274-5225.
New MilfordThe Spring Walk to End Alz-
heimer’s will be Saturday, May 5, in Harrybrooke Park in New Milford. To join the Middlebury Convalescent Home team, con-tact Cheryl Mamudi or Margaret Walker at 203-758-2471. Regis-tration is at 9 a.m., and the walk begins at 10 a.m.
SouthburyThe Connecticut Chapter of
the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will hold Great Strides, a national walk that generates funds to sup-port lifesaving cystic fibrosis re-search, education and care, Sat-urday, May 19, at Ballantine Park in Southbury. This is Southbury’s second walk. Last year, 13 teams participated, with 140 people walking the 3.6 mile route to raise more than $30,000.
The event starts at 9 a.m. with sign in and activities for kids. The walk starts at 10 a.m. and will in-clude a rest stop along the route. Those interested in walking should pre-register at www.cff.org/great_strides or contact Lau-ren Brenneman at 203-725-8558.
HartfordThe NAMIWalks will be Satur-
day, May 19 at Bushnell Park. Reg-istration will be at 9 a.m., and the walk will be at 10 a.m. All funds collected by walkers will be used to fund NAMI’s programs in Con-necticut. These programs include support, education, research and advocacy involving schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (manic depres-sion), major depression, obses-sive-compulsive disorder and severe anxiety disorders.
To register, visit www.nami.org and click on NAMIWalks or contact Kim Pernerewski at [email protected] or 203-578-5447. Go to www.nami.org/walks12/CTC/mindsofwater-bury to indicate you are raising funds for NAMI Waterbury and to join the NAMI Waterbury team, Minds of Waterbury.
Fundraising events
Friday, March 2, 2012 The Bee-Intelligencer PAGE 7
Entertainment
This publication does not know-ingly accept advertising which is deceptive, fraudulent, or which might otherwise violate the law or accepted standards of taste. However, this publication does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of any advertisement, nor the quality of the goods or services advertised. Readers are cautioned to thoroughly investigate all claims made in any advertisements, and to use good judgment and reasonable care, particularly when dealing with persons unknown to you who ask for money in advance of delivery of the goods or ser-vices advertised.
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Submit ad with your name, address, telephone number, and payment to: Mail: Bee-Intelligencer, P.O. Box 10, Middlebury, CT 06762
I have a gas heater in my home that works very well, but my friend told me I need
to maintain it and get it serviced every year. One reason I chose a gas heater was it didn’t need as much maintenance as the oil-fueled heater in my old home. Do I really need to spend the money to bring in a heater re-pairman every year? – Gladys J., Grand Junction, Colo.
Ideally, you should have a professional check your heating sys-
tem once a year to make sure everything is working properly. The reason is, like any machin-ery, gas furnaces have moving parts, inlet valves and other things that can and will break down eventually. Dirt can build up in the furnace system, and moisture from various sources also can cause problems. A heat-ing professional will be able to check systems like the blower motor and exhaust stack, elec-trical connections and other ar-eas that are not safe or practical for many homeowners to tackle themselves.
There are some maintenance
tasks you can do yourself that will help keep the professional’s visit cost-effective. The single most important thing you can do is change the filter every month the furnace is in operation. This minimizes the amount of dust that enters the furnace itself and keeps it from gunking up the works and reducing heating ef-ficiency (or shutting it down en-tirely). Keeping the room that the furnace is in free of clutter and dust is another way to maintain the unit.
You also can inspect parts of the heating system yourself. Check to make sure the pilot light is burning properly and at the right height. (Your manufactur-er’s manual should specify this, but if it doesn’t, most pilot lights burn at about an inch in height, with a bright-blue hue at the top of the flame.) You also might be able to inspect the burners,
which when operating also should have clear flames with a bright-blue hue. When they are off, visually check the burners for any buildup of soot or grease.
Inspect the furnace and all visible ductwork for signs of damage or corrosion twice a year. If you see any issues with the furnace, the burners or the pilot light, or if other problems occur, such as the furnace tripping the circuit breaker, contact a heating professional right away to fix the issue.
As a final note, remember to get a written estimate from the heating professional before al-lowing any maintenance or re-pair work to take place.
Send your questions or tips to [email protected], or write This Is a Hammer, c/o King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.
(c) 2012 King Features Synd., Inc.
gas furnace needs annual maintenanceQ:
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Legal Notice
TOWN OF MIDDLEBURYBOARD OF ASSESSMENT APPEALS
MARCH 2012 MEETINGS
All real estate and/or personal property owners in the Town of Middlebury, who have submitted an appeal to the Board of As-sessment Appeals of the Town of Middlebury, will be informed, by the Board, of the appeal hearings schedule (letters will be is-sued no later than March 1, 2012). These appeals will be heard and/or decided on Saturday, March 10, 2012; Monday, March 12, 2012; Wednesday, March 14, 2012; Thursday, March 15, 2012; Wednesday, March 21, 2012; Thursday, March 29, 2012; and Sat-urday, March 31, 2012, in the Middlebury Town Hall, Assessor’s Office, beginning at 6:30 p.m. on weeknights and 9 a.m. on Satur-days. Additional hearings will be scheduled if necessary. These appointments are for the sole purpose of hearing appeals related to the assessments of real estate and/or personal property.
Dated: MONDAY February 27, 2012At: MIDDLEBURY, CONNECTICUT
Stephen R. Ferrucci III, ChairmanBOARD OF ASSESSMENT APPEALS
Waterbury“Centennial Casting” by Gino
DiIorio and Nancy Bleemer, is a mad-cap comedy that proves sometimes it’s alright to let sparks fly. The play runs through March 11 Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and matinees Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. at Seven Angels Theatre. Tickets are $29 and 39 at the box office on Plank Road, 203-757-4676, or sevenangelst-heatre.org.
The Irish Rovers Friday, March 9, at 8 p.m. at the Palace Theater. Before the concert, Horgan’s Irish Dance Academy also will perform a free dance exhibition in the theater’s lobby at 7 p.m., and Star Distributors will be by the bars offering pa-trons festive give-a-ways and featuring Smithwick’s Irish ale as the beer of the night. Tickets are $45, $35 and $25 at 203-346-2000, www.palacetheaterct.org, or at the box office at 100 East Main St. Groups of 15 or more should call 203-346-2011.
The Official Blues Brothers Revue Saturday, March 24, at 8 p.m. at the Palace Theater. Tickets are $55, $45, or $35 at 203-346-2000, www.palacethe-aterct.org, or at the box office at 100 East Main St. Groups of 15 or more should call 203-346-2011.
Fairfield “The Complete World of
Sports (abridged)” by the Reduced Shakespeare Company Friday, March 2, at 8 p.m. at Fairfield University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. The three-man comedy troupe will take long, serious subjects – all kinds of subjects – and reduce them to short, sharp comedies. Tickets are $35, $30 and $25 at 203-254-4010 or online at www.quickcenter.com. The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts is on the campus of Fairfield University at 1073 North Benson Road. Entrance to the Quick Center is through the Barlow Road gate at 200 Barlow Road.
Westover’s summer programs will include Summer Drama with Roxbury resident Marla Truini. Now in its 12th season, the resi-dential camp offers enrichment to girls entering seventh, eighth or ninth grades in two one-week sessions, Session I from July 8 to13 and Session II from July 15 to 20.
Campers will live in the school dorms and have use of the school’s state-of-the-art theatre. Students will learn basic acting and vocal technique, stage fight-ing, theatrical make-up, costum-ing and improvisation to strengthen concentration and stage presence. Each week will conclude in a performance for family and friends.
Truini holds a master’s degree in theatre and is in her 13th year as the director of drama. She
moved to Roxbury and began teaching and directing theatre after working as an actor and singer in New York. A member
of AFTRA, SAG, and Actor’s Eq-uity, her New York credits in-clude “The Miracle Worker” and “Relative Values” at ELT; fea-tured performer for the U.S.O. regional tours; and appearances on “As the World Turns” and in the feature films “Music and Lyr-ics,” “New York Stories,” “Work-ing Girl,” and “Big.”
Her training includes voice with Patsy Rodenburg and mas-ter classes with Lee Strasberg, Uta Hagen, and Michael Howard. With Lenka Peterson, she co-founded the Young Angels The-atre, at the Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury. She has directed plays and taught workshops at many local schools, both inde-pendently, and through the After School Arts Program. For infor-mation, please contact Ruth Cur-zan at [email protected] or 203-577-4629
Westover School Director of Drama Marla Truini.
(Submitted photo)
Westover to offer summer drama adventure
PAGE 8 Friday, March 2, 2012The Bee-Intelligencer
though 202 fewer students are enrolled this year, and 45 fewer students are expected next year. In the past Sippy said drastic cuts cannot be made because the dis-trict is bound by state and federal obligations and other costs.
Here’s a look at school budgets in some of the other area towns:
Oxford is at $27.3 million, which is $1.38 million, or 5.3 percent, more than the current $25.9 mil-lion budget; Region 14, which covers Woodbury and Bethle-hem, is at $32.6 million, which is $2.3 million, or 7.69 percent more than the current $30.2 mil-lion budget (the same proposal with cuts is $31.3 million, or 3.52 percent more); and the Water-town BoE approved a $37.18 million proposed budget that is
$1.4 million, or 3.83 percent more than the current $35.8 mil-lion budget.
Region 15 will hold a commu-nity budget workshop Thursday, March 8, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Central Office Large Conference Room at 286 Whittemore Road in Middlebury. The BoE will meet again Monday, March 12, at 7:30 p.m. in the Pomperaug High School All-Purpose Room.
DEAR PAW’S CORNER: In a list of “responsible” things one should do to their pets, you wrote that owners should spay or neu-ter them. Well, I own a purebred German shepherd, and I think your advice is just wrong for owners of purebred pets. Maybe mongrels from the shelter need to be spayed and neutered but doing that to my “shep” will alter his behavior. Plus I plan to breed him. You should rethink your advice. – Tom C., Roswell, Ga.DEAR TOM: Nah, I don’t need to rethink my advice. The vast
majority of pet owners in this country do not need to be breed-ing their dogs or cats for any rea-son.
There are, indeed, profes-sional breeders who do not spay or neuter their dogs or cats, but responsible breeders don’t just breed pets because they have certification papers. They have to select carefully so harmful traits (like hip dysplasia, a ram-pant problem with German shepherds) do not carry through to new generations. Some pro-fessionals only breed working dogs for police and military, for example, and do not deal with the public. Others are extremely selective about whom their dogs
go to. Many will recommend that dogs not suited to be bred be neutered or spayed.
Neutering your German shep-herd may indeed cause behav-ioral changes; in many dogs the procedure reduces aggression. But you also eliminate the risk of your dog getting out and father-ing a bunch of unwanted pup-pies with, say, the owner of dif-ferent breed of dog who thought her precious also was too special to be spayed.
But you don’t have to believe me. Talk to your dog’s vet, or to a professional AKC-registered breeder of German shepherds (learn more at www.akc.org), and get the facts.
Send your questions or tips to [email protected], or write to Paw’s Corner, c/o King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. For more pet care-related advice and information, visit www.pawscorner.com.
(c) 2012 King Features Synd., Inc.
Ever forget your password when you log into Windows 7? Unlike earlier versions of Win-dows, 7 does not make it simple to overcome this problem. How-ever, there are several methods you can try to gain access to the system.
First, if you are able to access Windows 7, you should create a password recovery disc or USB drive. Then store it safely. To do this, click on Start and then type in the search window “password recovery disc.” Follow the in-structions to create the disc.
If you do not have the recov-ery disc and the password hint is not helping, you can use a
well-recognized piece of soft-ware known as Password Un-locker. You can download it at www.passwordunlocker.com/downloads/windows_password_unlocker_professional_trial.exe. You will need to purchase the software prior to creating a boot-able disc. However, as with most software of this nature, you may want to “waste” a CD/DVD with a trial version boot up to make sure the system and software communicate.
If you are able to get to the screen that will reset the pass-word, you can feel better about paying the $20 for it to finish the job. You will have to pay first,
download the software again and burn another CD/DVD. This works very well and is well worth the price. Do not forget to access the bios to make sure the CD/DVD is the first boot device.
If all else fails, you always can attach the drive to another sys-tem, back up the files, re-attach the drive and then reinstall Win-dows 7 completely. This is a time-consuming step and can be painful if you do not back up the data.
For more tips, visit chapin-business.com. For answers to your technology questions, call us at 203-262-1869.
It happened in Middlebury
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PUZZLE SOLUTIONS:
Why purebreds should be altered
Your pet could be featured as “Pet of the Week” in this picture frame. Send us your pet’s photo by email to mbisub-mit@gmail or by regular mail to P.O. Box 10, Middlebury, CT 06762 along with your pet’s name, your last name and your town.
Send in your pet photos
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For more information on these pets, call 203-758-2933 or visit Animals For Life at the Middlebury Transfer Station on Rte. 63 at the corner of Woodside Ave. Adoption hours are Mondays and Thursdays from 4 to 7 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 12 to 3 p.m. For more about the adoption process, visit www.animalsforlifect.org.
“Zoey” lives with Morgan and Sydney Murray in Middlebury
PET OF THE WEEK
MINKAMinka is a white and black female kitty approx-
imately 7 months old. Her fur is silky soft (like a mink). She was living outdoors and was being fed by a nice family who wanted to keep her, but un-fortunately, Minka did not like their older male cat. She would most likely do well as the only cat in her new home. Minka is a really nice girl and is not at all skittish. She adapted well to the shel-ter and is a confident and playful cat who adores people and can be heard purring loudly across the room. She also loves to cuddle up with her stuffed animal friend. To learn how to make Minka yours, visit her at the Animals For Life shelter.
ALPHONSEAlphonse was found running the streets as a
stray – cold, starving and terrified. He is now in a foster home where he is safe, warm, and well fed. Alphonse is a small black and white Chihuahua/terrier mix, approximately 1-1/2 years old and brimming with the energy, curiosity and enthu-siasm of a typical youngster. He weighs about 12 lbs. He is a happy little guy, great with people and loves to run and roughhouse with his foster canine brother and sisters. Alphonse is housebroken and comes when he is called. He will do best in an active home where he will get plenty of exercise and attention. He is well behaved, but would ben-efit tremendously from some basic obedience training so he can learn to focus his high energy. Alphonse is not at the shelter; to meet him, call his foster mom, Dawn, at 203-217-2523.
Budget -Continued from page 1
subscription InformationThe Bee-Intelligencer is available by mail to those outside our delivery area or in need of extra copies. Mail delivery costs $40 a year for each subscription. Send a check and the mail-ing address to Bee-Intelli-gencer, P.O. Box 10, Mid-dlebury, CT 06762. Call 203-577-6800 for rates for shorter periods of time.
By DR. ROBERT L. RAFFORD
The Center School on the Green, completed in 1897, is one of the most priceless historical gems in our town. It was once the two-room Center School where Middlebury children were taught their lessons, with grades 1 through 4 in one room and grades 5 through 8 in the other. The build-ing replaced the Academy school-house, which stood where Whit-temore Road approaches the Green today. That building was moved down Library Road and is now part of the Westover staff apartments.
The schoolhouse’s promi-nence is due to its physical beauty, sturdy structure and be-cause it was designed by the most prestigious architectural firm of its day, McKim, Mead and White, who also designed many great buildings and other structures in this and other countries. The ar-chitect, Alfred Milton Napier (1870-1956), designed the school-house and the landscape archi-tect, Warren Henry Manning (1860-1938), designed the sur-rounding grounds. The land was given to the town by the Method-ist-Episcopal church just behind the school, which is now owned by Westover School.
The primary force behind building the new school was John Howard Whittemore, who pro-posed the building to the town in 1896 and offered to pay three-quarters of the cost. The final tab came to $4,000 and the town paid $1,000 ($4,000 in 1897 would be about $104,000 today).
While the building was initially used for a school, it later served as a town hall annex, a kindergar-ten and the town library when the town hall burned to the ground in 1935. In 1981, it became the per-
manent home of the Middlebury Historical Society, Inc. In 2002, it was renovated according to fed-eral code; a ramp, rest room and other improvements were made.
The original deed from the Methodist church stipulated the schoolhouse be separated from the church by an eight-foot high “tight board fence” which was to be “maintained forever” or the
land would be forfeited. Your guess is as good as mine, but I hear schoolchildren (or perhaps their teachers?) can contribute to a high decibel level at times …
Rafford is the Middlebury His-torical Society president and Mid-dlebury’s municipal historian. To join the historical society visit Mid-dleburyHistoricalSociety.org or call Rafford at 203-206-4717.
the center school HouseCenter School, built in 1897, now houses the Middlebury Historical Society. (Submitted photos)
Board of School Visitors 1896 approval of plans for Center School.
