Volume 20, Number 11 Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall www.TownTimes.com Friday, July 4, 2014 One of the most attractive as- pects of Main Street Durham is its town green. But age, disease and storms have taken their toll. Last year, the Board of Selectmen received a request from Tim Lar- kin, the town’s tree warden, and Bonnie Penders, Durham Garden Club Tree Committee chairman to plant some trees on the north side of the Green. After considering this request, the BOS recognized the need for a long range plan for the historic space. In July 2013, the panel cre- ated the “Town Green Revital- ization Project,” and appointed a committee representing diverse stakeholders and experts. Mem- bers include Bonnie Penders, chair, an advanced master gar- dener; Tina Gossner, a master gardener; Bob Isleib, a lighting specialist; Durham Tree Warden Tim Larkin; Duncan Milne of the Durham Historic District Com- mission; Bob Thody, represent- ing the Durham Fair Association; and Chad Reddick, an interested Durham resident. The project’s mission state- ment is “to beautify the Green and create a renewed sense of pride for generations to come. The Durham Green is a vital part of our rich history, and this ini- tiative will establish a structured plan to protect, enhance and cele- brate our Green.” The committee is taking a broad approach, Bon- Durham’s Town Green revitalization takes shape By Judy Moeckel Special to Town Times Durham Town Green, taken in the early 20th Century, no exact date known. From the Durham Postcard History Series, 1900-1950. | Submitted. When Jennifer Schulten established a physical fitness program for Durham and Middlefield youths eight years ago, she never could have anticipated the influence it would have, specifically on her son Peter. Peter Schulten, 12, has always had a knack for running, spending elementary recesses running around alone rather than engaging in activities with friends. Recognizing this Go Far program inspires young runner By Thomas Liljedahl Special to Town Times Peter Schulten. | Submitted See Runner / Page 18 See Revitalization / Page 17 Maintain • Organic & Conventional Lawn Fertilizing • Organic Tree & Shrub Care • Tic & Mosquito Control • Mulching & Edging • Paver Restoration Design • Free Site Analysis • Free Project Design Construct • Plantings • Patios, Walks • Retaining Walls • Outdoor Living Areas • Excavation/Grading • Hydro Seeding • Drainage Work • Suitable Land Care Management www.countrylandscapingllc.com 860-349-1918 START WITH TRUST Celebrating Ten Years as BBB A+ Accredited Business O R G A N I C L A N D C A R E A C C R E D IT E D P R O FESSI O N A L 103807R
Transcript
Volume 20, Number 11 Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall www.TownTimes.com Friday, July 4, 2014
One of the most attractive as-pects of Main Street Durham is its town green. But age, disease and storms have taken their toll. Last year, the Board of Selectmen received a request from Tim Lar-kin, the town’s tree warden, and Bonnie Penders, Durham Garden Club Tree Committee chairman to plant some trees on the north side of the Green.
After considering this request,
the BOS recognized the need for a long range plan for the historic space. In July 2013, the panel cre-ated the “Town Green Revital-ization Project,” and appointed a committee representing diverse stakeholders and experts. Mem-bers include Bonnie Penders, chair, an advanced master gar-dener; Tina Gossner, a master gardener; Bob Isleib, a lighting specialist; Durham Tree Warden Tim Larkin; Duncan Milne of the Durham Historic District Com-mission; Bob Thody, represent-
ing the Durham Fair Association; and Chad Reddick, an interested Durham resident.
The project’s mission state-ment is “to beautify the Green and create a renewed sense of pride for generations to come. The Durham Green is a vital part of our rich history, and this ini-tiative will establish a structured plan to protect, enhance and cele-brate our Green.” The committee is taking a broad approach, Bon-
Durham’s Town Green revitalization takes shapeBy Judy MoeckelSpecial to Town Times
Durham Town Green, taken in the early 20th Century, no exact date known. From the Durham Postcard History Series, 1900-1950. | Submitted.
When Jennifer Schulten established a physical fitness program for Durham and Middlefield youths eight years ago, she never could have anticipated the influence it would have, specifically on her son Peter.
Peter Schulten, 12, has always had a knack for running, spending elementary recesses running around alone rather than engaging in activities with friends. Recognizing this
A2 Friday, July 4, 2014 Town Times | towntimes.com
Parking lots at the Middle-field Town Hall and Levi Coe Library are being repaved af-ter having weathered over two and a half decades of use.
“You had some real pot-holes and landmines,” said Middlefield First Selectman Jon Brayshaw. “They were
patched, the patches were patched, and the patches’ patches were patched.”
During the renovation, town staff parked on the lawn in front of the town hall un-derneath the trees.
“It’s an inconvenience, but we have faith the staff and visitors will make it from the grass to the door,” Brayshaw quipped.
Adult Services Librarian Susan Mizla said the library staff is very excited about the improvements.
“We bit the bullet ,” Brayshaw said, “It is a lot of money, but… we can’t go on living with dangerous situa-tions in the parking lots.” The uneven pavement has already caused “a few spills,” accord-ing to Brayshaw, and there are concerns about citizens who may be dependent on wheel-chairs or walkers.
According to Middlefield’s finance Director Joe Geruch, the stripping down and re-paving is costing in the ball-park of $20,000 for the library and $35,000 for the town hall.
“We’re very proud of the town hall and the library and
we want them to be safe and to look successful,” Brayshaw said, adding that the next step, will be to repave the Commu-nity Center if the funds can be found.
An unusual site at the Middlefield Town Hall, as cars park on the grass. | Charles Kreutzkamp / Town Times
By Charles KreutzkampTown Times
No more patching patches, town parking lots reborn
The Second (Indianhead) Division Association is searching for anyone who served in the Army’s 2nd In-fantry Division at any time.
For more information about the association or the 93rd reunion in Omaha, Neb., contact Bob Hayes at [email protected] or (224) 225-1202.
Army reunion
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Town Times | towntimes.com Friday, July 4, 2014 A3
The Coginchaug Valley Ed-ucation Foundation revealed the recipients of their 2014 grants and awarded those grants at a reception at Strong School on June 19.
“We have funded 10 grants, more than ever,” said Nancy Earls, chair of CVEF’s grants committee. CVEF, which seeks to promote life-long learning in the community, has been awarding grants since 2009. Including the 2014 grants, CVEF has given out 43 grants worth almost $60,000.
According to CVEF exec-utive board member Betsy White Booz, the group used an automated process and workshops to publicize and streamline the grant program.
“I was just so excited by the variety we got,” said Booz of the grant winners. “It’s a good cross section of arts, [public] schools, private school, li-braries, and towns.”
According to the list of grant recipients, several of the grants are directed at adult learning. The Durham Garden Club was awarded a $1,500 grant for “Jump Into Spring!” an expo with speak-ers to help gardeners to cre-ate “beautiful, nature friendly gardens.”
The Durham Public Library will use a CVEF grant “to conduct a series of hands-on workshops for adults ages 18 and up who have very limited or no knowledge of computer use, e-mail, Internet or social media.”
Children’s Librarian Chris-tine Michaud, who accepted on behalf of the library, said, “Our experience is that many adults do not know the basics.”
The Levi Coe Library also
received a grant, which Chil-dren’s Librarian Vicki Berry will use to establish a series of book paths at Peckham Park. Book pages set over the course of a path will encour-age intergenerational walkers to move through the book as they move through the park. Berry said the project was in-spired by a similar one in Ver-mont and that the book would change once per month.
Nancy Winship-Poole also accepted a grant to encour-age reading. With her Paws for Reading program, Win-ship-Poole brings Bailey, her 3 year old rescued Aus-tralian Shepherd to John Ly-man School as a companion for young readers. Accord-ing to the grant application, “The idea is to provide kids with a less intimidating and more relaxed atmosphere where they can practice their reading.”
Winship-Poole said she could sense the excitement when she visits Lyman, “I walk down the hall and no one knows my name. It’s just ‘Bailey!’ ‘Bailey!’ ‘Bailey!’”
The Independent Day School received a CVEF grant to run a workshop for design-ing and building board games, with a goal of fostering crit-ical and innovative thinking.
Three other grants in-volved building and design. Betsy Dean, with Durham Middlefield Youth and Fam-ily Services, will hold a camp called “Dungeons, Dragons, & Duct Tape” in August with
youth building castles and armor from cardboard. Jenny Lussier, RSD13 Media Spe-cialist, will direct students in building and tinkering with simple materials. The Durham Public Library will
bring in teachers from the Eli Whitney Museum to run building workshops for chil-dren in grades 3-6 with each workshop focusing on a dif-
CVEF awards 2014 grants
Recipients of 2014 Coginchaug Valley Education Foundation grants attended a reception on June 19 at Strong School and spoke about their programs. | Mark Dionne / Town Times
By Mark DionneTown Times
See CVEF / Page 4
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CVEF
ferent scientific concept.One grant went to com-
munity theater PaperHouse Productions. (For disclosure, this reporter helps run that theater group.) PaperHouse will establish a junior board to give children with a strong interest in theater an on-go-ing group where they will learn first hand the elements of putting on a show, from publicity to lobby features.
Booz said CVEF was ex-cited about the grants this year, especially after the suc-cess of past recipients. “What they have in common is each one is going to enrich the lives of adults and children in our community,” Booz said.
From Page 3
The American Pyrotech-nics Association says Ameri-cans use more than six times the amount of fireworks now than they did less than 40 years ago. In that same time period, fireworks-related in-juries in the United States have plummeted, according to the U.S. Consumer Prod-ucts Safety Commission.
One reason for the drop in accidents is more emphasis on safe handling of fireworks. The APA offers the following advice:
Take precautions. Always keep a hose and a bucket
of water nearby in case of emergencies.
Light one at a time. Never light two or more fireworks or sparklers at the same time.
Keep it outside. Only use fireworks and sparklers out-doors on flat, hard surfaces in clear areas and away from houses, buildings and dry grass.
Have adult supervision. Never allow young children to light or handle fireworks or sparklers. Be aware of the minimum permitted age in your state. Adults should al-ways be present when light-ing or handling fireworks or sparklers.
Stay alert. Never mix alco-
hol or other substances with fireworks or sparklers.
Stay clear. Never hold a lit firework in your hand. Keep as far from them as possible when lighting.
Let sleeping fireworks lie. Never try to relight fireworks or sparklers that do not ignite. Wait 15 to 20 minutes before approaching them, then soak them with water and throw them away.
Protect your pets. Animals are often frightened by the sounds of fireworks. Protect your “best friends” by keep-ing them indoors, secure and away from the loud, sudden noises.
“As we commemorate this national holiday with fire-works and sparklers, it’s im-portant to keep safety top of mind,” said Sherri Fallin, spokesperson for TNT Fire-
works East.Individuals should check
local and state laws and only purchase fireworks and spar-klers that are legally per-
mitted. Also, people are encouraged to check the label and instructions on both fire-works and sparklers to ensure they come from a reliable, le-gal and licensed source.
The APA is the leading trade association of the fire-works industry. The APA sup-ports and promotes safety standards for all aspects of fireworks. The APA has di-verse membership including regulated and licensed manu-facturers, distributors, whole-salers, retailers, importers and suppliers of fireworks. Additional information about the fireworks industry can be found at www.americanpyro.com.
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Notice is hereby given to the taxpayers of the Town of Durham that the Town Tax on the Grand List of October 1, 2013 is due and payable in two install-ments, July 1, 2014 and January 1, 2015. All Motor Vehicle Taxes and Taxes in the amount of $100 or less are due and payable in full July 1, 2014. If the first payment is not paid on or before August 1, 2014, interest must be charged from July 1, 2014 at 1.5% per month (payment on 8/2/14 will have 3% added) with a minimum interest charge of $2.00.
No bill will be sent for the second installment.Payments may be mailed to:
Town of Durham, P.O. Box 428 Durham, CT 06422
The Tax Collector’s office hours are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 8:30-4:30pm; Tuesday, 8:30-7:00pm and Friday 8:30-3:00pm. Additional hours for this collection period will be Saturday July 26th, 2014 from 10:00am - 12:00pm.
Martin French, CCMC Tax Collector, Town of Durham
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Town Times | towntimes.com Friday, July 4, 2014 A5
BASKETBALL BUDDIES
John Lyman School student Connor Willett spearheaded a local initiative to bring basketballs to his friends in Haiti. He’d been inspired by the Home Education Love Opportunity group that provides support missions to Haiti. Members of the Middlefield Federated Church got involved donating funds to help build a basketball court. The court was built in April and basketballs donated by Connor and his friends were delivered at that time. One of HELO’s students visited Lyman last month to play basketball with local students who’d helped out. Pictured are Haitian students on the new court. | Submitted
Get your feet wet! Volunteers are needed for the Cogin-chaug River Water Quality Study. The study assists with continuing efforts to identify and address sources of bac-teria to the Coginchaug.
Volunteers will collect samples at selected sites in Durham, Middlefield, North Guilford and Middletown. Sampling is scheduled for Wednesdays through Aug. 20. Responsibilities include collecting water samples before 8 a.m. and delivering them to a nearby drop-off location.
No experience is necessary. Training, equipment, sup-plies and procedures will be provided.
To volunteer, or for more information, call the Conser-vation District at (860) 346-3282.
Volunteers needed for study
Notice is hereby given that permission was received from the State of Connecticut, DOT, State Traffic Com-mission approving the Town of Durham’s request to change the speed limit on Bear Rock Road from 30 to 25 m.p.h. for both directions of travel, from Higganum Road northerly to Maiden Lane, a distance 1.02 miles.
The Physicians of Middlesex OB/GYN Associates wish to inform patients of the July 31, 2014 retirement of Dr. Donald E. Miller
Dr. Miller has been an outstanding physician in the Middlesex Community since 1965.
Many patients have been touched by his caring and compassion and friendly manner. This community and this practice will miss
Dr. Miller. We all extend our deepest gratitude for the many years that he has dedicated to caring for all of his patients.
Patients’ medical records will continue to remain within the Middlesex OB/GYN Practice. Please be advised that our physicians will continue to be here to care for you.
Please call to schedule you next appointment with one of the following physicians. Office phone: 860-347-7491.
Robert A. Yordan, M.D. • Fred S. Siegel, M.D.Sally J. Irons, M.D. • Jessica T. Wei, M.D.
Ryan D. Summerall, M.D.
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A6 Friday, July 4, 2014 Town Times | towntimes.com
Durham Recreation is sponsoring two-day cooking camps in July at Strong School for boys and girls who will be entering grades 6-9 this fall. The junior chefs will learn to make from scratch some of their fa-vorite foods. The theme for this summer’s pro-gram is good eats that can be made ahead and en-joyed whenever needed. This is the fifth summer the recreation depart-ment has sponsored the Youth Cooking Program. Session one, July 15 and 16, features Chocolate “Ba-by-Cakes” (single-serv-ing chocolate layer cakes with fluffy white filling and a fudge glaze) plus deluxe twice-baked po-tatoes loaded with all the fixings. Session two, July 22 and 23, will tackle a three-cheese and bacon quiche and strawberry shortcake. Both sessions are 9 a.m. to noon with samples to enjoy in class and take home. Each two-day program is limited to 12 students who will learn basic cooking and baking techniques plus secrets to success for recipes they will be able to recreate at home. Instructor Chris-tine Firth has conducted previous summer cook-ing camps as well as af-ter-school Cooking Club classes at Strong School.
For more information call Durham Recreation at (860) 343-6724 or go to www.townofdurhamct.org (Recreation Pro-grams/Summer Recre-ation Programs).
Durham Recreation youth cooking program
Be wary, it’s a banner year for ticks
2014 is a banner year for ticks, according to Dr. Kirby Stafford from the Department of Entomology at the Con-necticut Agricultural Exper-iment Station. According to the Connecticut Department of Public Health, tick popula-tion is a major factor in the prevalence of Lyme Disease.
“Lyme Disease is trans-mitted through the bite of infected ticks, may not have any initial symptoms, can be difficult to diagnose, and re-quires active personal protec-tion participation from you to remove ticks as soon as pos-sible and do what you can to prevent tick bites,” the DPH website states.
Stafford, an entomologist, collects ticks as part of his re-search, and although collec-tion is ongoing and numbers are not finalized, “I would say tick numbers are higher than they have been in previ-ous years. We certainly saw a lot of adult tick activity this spring,” Stafford said.
Stafford explained that the previous winter may have been beneficial to the arach-nids. In years with a lot of snow, and where the snow is seldom completely melted, the snow forms an insulated blanket that protects ticks from the worst of the cold, as well as providing them with a source of moisture. Stafford said that it was likely many adult ticks survived the win-ter considering the number of
adults seen this spring, which indicates a higher population for this year.
Stafford has participated in numerous tick manage-ment studies. One promising method is using biopesticides to control the tick population, like MET-52, a strain of a nat-urally occurring fungus that Stafford studied in 2005 and 2007. “It’s relatively effec-tive, you can find about 58 to 75 percent control based on my original trials,” Stafford said. Unlike some traditional pesticides, the fungus-based approach has the advantage of “being safe for a lot of non-targets, such as honey-bees and that kind of stuff,” Stafford said.
Stafford also studied bait boxes treated with Fipronil – the same active ingredient in Frontline to prevent ticks on dogs. Rodents, which are the source of Lyme Disease, are exposed to the Fipronil in the bait boxes, and as a result kill ticks they come in con-tact with, thus preventing the ticks from becoming carriers of Lyme Disease.
The study was done on Mason’s Island near Mys-tic, Conn. where it proved “extremely successful,” ac-cording to Stafford, who em-phasized that although the results of the trial were prom-ising, dealing with an inland residential neighborhood is a different matter.
By Charles KreutzkampTown Times
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Town Times | towntimes.com Friday, July 4, 2014 A7
Saturday, July 5Farmer’s Market - The
Dudley Farm Farmer’s Market is scheduled for every Satur-day through October, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., 2351 Durham Road, North Guilford. Local and organic fruits and veg-etables, flowers and plants, baked goods, eggs, naturally raised meats, arts and crafts, maple syrup, jams and jellies, pickles and more. Subject to cancellation due to inclement weather. For more informa-tion, call (860) 349-3917 or www.dudleyfarm.com.
Wednesday, July 9Get Stitchy - Durham
Recreation has scheduled Get Stitchy, an open event for quilters and sewers, for Wednesday, July 9, 7 to 9 p.m. at the Durham Activity center, 350 Main St. Bring project materials, sewing ma-chine and extension cord. For more information and to sign up, contact Pam Carey at (860) 349-0453, [email protected] or Vicki Berry at (860) 343-0879, [email protected].
CalendarLevi E. Coe Library
Library hours are: Mon-day through Thursday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; closed Fridays.
The library is closed Sat-urdays for the summer.
Museum passesLevi E. Coe Library has
museum passes. Multiple state parks and forests are available.
Durham Public Library
Author program - The Durham Public Library, 7 Ma-ple Ave., has scheduled Syd-ney Sherman, author of “You Are Not Alone: Our Loved Ones Are Here...You’re Just
Not Listening” for Thursday, July 10, 7 to 9 p.m. For more information and reserva-tions, call the library at (860) 349-9544.
Programs for kids:Critter Caravan (ages 3
and up). Wednesday, July 9, 2 p.m. Touch and learn about a variety of small animals. For more information and to reg-ister, call (860) 349-9544.
Fizz, Boom, Read! Summer Reading Program - Registra-tion begins June 30. Read at least one book per week, record your reading and re-ceive a prize.
For a full list of program visit www.durhamlibrary.org/kids/programs.
Programs for teens:Coding Club (ages 11 to
18). Mondays in July, 3 to 4 p.m. learn about computer
programing and practice and share with other coding enthusiasts. No registration required.
Robotics Club (ages 11 to 18). Tuesdays, July 1, 8 and 15 from 3 to 4 p.m. Use a solar robotics kit to build one of 14 different robots.
Cracked Marble Pendants and beading (ages 12 to 18). Tuesday, July 8 from 7 to 8 p.m.
After Hours Summer Kick-off Party - Saturday, June 28, 7:30 to 9 p.m. Kick off the summer at an after hours party for teens.
Programs for adultsAdult Summer Reading
Program. Read books and win a prize. Log summer reading at www.durhamli-brary.org.
Town Times is published every Friday by the Record-Journal Publishing Co. and delivered to all homes and businesses in Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall.
Executive Vice President and Assistant Publisher – Liz WhiteSenior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer – Shawn E. PalmerSenior Vice President and Editor – Ralph TomaselliNews Editor – Olivia L. LawrenceAssistant News Editor – Nick CarrollReporter – Mark DionneAdvertising Sales – Joy BooneAdvertising Director – Kimberley E. Boath Office Assistant, Press Releases – Marsha Pomponio
CVEF – when a plan comes together
Seven years ago, retired District 13 teacher Merrill Ad-ams brought together a group of Durham and Middlefield residents who were keen on supporting and fostering the idea of lifelong education. In 2008, the Coginchaug Valley Education Foundation was es-tablished. Our formal mission is “to promote excellence, in-novation and creativity in ed-ucation for our community.”
CVEF is a private, not-for-profit education foundation, one of 90 in Connecticut. In general, education founda-tions contribute resources to support education; however, each foundation is unique in its operation, its programs, and the resources it provides to the community (for exam-
ple, our focus is not restricted to just formal or public school education). But all foundations share a common commitment to improving education at the local level.
CVEF has had a busy and productive seven years. Per-haps our proudest accom-plishment is that we have awarded 43 grants over six grant cycles, totaling almost $60,000. You in the commu-nity have most likely seen the results of one these grants, whether through your child’s participation in Go Far Go Fast or learning about sea life from the high school’s ma-rine aquarium. Maybe you’re a member of the adult band started several years ago, or perhaps you helped out with the composting project at last year’s Durham Fair. Hope-fully, you had the chance to
attend one of the wonder-ful concerts held last month, courtesy of the Kalmia Gar-dens Chamber Music Series.
Of course, we would not have been able to award any of these grants without the generous support of our com-munity, both via our annual appeal, as well as through other fundraising efforts. This includes our silent auc-tion gala events and our com-munity “bees.”
As with most “start-up” or-ganizations, we are a work in progress. For example, last year, we changed our annual community spelling bee to a community trivia bee, which was met with great success (as evidenced by the 24 par-ticipating teams). Our trivia bee will return in 2015.
At this year’s major fund-raising event, Flights of Fancy and Song, we repeated the success of two years ago, offering an evening of fun, while attendees bid on over 35 birdhouses created by tal-ented residents. Working to-gether, we provided the high school’s music department parents’ group (POPS) the venue to auction off their own whimsical re-purposed musical instrument art.
Once each year, CVEF also honors a local resident with
the Howard Kelley Commu-nity Award. Established in memory of this lifelong ed-ucator (the first superinten-dent of Regional District 13, as well as a founding board member of CVEF), we ask the community for nomina-tions and make our selection each December.
When a plan comes to-gether, good things happen. That is what CVEF rep-resents in the communities of Durham and Middlefield.
CVEF is pleased to be con-tributing a monthly column in the Town Times. Please check back every month for an update on our various ac-tivities, programs and stories. We invite you to “like” us on Facebook, too.
Betsy White Booz is presi-dent of CVEF.
By Betsy White BoozSpecial to Town Times
First time director Matt Shakman delivered a film in
the genre of “Fargo” but with a nuanced flare all its own. A colorful script with a rounded cast made “Cut Bank” a high-light of the 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival.
The story takes place in
Cut Bank, an actual town in Montana that inspired writer Roberto Patino to draft his manuscript. No doubt Cut Bank has earned its place on the map, though hopefully the town does not live up to the film’s dark premise. Not only is it the coldest place in the United States, it is a living and breathing example of how our presumed realities may not be so real after all. Even the snow is missing from Cut Bank’s scenic claim to fame.
In Cut Bank, you find all the characters you expect to see in a small town. The sheriff, the postman, the laborers, the re-cluse, all in a likable everyone knows everyone community. What you see is not what you get. As in real life, there are layers hidden beneath those superficial impressions. Patino perfectly buries those layers in his script while Shakman digs them out on screen.
A pair of teenagers witness the murder of a postman and incidentally capture it on film. Or so it seems. With the loss and presumed death of the town’s “beloved” postman, not
to mention the missing mail he was to have delivered, the town falls victim to tragedy as one unpredictable event leads to another in an unstoppable chain of lies and deceit. Only an honorable man can set things to right.
There may not be many of those left. Enter John Malkov-ich. As Sheriff Vogel, his bro-ken heart pulses through his
eyes, left behind by the woman he loves in a town where there has never been a murder. He cannot, literally, stomach that kind of cruelty. He has already suffered too deeply. The sher-iff ’s vulnerability is placed center stage amid Cut Bank’s crisis — how he recoils at the loss of life, how he softens at
Small town life takes turn for the worse in ‘Cut Bank’
Film reviewer Tanya Feke, M.D., and Briuce Dern at the recent LA FIilm Festival. | Submitted
By Tanya Feke MDSpecial to Town Times
Diagnosis: Movies
See Movies / Page 16
Town Times | towntimes.com Friday, July 4, 2014 A9
GRADUATION!
Memorial Middle School teacher Jessica Biancardi (back row, middle) joins her very first class before graduation. The students invited Biancardi to the ceremony. | Mark Dionne / Town Times
Julia Orosz (left) and Molly MacDuff sing “For Good” during the commencement ceremony for the CRHS class of 2014. | Mark Dionne Town Times
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The Meriden YMCA and Gallery 53 have scheduled two summer session art courses for teens, ages 12 and older. The courses are sched-uled for July 14 through 18, and July 21 through 25, 9 a.m. to noon.
Participants will cre-ate art for the Meriden Y Arts Center walls, consisting of murals and stained glass mosaics.
No experience is nec-essary. For more infor-mation and to register, call (203) 235-5347 or [email protected].
Connections
Durham/Middlefield Youth and Family Ser-vices has scheduled a babysitting training class for Tuesday, July 29, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Middle-field Community Center. The class is for youth en-tering grades six through nine. Basic childcare in-formation, first aid and CPR training, and more. Limited to 12 participants. A fee is charged. Regis-tration deadline is July 22. For more information and to register, call (860) 349-0258.
Babysitter class offered
ThrowbackThursday
Curious to know what happened this week five years ago? Visit Town-Times.com weekly for Throwback Thursday, a new web-exclusive fea-ture that takes you back to Middlefield, Durham and Rockfall happenings from years past.
Last week’s Throw-back Thursday featured a story about neighbors who crashed their car into another vehicle to help save a life, as well as an entertaining col-umn about “bussing.”
FESTIVE EVENING
The Middlefield Children’s Center Class of 2014 enjoyed an evening of singing and celebration with friends and family recently. | Submitted
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Community journalist learns lifelong lessons(This is part of an ongoing
series of column from writers, past and present, associated with Town Times in celebration of the newspaper’s 20 years of publication.)
Heading into my freshmen year at the University of Connecti-cut in 2004, I had no idea what to study. But I loved two things: writing and sharing sto-ries. Early in my freshmen
year I found myself report-ing for the campus newspa-per, and surprisingly I loved it. That’s when it all came to-gether: I’d be a journalist.
For the remainder of my un-dergrad, I took every opportu-nity to prepare for a successful journalism career. I reached out to magazine editors to ask how I could work toward their jobs, I took multiple in-ternships to sample various journalism fields, I was se-lected to tape a Public Service Announcement with journal-ist Katie Couric and then-gov-ernor Jodi Rell, and I hosted a television show through UCo-nn’s broadcast club. When all this experience and four years of education came to a head in 2008, I knew deep within my core that I was go-ing to be a magazine editor in NYC. That’s what my (near) future had in store for me, or so I thought. I was immensely driven, but I still felt very small - a little fish who was go-ing to try to make it in a big sea - the magazine industry.
After graduation, I applied my heart out all summer. I didn’t even know how realis-tic it was to apply some of the positions, but I figured my ea-gerness alone would help me skip over the lower level po-sitions as an assistant pour-ing coffee and bump me right into my dream job of running the show. To my disappoint-ment, no magazine jobs came through for me, though I didn’t want to believe it could have something to do with the fact that I was reaching a tad too
high. So I did what any writer would do – I wrote about the situation at hand. “Paycheck or Reality Check” was sent off to a few papers in Connecti-cut, including the paper in my hometown, Town Times.
Over the years, I had picked up the hometown paper to read the letters, see photos of community events and read small blurbs about my school, but small-town news did not excite me much. Even so, any writer knows the excitement of getting a call from an editor, and sure enough I will never forget the call from then-ed-itor Sue VanDerzee upon re-ceiving my submission. She said two things that have stuck with me and changed my life: that my article was “terrific” and she would publish it, and that she wanted me to come in for an interview because the reporter at the time was leaving. I loved Sue from that very instant and could tell in her cheerful voice that she was a person who could both
support and push me, though in that moment I didn’t know what my future at the paper would hold. That phone call was fate. I wasn’t even try-ing to get a job there, but this one practically fell on my lap. (Thank you, Wendy, for spot-ting my email submission out of the hundreds received daily and for sharing it with Sue.)
I was so excited to have my article published that I grabbed several copies of the paper that week and have kept them to this day. (Newspapers grow more charming with age as their pages turn yellow and crispy.) In fact, every article I ever wrote for the five years I was at Town Times is in a pile under my bed. A few years ago, I started to compile every clip into a binder, but it was a difficult task that quickly got tossed aside. That’s because I had more clips than I realized – hundreds, including small blurbs. Sue had me work-ing my butt off to earn those bylines.
But if I’m being completely honest, I should back up and say that at first I had felt a little sorry for myself. I was “settling” for a job at my local newspaper rather than pur-suing the glamorous work of magazine editing I had envi-sioned so vividly. But eventu-ally I came to realize that I was given so much more than a job, a byline and a little experience at Town Times. I was given a small pond and the permission to be the big fish, and that was
the best thing that could have ever happened to me.
Every week I stretched my limits beyond what I thought I was capable of. Want to grow a little chutzpa? Write for a weekly newspaper cov-ering the pulse of the commu-nity. People get to know you more than you want them to, and you learn more than you ever thought you’d care about the people, places and things
Commentary
See Lessons / Page 12
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A12 Friday, July 4, 2014 Town Times | towntimes.com
(President Barack Obama recently made the following proclamation to acknowl-edge the 70th anniversary of the passing of the GI Bill of Rights.)
In the Second World War, a generation risked their lives for people they had never met and ide-als none of us could live without. As they fought to liberate a continent and safeguard the American way of life, our Nation re-solved to serve them as well as they were serv-ing us. After months of heated debate and hard-
fought compromise, Presi-dent Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, better known as the GI Bill of Rights.
When patriots who had left our shores as barely more than boys returned as heroes, the GI Bill al-lowed them to launch their civilian lives. It provided unemployment benefits, home loan guaranties, and subsidies for a college ed-ucation. This bill marked the first time higher ed-ucation was available to large cross-sections of the
GI Bill helps vets create a solid future
Press Release
President Barack Obama and WWII veteran Kenneth (Rock) Merritt talk on board Marine One June 6.
| Official White House photo by Pete Souza
See GI / Page 16
Lessons
that make it all tick. But I also learned how to listen carefully, how to calculate mill rates, how to represent the commu-nity, how to have a voice and a presence, how to carefully craft someone else’s story that they’ve trusted you with, how to capture the front-page-wor-thy photos and how to read body language. In a nutshell, you learn as a journalist to be in tune with the world around you, right down to the tiniest detail, and I was no exception. I think all journalists, at least those working for publications small enough where they can really get involved in the heart of the community, know that
the interesting thing about our work is being so immersed in it and yet knowing how and when to remove ourselves and how and when not to. And I am so thankful I was given this experience to learn that at Town Times. And within it all, I got to do my two loves: write and tell stories to an audience, whether anyone ever read a single word I wrote or not.
When Sue retired, I became editor which is a whole other exciting piece of this story. To this day I say that I can live happily for the rest of my life knowing I fulfilled my dream of being an editor, in one ca-pacity or another. I’m no lon-ger in journalism as a career, in fact I didn’t end up using my
experience from Town Times to help launch my career in the magazine world after all (although I am co-founder/co-editor of an online maga-zine, Positively Smitten, with a fellow used-to-be-wanna-be-magazine-editor-friend who worked for The Plainville Cit-izen, a sister publication).
Even so, it was those few precious years as a young re-porter, when Sue had me cov-ering 8 a.m. school assemblies and 8 p.m. budget hearings and everything in between, that I really learned what I was made of. I will forever be pleased with myself for writing “Paycheck or Reality Check” and forever grateful for that chapter of my life.
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Town Times | towntimes.com Friday, July 4, 2014 A13
SchoolsGraduates
Becker College, Massa-chusetts - Jeffrey Garuti of Middlefield.
Ithaca College, New York - Andrew Porter of Middlefield.
University of Connecti-cut - Liana Braga, Andrew Brown, Ryan Ciarlo, Makayla Davis, Cody Donecker, Mea-gan Fairchild, Samuel Lee Frey, Kyle Hassmann, Eliz-abeth Joan Meiman, Jer-emy Newell, Robert P. Ober, Katherine Lynn Roberts of Durham; John Bascom, Greg-ory Knight, Joseph Oblon, Sa-mantha Tuthill of Middlefield; Lauren Bradley, Luigi Maz-zotta of Rockfall.
Dean’s listBucknell University,
Pennsylvania - Emily Shoe-maker of Middlefield.
Endicott College, Massa-chusetts - Amanda Bedding of Middlefield.
Florida Institute of Tech-nology - Mackenzie Kane, Michael Behling of Durham.
Johnson & Wales Univer-sity, Rhode Island - Korinne Stockdale of Durham.
Roger Williams Univer-sity, Rhode Island - Julia Gi-ancola of Durham.
Southern Connecticut State University - Stephen Gueble, Carley St. Amand, Megan Tammaro of Durham; Kasey Crompton, Laura Farn-sworth, Mackensie Hurl-bert of Middlefield; Kathryn Mitchell of Rockfall.
University of Scranton - Jacob Randazzo of Durham.
University of Connecti-cut - Tyler Davis, Ethan Do-necker, Jackson Doyle, Sean Harper, Erin Holden, Elizabeth Meiman, Allison Neuburger, Jeremy Newell, Katherine Roberts, Gina Stratmann of Durham; Jillian Chongruk, Meagan Hettrick, Zev Kartiganer, Alicia Lisitano, Joseph Oblon of Middlefield.
Wake Forest University, North Carolina - Jacob Te-itelbaum of Durham.
Western New England University, Massachusetts - Jonathan Champagne, Mark Vanaman of Middlefield; Re-becca Ludecke of Durham.
Scholastic achievements
Zoe Lerman of Durham was awarded the Student of the Year Advanced Placement United States History, Most Dedicated Spanish student and High Achievement in En-glish at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts.
The Durham Recreation Department has scheduled two summer running programs.
Fun Runs - Tuesdays, 6 p.m., at the Coginchaug track be-gan July 1. The weekly event is open to all, age groups as fol-lows: 0-4 years, 5-7 years, 8-10 years, 11-14 years, high school, and adult.
Track & Field Clinic - July 7 to 11, 6 to 8 p.m. The clinic is open to fifth to eighth graders as of June (exceptions are con-sidered) and provides instruction in hurdles, long and triple jump, high jump, pole vault, shot put, javelin, discus, sprint-ing, and relays. Athletes of all ability levels are welcome. A fee is charged. Register at http://www.townofdurhamct.org/ content/28562/27556/27769/ 27781/default.aspx.
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BLUE DEVIL WINNERS
The 2014 Coginchaug Football and Cheerling Scholarship winners are, back row, from left: Bryan Paxton, Jack Granger, Ty Kartiganer, Ryan Murphy. Front row, from left: Stephanie Fisher, Amy Stankiewicz, Jessica Dontigney, Caitlyn Ruggiero. | Submitted
SUPER JUNIORS
Danielle Richardson (center), Durham resident and Mercy High School junior, recently was nominated by her coach, John Benchimol, to participate in the CT Lacrosse chapter of US Lacrosse Super Junior Tryout. Out of the 200-plus junior lacrosse players, 48 were selected to participate in the Super Junior LAX Game at Cheshire High School June 19. Richardson was selected as a midfield player. This event, historically, brings local college coaches to supplement their recruiting of local players. This year, Mercy High School had three players selected. Pictured, in addition to Richardson, are Emma Bonassar of Wallingford (left), selected as an attack player, and Olivia Ozyck of Clinton selected as a midfield player.
Notre Dame ChurchNotre Dame Church,
280 Main St., has sched-uled its monthly flea market and tag sale for the first Saturday of each month, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., through Oct. 4. The tag sale will be located in the church hall, rectory garage, parking lot and lawn, rain or shine. Break-fast and lunch will be available. Vendor space is available for purchase. For more information, call Bob Smith at (860) 349-0356.
Religious Briefs
The Recreation Cen-ter office has scheduled its summer hours for Monday through Fri-day, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Monday, Wednesday and Thursdays, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., through Aug. 28.
Summer hours
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Town Times | towntimes.com Friday, July 4, 2014 A15
N-ICE!
The Whalers of the Connecticut Hockey League recently capped off their perfect season with a championship game victory over the Milford Blues in the Pee Wee Division. Regional School District 13 was well-represented by Christopher Racki, T.J. Isleib, Pierce Stefan and Ryan Solomon. | Submitted
HOMETOWN CHAMPIONS
Dancers from the Middlesex Dance Center performed at New Britain Stadium prior to a Rock Cats game. The group performed two jazz dances. Before the performance, the dancers were recognized as Hometown Champions and honored for their charity and civic work. | Submitted
Vinal Technical High School, 60 Daniels St., Middeletown, has sched-uled TECHNO Camp for July 8 through 26, 8 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
TECHNO Camp is free of charge, for seven and eighth grade students in-terested in automotive, manufacturing, carpen-try, culinary arts, collision repair, HVAC, CADD, computers, hairdressing and cosmetology, electri-cal and electromechani-cal trades.
For more information, call Lyn Caliendo at (860) 344-7100, ext. 406.
A16 Friday, July 4, 2014 Town Times | towntimes.com
Movies
a girl’s dance number, how he bravely marches into the fray and then turns his head to help one of his own. If only the rest of the town were as trustworthy.
Liam Hemsworth (“Hunger Games”) and Teresa Palmer (“Warm Bodies”) as Dwayne and Cassandra court flirta-tion but never delve past the
superficiality of young love. Too drawn apart are they by their own agendas. Dwayne is nearly flat affected as he masks his circle of lies and Cassandra overly exuberant as pageantry distracts her from small town life. Her father, played by Billy Bob Thorton, wears rigidity like a businessman suit and marks his disapproval of their love affair by setting rules that he himself must break.
Bruce Dern is Bruce Dern. The man is a scene stealing icon with wry delivery and playful mischief as the gunned down postman. Oliver Platt’s federal agent, however, has the best lines in the film. The man acknowledges the bad in the world but accepts it all with verve, from corrupt politics to bad hospital food.
The film’s complicated lay-ers are stripped bare when the
town recluse takes the stage. Michael Stuhlbarg of “Board-walk Empire” fame brings a raw and edgy performance to Cut Bank. His distrust for humanity is at his very core. All he wants is his parcel. He is honest in that it is the only thing that matters to him. Per-haps too honest.
Together, the characters weave through a sordid tale and convey the deeper real-
ity, that we are always evolv-ing from our circumstances. Quite frankly, we never know what is going to happen next. What we reveal on the outside is only a brief glimpse of what our potential is on the inside.
Shakman and Patino beamed at the film premiere. Quite frankly, that sort of en-thusiasm is infectious. And they deserve every right to feel that way. What they have crafted in Cut Bank is an hon-est glimpse of a tortured re-ality. From dark to quirky to horrific to outright funny, they must know they have created a true gem. Brilliantly executed, Cut Bank is a cut above the rest.
Tanye Feke reviews films for the Town Times and recently attended the LA Film Festival where she viewed “Cut Bank” and met with several of the ac-tors who starred in the feature.
From Page 8
GI
American people. Because veterans took advantage of this unprecedented oppor-tunity, our Nation developed the most talented workforce in history. Millions excelled in their careers, started fam-ilies, bought new homes, or even started new businesses, helping to build the greatest middle class the world has ever known.
The GI Bill proved that America prospers when we put a good education within the reach of those willing to work for it. Under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, our Nation has extended this chance to a new generation. This law has helped more than a million veterans, service members, and military families pursue a college education. And across our country, employers can tap into a vast pool of talent — men and women who are not only highly educated but have also served with honor in the most dangerous cor-ners of the earth.
Today, let us celebrate 70 years of opportunity. Let us remember our sacred debt to our veterans and re-call that when we give them the chance to excel, there is no limit to what they might accomplish.
From Page 12
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Town Times | towntimes.com Friday, July 4, 2014 A17
Revitalization
nie Penders says, by looking not just at its trees, but the to-tal environment of the Green, its history, and its future.
“We are fortunate that Bon-nie and Tim agreed to spear-head the committee,” said First Selectman Laura Fran-cis. “I am grateful to have a group of passionate volun-teers dedicated to developing a plan for tree planting that will endure long after we are all gone.”
Activities of the project include:
• Soliciting feedback from residents living around the Town Green
• Raising funds for plant materials and soft- and hard-scape amenities
• Visiting other colo-nial town greens such as Guil-ford, Branford and Madison
• Applying for grant monies
• Investigating the state of the soil on the Green, which is a major concern
• Eva l u a t i n g t h e health of existing trees, some of which are very fragile.
The project would not be successful without the exper-tise and assistance of several individuals, said member Tina Gossner. “Adam Moore (now executive director of Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation on Mar-tha’s Vineyard, formerly of Durham) connected us with John Alexopoulos, associate professor of Landscape Ar-chitecture at the University of Connecticut. Alexopoulos, along with Rachel Gilroy, a graduate student at UConn, and Jack Kehoe, a retired state arborist, will create the long-range landscape plan.”
Kehoe will map out the Green, identifying all trees and estimating their age. He also will study the soil of the Green, so that any trees that are planted will have a healthy start.
The town provided $2,000 in seed funding to support the early stages of the proj-ect, which includes $1,600 for landscape design and $400 for arborist services. The landscape plan is expected in early August. Chairman Bon-nie Penders says the commit-tee will begin a fund-raising campaign once they have the proposed and approved de-
sign in hand. “Trees are under-valued for
their contribution to clean air, shade, aesthetics and wildlife habitats,” Penders said. “It surprises me how little many adults know about trees. Ed-ucation will be one of our focuses.”
Another focus of the com-mittee will be to keep the public informed as the proj-ect moves forward. Fam-
ilies who live on and near the green were invited to a TGRP meeting in May to learn about the committee’s accomplishments and plans for the future. Any resident is welcome to attend the com-mittee’s meetings held on the first Tuesday of the month at 5 p.m. in the activity room of the Durham Public Library.
Chairman Penders said Francis has been especially
supportive and instrumental. Francis praised project
members for their careful as-sessment of the Green, past, present and future. “The com-mittee is looking at sustain-ability issues as well, which is so important to the future,” she saids. “Once a plan is in place that the public will sup-port, I will work closely with the committee, the Board of Selectmen and Board of Fi-
nance to put together an im-plementation plan. I believe it is appropriate to allocate town funds, but I also think a fundraising campaign could be launched to supplement tax dollars. I am particularly happy that they have fostered a partnership with UConn to get technical and design as-sistance. UConn and its pro-fessors and graduate students are valuable resources.”
• Flooring & Laminates• Power Washing Decks & Siding• Concrete & Patio Pavers• Repairs on Wood Products
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Runner
gift, his mother founded the Go Far program, which still thrives at Durham and Mid-dlefield schools today.
“I started the program when Pete was in Kindergar-ten,” Schulten said. “It was born out of his need to get his energy out in what I consid-ered to be a productive way.”
It was not only for Peter,
however, soon all of John Ly-man School was channeling their excess energy through running at recess thanks to this program. In fact, in Go Far’s first year, the students covered over 15,000 miles.
“The idea behind Go Far was to make their exercise habitual and create confident kids,” Schulten said. “Some even found they had a niche in it, developing long term
goals.” Peter was one of those kids,
hooked on running instanta-neously. A seventh grader and only 12-years-old, he recently claimed first at the Mid-dlefield Lion’s Club annual Sprint into Spring 10K. Peter left much older competitors in the dust, finishing the race in 18:54.44, over three min-utes faster than the second place finisher.
According to him, this was the first “adult” race he had ever won.
“It was really fun,” Peter said.
He’s run in so many events, already, that it’s hard to keep track. One memorable expe-rience was in Ireland, three years ago. Peter’s family was on vacation, when he spon-taneously decided to run a 10K because he saw a notice
about it. To keep himself in tip top
shape, Peter started compet-ing in triathlons in 2009. On June 19, at the Lake Terra-muggus Triathlon in Marlbor-ough, Peter placed 32nd out of approximately 160 athletes, many who were considerably older than he is. It was his best triathlon finish yet.
Peter currently runs for cross country for Strong School. “I’ve put lots of time into speed work. I’ve been going out for runs with dis-tances like five miles and try-ing to keep a consistent 6:30 pace,” he said. He runs five days a week, and hopes to break a five minute mile this summer.
The program that cata-pulted Peter’s running career is still going strong today at every elementary school in the district. Students not only run at recess, but are encour-aged to come out for an end of the year race called Go Fast.
According to Schulten, the race has a large breakdown of age groups as well as overall race winners. There are five different events: three miles for middle and high school-ers, half a mile for children under six, a one mile for boys, a one mile for girls, and a two miles for sixth grade and younger. This year, on June 1st, about 500 kids showed up to run. Naturally, Peter won his bracket, averaging a 5:53 mile over three miles.
Peter says he knows he wants to continue running and competing. “I can’t wait to run for Strong next fall, for Coginchaug the next, and eventually in college and be-yond,” he said, adding that he loves the hard work, accom-plishment and satisfaction. He also added that it helps him feel less stressed and healthier.
Town Times | towntimes.com Friday, July 4, 2014 A19
Durham(Unless otherwise indicated, all meetings are held in the Durham Library. Check the town website at www.townofdurhamct.org for updates.)Monday, July 7Durham Volunteer Firehouse, 7 p.m.Tuesday, July 8Conservation Commission, library, 7 p.m.Library Board of Trustees, library, 7:30 p.m.Durham Volunteer Fire Company, Durham Volunteer Firehouse, 8 p.m.Thursday, July 10Public Safety Facility Renovations Planning Committee, Town Hall, 7 p.m.Zoning Board of Appeals, Town Hall, 7:30 p.m.Monday, July 14Board of Selectman, Town Hall, 7 p.m.Inland/Wetlands, Town Hall, 7:30 p.m.Tuesday, July 15Board of Finance, Town Hall, 7 p.m.Agriculture Commission, Town Hall, 7 p.m.Wednesday, July 16Planning & Zoning, library, 7:30 p.m.Thursday, July 17DMIAAB, library, 7 p.m.
Thursday, July 24Public Safety Facility Renovations Planning Committee, Town Hall, 7 p.m.Monday, July 25Town Hall, 7 p.m.Tuesday, July 29Town Hall, 7 p.m.Wednesday, July 30Durham Volunteer Ambulance Corps, 205 Main St., Durham, 6 p.m.
Middlefield(Unless otherwise indicated, all meetings are held in the Commu-nity Center.)Monday, July 7Board of Selectman, 7 p.m.Wednesday, July 9Planning & Zoning, 6:30 p.m.Wednesday, July 16Inland/Wetlands Commission, 7 p.m.Thursday, July 17DMIAAB, 7 p.m.Board of Finance, 7 p.m.Tuesday, July 22Zoning Board of Appeals, 7 p.m.Wednesday, July 23Lower CT River Valley Regional Planning Commission, 9 a.m.Thursday, July 24Middlefield Housing Authority, 3 p.m.
Government Meetings
Like several people before him, John Sliney requested permission from the Durham Board of Selectmen to use a metal detector on the town green. At its June 23 meet-ing, the BOS turned down the request.
“In the past we’ve had sev-eral requests. I remember denying them all,” said First Selectman Laura Francis.
Those requests have been denied for two reasons, ac-cording to Francis. Poten-tial damage to the green was one concern and ownership of recovered items was the second. “If there’s anything there, who does it belong to?” Francis asked.
“It feels like a hard thing to get hard-nosed about, but we’ve denied it every time,” Francis said.
Selectman John Szew-czyk said that if there were
something valuable under the green, it should not be opened to one individual.
The request was denied unanimously.
The selectmen did ap-prove at the same meet-ing use of Durham’s roads for the eighth annual Ride to End Hunger on Sept. 7. The motorcycle charity ride
begins in New Haven and its 65 mile police-escorted route travels into Durham on Route 17 and then west down Route 68 out of town.
The request was made by Diana Richter. The Ride to End Hunger benefits the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen of New Haven.
‘Yes’ to motocycles, ‘no’ to digging in Durham
By Mark DionneTown Times
See Durham / Page 19
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