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News BulletinServing Amston, Andover, Cobalt, Colchester, East Hampton, Hebron, Marlborough, Middle Haddam and Portland

PAIDGLASTONBURY CITIZEN, INC.

Volume 38, Number 19                                                   Published by The Glastonbury Citizen                                                                        August 23, 2013

RIVEREASTP.O. BOX 373, GLASTONBURY, CT, 06033

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A New Day ComesFor Hebron Schools

Hebron Elementary School Principal Amy Campbell is all smiles as she looksover her summer to-do list, to get ready for another bustling school year. Hebronschools start next Wednesday, Aug. 28.

by Geeta SchrayterHebron schools contained an exciting buzz

this week, as preparations continued for the startof school Aug. 28. Many of the administratorswere present, as were some of the teachers atGilead Hill and Hebron Elementary School,who moved about the halls and added finishingtouches to their classrooms.

Second-grade teacher Kim Waldron could befound at Gilead Hill with her daughter, whowas excited to start first grade. As Waldronstood in her colorful classroom with name tagsand bottles of water on each tiny desk, a comfyreading spot waiting to be utilized and materi-als neatly organized all throughout the room,she said she was ready for the start, and look-ing forward to the meet-and-greet on Monday.

“It’s exciting to meet the students,” she said.Second-grade teacher Kristin Gladding was

also looking forward to their arrival.“I’m looking forward to seeing the new faces

and getting to know them” she said, her armsfull of classroom supplies.

A few students could be seen as well, andGilead Hill interim principal Eric Brody tookthe time to speak to each one, asking them about

their summer and what they were most excitedabout in the upcoming year.

For Brody, the new year would arrive withsome “big changes,” including the implemen-tation of the Common Core State Standards, astandardized education plan, and new teacherand administrator evaluations. Brody called theevaluations “pretty comprehensive,” and said alot of time had been spent in training.

“It’s pretty time intensive for teachers andadministrators,” he said. “But it will make usbetter: what we’re going to have in place willmake us better educators.”

As far as challenges, Brody went on to saythere were “quite a few.”

“Between the curriculum and the evaluationsand the recent changes in the administrativeteam there’s a lot of transition,” he explained,but he finally felt “we have all the pieces inplace.”

(This is Brody’s first full year as principal.He took over when then-principal KathyVeronesi stepped into the role of acting super-intendent after Ellie Cruz left last December.Rather than return to her role as principal at

The second annual Kids Karnival was held Sunday, for children of Portland’sChatham Court. Youngsters enjoyed the sunny, warm weather by having fun on awater slide, jumping on an inflatable bouncer, playing badminton and volleyball,eating pizza and hot dogs, and being entertained by Tony the Magic Man, seen here.

Kids Karnival Proves to be Fun Celebrationby Elizabeth Bowling

Sunday afternoon’s blue skies were perfectfor Chatham Court’s second annual KidsKarnival, which featured family-fun activitiesto celebrate the end of summer.

School is right around the corner – Port-land goes back to school Tuesday, Sept. 3 –for the nearly 80 children of Chatham Court,and this year, like last year, residents wantedto give the children an outlet to have somefun, as well as generate a sense of commu-nity for the entire neighborhood.

Chatham Court, a low-income housingcomplex under the direction of the PortlandHousing Authority, was decorated with bal-loons and chalk, and in case that wasn’tenough to establish a party atmosphere, dancemusic played the entire day.

Resident Dawn Wadding, the tenant com-missioner of Chatham Court and a boardmember of the Housing Authority, said, “TheChatham Court families really united togetherand put on a great party.”

The event kicked off at 11 a.m. with an 18-foot inflatable water slide – a crowd favoritefor the kids. Children spent the day outside intheir bathing suits, enjoying the water slidebefore Tony the Magic Man arrived aroundnoon for some clowning around, balloon ani-mals, and, of course, magic.

“I think it’s great,” resident Kristy Pattonsaid about the Kids Karnival. The mother of

four said this is her family’s first year livingin Chatham Court and she’d been hearingabout the Kids Karnival for months.

“It gives the kids something to look forwardto,” she said.

Patton’s son, DJ, 11, said the clown was hisfavorite attraction at the Karnival. “He doesall different types of magic,” DJ said.

Tonyque Davis, 12, agreed. “My favoritepart is the magic man because he does cooltricks,” she said.

Tony the Magic Man spent two and a halfhours with the kids and said his goal was to“make the kids laugh.” Mission accomplished;the kids loved it.

Some broke off, though, when the PortlandFire Department stopped by with a fire truckfor the kids to check out, climb inside andwalk through. It was a great learning experi-ence, not to mention a great photo op.

Shortly after, lunch was served. Residentssat underneath a big tent for shade and en-joyed pizza and hot dogs, followed by a “fabu-lous dessert table” that featured a lot of des-serts that were made by the families, Waddingsaid.

But the fun wasn’t over yet. Later, OfficerDavid Bond from the Portland Police Depart-ment showed up with his dog Lightning, whoperformed tricks for the kids. The Karnivalwent on until 3 p.m., just as it started to rain.

See Kids Karnival Page 2

See A New Day Page 2

A New Day cont. from Front PageGilead after new superintendent Jeff Newtonbegan July 1, Veronesi resigned and has sincebeen hired as the interim principal atMarlborough Elementary School.)

“It will be a very challenging but positive yearand I’m looking forward to it; all three of thosepieces kind of go hand in hand and to me, it’svery exciting. Everything goes towards the samegoal,” Brody said. “The Common Core curricu-lum expands beyond just learning, and the evalu-ations require setting goals based upon studentand school needs. Then, the administration fa-cilitates all of that, so all three work toward thecommon goal of how best to educate. This isthe way education should be,” he said.

Over at Hebron Elementary School, princi-pal Amy Campbell was preparing for some ofthe same changes. She commented on the newevaluations, and said they would be “much moretime-consuming.”

“We worked to get most meetings withgroups of teachers and administrators alreadyon calendars so we know we can do them all,”she said. “Additionally, we continue to furtherimplement the Common Core State Standards.”

Campbell added when anything new comesalong, “that raises stress a little bit.”

“But if I know anything about Hebron,” shesaid, “we can do it.”

Also different this year would be bussing.Campbell explained there would be more groupstops than before. And, in an effort to addressthe ongoing issue of bus safety and student be-havior on the ride to and from school, each buswould be assigned to a group of three to fourstaff members. Those members would then betasked with holding periodic meetings with thestudents who ride the bus they’d been assigned.

The idea, Campbell said, is that the meet-ings would help students get to know one an-other, and provide an opportunity to problemsolve and discuss how to be more tolerant ofeach other and foster a positive community en-vironment.

“Last year bus rides were one area we had alot of concern over and not a lot of control,”Campbell explained. “If the students knew eachother a bit better, it may help. It’s just anotherway to open up and host conversations and that’sexciting.”

Overall, Campbell said the changes that were

occurring would help make the schools better,“and I’m ready to get going with it.”

But before students return, there are a fewthings left to do at each school.

At Gilead Hill, some asbestos abatement hadbeen completed throughout July and new tilehad been put down in the hallway by centraloffice, the main foyer and the gymnasium.

The project was “quite a process,” saidBrody, as it made a mess and required particu-lar sections of the building be taped off.

“The custodial staff did a wonderful jobgiven the amount of time they had,” he said.“The project basically paralyzed the building.”

However, changing the tile by the main foyerallowed for a last-minute addition: Brody hap-pily shared red letters reading “GHS” had beentiled into the floor, and waited to welcome backthe students.

And now, what remained were some “last-minute tinkering of schedules,” he said, andmaking sure everything is in order.

“Overall we’re in really good shape,” he said.At Hebron Elementary, Campbell gazed

over her to-do list and said she still had littlethings to work on like student and staff hand-books.

“Nitty-gritty things that have to go for dayone,” she said.

But the nitty-gritty and the last-minute tink-ering are all for a purpose: they lead up to thesight of smiling faces come Wednesday, some-thing both principals are looking forward to.

“There’s nothing better than being outsideon the first day,” said Campbell. “I pace thesidewalk while the buses are unloading and theparents are unloading and the level of excite-ment you see with the students, parents andteachers is great… for that first day I don’t thinkthere’s a student that’s not excited to be herewith friends and meet a new teacher.”

“The beginning is very exciting. It’s a freshstart. The slate is kind of wiped clean: thereare new students and new materials,” Brodysaid, calling the fresh start the teacher equiva-lent of a student purchasing new sneakers forthe first day.

“We’re ready to have [students] back atschool,” said Brody. “I think the stage is setfor some really positive changes.”

The classroom of second grade teacher Kim Waldron has been cleaned, restocked,organized and decorated and, like the other classrooms at Gilead Hill and HebronElementary School, is ready for the return of students Wednesday.

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Kids Karnival cont. from Front Page

The Karnival proved a big hit for all in attendance, and organizers are alreadyeagerly planning next year’s event.

According to Wadding, $1,815 were donatedto the Karnvial – that doesn’t include donationsthat came in the form of time and supplies –and some of it has been set aside for next year.

Wadding said she’s pleased the Karnival hasturned into an annual event, and said she’s“looking forward to next year.”

Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cov

MarlboroughFinance BoardApproves Year-End Transfers

by Melissa RobertoThe Board of Finance last Wednesday ap-

proved its year end transfers for the 2012-13 fis-cal year – but one member believed the actionwas not in compliance with the town charter.

First Selectwoman Cathi Gaudinski ex-plained outside of the meeting that year-endtransfers are conducted each year to balanceout the line items that result in either deficits orover-expenditures.

“Some of the line items did go over the bud-get because of unanticipated purposes,” sheexplained, “but other line items ended up com-ing up under budget so basically transfers aremoving funds from one line item to another tobalance everything out.”

The transfers are done each year after thefiscal year ends on June 30. Both the Board ofSelectmen and Board of Finance approve theirtransfers separately. Per town charter, the se-lectmen can only approve transfers that do notexceed $2,000 within any account accept forsalary accounts.

The board briefly discussed some of the defi-cits and expenses with Gaudinski last Wednes-day night. Transfers that were highlighted in-cluded the overspending of $10,004 in the pro-fessional line item of the Landuse Department.That money was a result of the building offi-cial working more hours than anticipated,Gaudinski explained. The money was approvedto transfer into the personnel account.

Additionally, $25,266 was overspent in theprofessional engineering services line item un-der contracted services. Gaudinski said this wasdue to additional engineering services con-ducted throughout the year that rose unexpect-edly. These services included engineers tend-ing to the bridge on South Main Street that sud-denly faced damages, as well as sidewalk andculvert improvements. The $25,266 was trans-ferred to the public works payroll line item,which had a deficit because one public workssupervisor had been vacant for a majority ofthe fiscal year.

Before the votes were taken to approve theBoard of Finance transfers, member Beth

Petroni explained she would not be approvingthe transfers because she believed they wentagainst the town charter.

“I actually believe it needs to go to a publichearing per town charter which says that weare not allowed to appropriate more than$10,000 in any one budget without a publichearing,” Petroni explained. “Since there aretwo line items here over $10,000 I would sug-gest that we send this to public hearing becauseI don’t believe we’re authorized to do over$10,000 under the town charter.”

However, Gaudinski – from the audience –said the section in the charter Petroni was re-ferring to had to do with “special appropria-tions,” which year end transfers do not fall un-der.

“The $10,000 limit is under [the] ‘specialappropriations’ [section of the town charter] notunder the section ‘transfer unexpended funds,’”she explained.

Gaudinski then referred to section 6.7 of thetown charter.

“The Board of Finance, when requested bythe selectmen, may transfer unexpended bal-ances from one line appropriation to another inaccordance with Section 7-347 of the Connecti-cut General Statutes,” Gaudinski read aloud.

The selectwoman then read aloud section6.7.1 of the town charter which only lists trans-fer limits for the selectmen.

Additionally, Gaudinski said the financeboard approved two year-end transfers last yearover $10,000. The transfers included a $62,554transfer for compensated absences and a$67,000 transfer to professional engineer ser-vices. According to the minutes viewable onthe town website, Petroni was absent from theAug. 8, 2012 finance meeting that approvedthese transfers.

The board ultimately approved a total amountof the year-end transfers – of $69,319 – by avote of 5-1. Members Evelyn Godbout, KenHjulstrom, Cliff Denniss, Susan Leser andDoug Knowlton voted in approval while Petroniopposed the vote.

Andover School Year Starts Wednesdayby Geeta Schrayter

The end of what Andover Elementary SchoolPrincipal Dave Griffin called “a very busy sum-mer” is fast approaching; on Wednesday, Aug.28, the halls will once again be filled with stu-dents.

But despite being a “busier than usual” sum-mer – due to training teachers and administra-tors had to take part in to learn about the newteacher and administration evaluation plan re-quired by the state – preparations for studentswere just about complete when the Rivereastdropped by the school for a visit Tuesday. Thefloors in the corridors on the lower level of theschool were still being cleaned, but Griffin saidteachers had been “in and out all summer” toready their classes.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “We have a very dedi-cated staff.”

That staff will feature two new faces for theupcoming year: music teacher Matt Piros andkindergarten teacher Carrie Gilbert.

Griffin explained Piros received a Bachelorof Arts degree in music from Trinity College inHartford and a Master of Science degree inmusic education from the University of NewHaven. And he called Gilbert, who is filling aspot left vacant when Lisa Handfield movedinto the reading department after a retirement,a “delightful young lady.”

This year, Griffin said curriculum in accor-dance with the Common Core State Standardswill be fully implemented in kindergarten

through third grade while grades four-six willcontinue to follow a transition plan for math asthey have for the past two years.

“We’re just about there,” he said, “but it’sdifficult because we had to balance between thestate standards and the Common Core.”

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS)are, according to the website corestandards.org,a single set of education standards in math andEnglish language arts for grades k-12 that statescan voluntarily adopt. To date, the standardshave been adopted by 45 states as well as theDistrict of Columbia, four territories and theDepartment of Defense Education Activity.

Under the new standards Griffin explainedsome math topics have been removed, whichallows other topics to be studied with “greaterbreadth and depth.”

In language arts he furthered there are “bigchanges,” like the use of Lexile Measures forreading. Under the Lexile framework, each stu-dent is assigned a reader measure from a read-ing test or program. Books and articles are simi-larly analyzed and given a text measure.

“The idea behind The Lexile Framework forReading is simple” the website lexile.com ex-plains. “If we know how well a student can readand how hard a specific book is to comprehend,we can predict how well that student will likelyunderstand the book.”

In addition to the above, Griffin said studentswill be required to look at more challenging

On Tuesday, staff at Andover Elementary School could be found working on final preparations for the new school year. The grounds were orderly, the corridors andlockers were clean and empty, and the classrooms were decorated, organized and stocked with fresh supplies, ready to welcome students next Wednesday, Aug. 28.

texts than in the past. As an example, he saidthe breakdown of reading materials for fifth-graders was 50 percent fiction and 50 percentnon-fiction. But once those students reach sixthgrade that changes to 70 percent non-fiction and30 percent fiction.

“That’s a big change from the traditionalcurriculum,” he said.

As school begins, Griffin mentioned one ofthe year’s uncertainties was whether or not theschool would be administering the Connecti-cut Mastery Tests (CMTs). He explained thestate had submitted a waiver and if it camethrough, it’s possible the Smarter BalancedAssessments, which are aligned with the CCSS,may be used instead. However, he added he wasunsure whether they would be administered toa sample of students or all of them.

Currently, Griffin said, students are jump-ing through a couple of hoops by taking theCMTs while simultaneously preparing for theCCSS and Smarter Balanced Assessments. Asthings currently stand, the assessments are sup-posed to be fully implemented during the 2014-15 school year and the CMTs will cease beingused.

“There’s a lot of fluctuation that’s out thereright now,” he said. “We’re working to the bestof our ability and trying to stay as flexible aspossible.”

In addition, the results of last year’s CMTswere received later than usual, and Griffin said

there was still a lot of analyzing to prepare forthe teachers: the scores are used to help teach-ers plan for their incoming students and see howlast year’s performed.

In regard to the scores, which were releasedto the schools Aug. 9, Superintendent ofSchools Andy Maneggia said, “Our scores aregood, but we’re always looking to make thembetter.”

Maneggia furthered Griffin’s thoughts andsaid the new evaluation plan for teachers andadministrators and becoming more familiarwith the CCSS were two areas of focus for theupcoming year.

“Our goal, in addition to the important areasof focus,” said Maneggia, “is to make sure thatour students receive the educational program-ming and support that they need throughout theschool year and that we do everything we canin the process so they live up to their poten-tial.”

And according to Maneggia, “things are inpretty good shape” to begin that work nextweek, when, according to Griffin, the schoolwill once again become a school.

“A school is not a school unless the kids arehere,” he said. “I can’t wait to have the chil-dren back in the building and the staff back –then the school is energized. And collectively,we’ll work together to master the hoops we needto jump through.”

Veronesi Already Getting to Work in Marlboroughby Melissa Roberto

It’s been a busy past few days for KathrynVeronesi. The recently-appointed one-year in-terim principal of Marlborough ElementarySchool has already walked the school’s pre-mises, peeked at its new furniture, met with theoffice staff, engaged in conversations of newschool initiatives, and has met with theMarlborough Education Foundation (MEF), allsince she started on Tuesday.

Her next plan of action? Welcoming studentsand the entire staff she’ll be working with whenthe school year starts next Wednesday.

Veronesi comes to the district after leavingMarlborough’s neighboring district, Hebron.She spent the last six years at Hebron PublicSchools, first as principal of Gilead Hill School,then as acting schools superintendent from lastDecember until she left the district in June.Finding herself in Marlborough as a principal,she said, was unexpected, but “feels right.”

The interim principal is taking the place ofScott Nierendorf, who led MES the past threeschool years. He has decided to further his ca-reer by taking on a greater role outside of thedistrict at EASTCONN, a Regional EducationalService Center (RESC).

Of course, assuming the role of MES’ newleader comes with big responsibilities, andVeronesi has made it clear she’s aware of that.

“This is truly an unprecedented time” with

the implementation of the new state-mandatedCommon Core State Standards and the new,also state-mandated, teacher evaluations,Veronesi said.

Superintendent of Schools David Sklarz ad-mitted Nierendorf’s sudden resignation, justthree weeks before the start of the school year,didn’t leave him with a lot of time to find some-one fitting and capable of carrying out thesenew initiatives. So, he said, he was “honoredand thrilled” to be able to add Veronesi, espe-cially because her experience will come inhandy during a time of transition.

In addition to the new state mandates,Veronesi will also have to deal with results ofthe school’s two feasibility studies, one on aworld language program and one on all-daykindergarten, which are both expected to cometo the board this fall. The studies were startedin May by Sklarz, Nierendorf and MES Assis-tant Principal Maureen Ryan, and Veronesi saidshe is confident in assisting them through thefinal leg of the process. She’s particularly gotexperience with all-day kindergarten, as she waswith the Hebron schools when they imple-mented it.

When it comes to the task of completing aworld language feasibility study, Veronesi saidshe’ll tackle the research by doing one thingfirst: learning about the district’s former pro-

gram.“Anytime I think you’re going to a new dis-

trict it’s important to understand the existingculture and understand the history,” she said.“That’s where you start as a new leader. Youhave to respect that and start from a place ofunderstanding current culture and history be-fore you move forward.”

Veronesi furthered she’s confident “we’ll dogood work on both studies.”

On just her first day at the school, Veronesi– alongside Nierendorf, whose final day has notyet been decided – met with the school’s cur-riculum specialists team to identify what is inplace for the upcoming year and what else needsto be done.

“It was a great meeting,” said Veronesi, whomentioned the team’s two new specialists,Lauren Donovan and Kim Kelley. “There is tre-mendous skill and energy on the team.”

As an administrator, Veronesi coined herselfan “idea person and a creative thinker.” Shehopes to use these characteristics to “alwaysbe a part of a team who determines how we cando things more effectively and more efficientlyso that we’re always clear of what the outcomeis and of what we want for kids and adults.”

The interim principal stressed she’s “grate-ful” for the time she’s able to spend withNierendorf through the start of the school year.

“It’s important when there’s a leadershipchange that there’s an overlap,” she said.

And the former Hebron administrator knowsthat from experience, as she coached currentGilead Hill School interim principal Eric Brodyduring the process when she became actingsuperintendent in Hebron last year.

Early on in her new role in the new district,Veronesi said she’s already taken so much outof it.

“It’s been two days and I feel like I’ve learnedtwo months worth of information,” she saidWednesday with a laugh.

The interim principal is also respectful ofNierendorf’s leaving – which she said she real-izes may affect students he’s had connectionswith at the school. In fact, she’s currently work-ing on a “bit of a surprise” for the principalthat will allow students to say goodbye to himin a “fun way.”

Overall, the seasoned administrator has al-ready coined the Marlborough district a “tre-mendously welcoming place.”

Though there are many more faces for her tomeet, and plans that need to be carried out, thething she’s most eager about is meeting the kids.

“I really cannot wait,” she said. “I can’t waitto get to know them and to interact with thembecause a school is just a building until the kidsget there.”

Marlborough Ready for ‘New and Improved’ School Year

MES teachers have been present at the school in recent weeks decorating theirclassrooms and preparing for the upcoming school year. From left to right, third-grade teacher Mary Cochefski, second-grade teacher Ann Loftus, and first-gradeteacher Sue Rector sit around one of the school’s new reading tables discussingcurriculum.

One of MES’ exciting new additions is its new furniture that will appear in threeof the school’s classrooms. The furniture is a part of the school’s one-year pilotprogram coined “Classroom of the Future.” In Mary Cochefski’s third-gradeclassroom, triangular desks are arranged in square tables, though the teacher saidthey can be arranged in multiple ways.

by Melissa RobertoIt’s safe to say several changes are in order

at Marlborough Elementary School for the up-coming school year, and outgoing principalScott Nierendorf said he’s pleased to know he’sleaving the school district in a “new and im-proved” state.

“It’s been an extremely productive summer,”Nierendorf said last week. “This is not the sameschool that teachers and students left in June.”

The anticipatory changes the MES commu-nity is sure to recognize on Aug. 28, the firstday students arrive, are hinged on a slate of newstaff members, classroom furniture, technologyupgrades, and security improvements.

One significant change that occurred in re-cent weeks was the news of Nierendorf’s res-ignation and the interim appointment of formeracting superintendent and principal of theHebron school district, Kathryn Veronesi.Veronesi comes with a background of six yearsas an administrator in the neighboring town.She assumed her new role earlier this weekalongside Nierendorf, who is expected to bepresent at the school until early to mid-Sep-tember. (An article on Veronesi’s appointmentappears elsewhere in this week’s issue.)

Along with a new face in the main office,newcomers will also be found in the classrooms.In last Tuesday’s Board of Education meetingSuperintendent of Schools David Sklarz said asignificant amount of shifting has occurred forthe upcoming year. The school was left withnine vacancies for the upcoming school yearwith one teacher position not being filled dueto declining enrollment. Two of the vacancieswere a result of long-time teachers who retiredand another two – the math and English cur-riculum specialists – accepted new roles out-side of the district. Sklarz said five full-timeteachers have been appointed as well as onepart-time kindergarten teacher and two spe-

cialists.Sklarz explained a majority of the vacancies

at the school were due to teachers who haveaccepted new roles outside of the district tofurther their careers. With all of this movement,Sklarz pointed out only two teachers will becompletely new to the district. The remainingrecruitments were made by teachers at theschool moving into new roles, which allowedthe district to bring back former professionalson temporary contracts to fill the permanentpositions. He concluded “the people” are themost important aspect of the school.

“When it gets right down to it, schools areabout people and that’s probably the most ex-citing piece,” the superintendent said adding hebelieves the group of newcomers is made up of“incredibly capable teachers.”

An exciting pilot program is also expectedto enthuse a fraction of students when they stepinto their classrooms for the first time nextweek. This one-year program has been coined“Classroom of the Future” and is a result of acommittee made up of one teacher from the first,third and fifth grades who researched ways toupgrade classroom equipment.

The “forward-thinking furniture,” asNierendorf described it, will appear in threeclassrooms of the school for one year. The fur-niture consists of desks in shapes other thanthe typical rectangular school desk as well asnew chairs and teacher desks. The pilot pro-gram will allow the district to decide whetheror not it will continue with upgraded furniturein the future.

For example, fifth-grade teacher Mary Rosewas arranging new triangular desks in her roomearlier this week. She anticipates the desks willallow for better grouping.

Other upgrades in the classrooms includetechnology and security improvements. MES

is now equipped with two new sets of comput-ers. One new set will be placed in the librarycomputer room. The other set will appear inthe school’s new “Ed Tech Center” housed in aformer sixth-grade classroom. This room isexpected to be utilized by upper grade studentsas well as being used for the new technologicalmethod of the Smarter Balanced assessments,Nierendorf said.

Additionally, 98 percent of the classroomswill be complete with SmartBoard systems.And thanks to PTO support, MES is also hometo five new document cameras teachers can useinside of the classroom.

Keeping up with the technological advances,the school website is also encountering an up-grade. Based on a parent survey conducted lastspring, it was brought to the administration’sattention parents would like to see more com-munication from staff about the progress of theirchildren in the classroom. The new website willinclude new tools that allow staff to do that,Nierendorf said.

Additional security improvements exist in-side and outside of the school. The school’sformer video surveillance system was upgraded,giving office staff “a clear vision of what’s hap-pening around the building,” Nierendorf said.The building’s indoor classrooms also have newlocks to ensure safety to students and staff.

Just one walkthrough of the school left teach-ers commenting on its cleanliness in recentweeks, Nierendorf said. New custodial super-visor Ken Avelin has been present at the schoolthis summer getting it prepared and the floorsshining.

One initiative carried over from last year isthe community’s cohesive project of bringinga new basketball court to the school’s premises.Nierendorf – who has worked with a group ofparents in Marlborough on the project – said it

should be paved by the first day of school. Ad-ditional funding will need to be raised to finishthe plan, which includes the installation of bas-ketball hoops and lines to be added.

For Sklarz, this year marks a year of pos-sible sweeping changes in the district. In addi-tion to a full principal search anticipated to takeplace during the last half of the year, the dis-trict is also continuing to implement new ini-tiatives demanded at the state level. Like allother districts in the state, Marlborough willcontinue its preparation for the 2014-15 com-mon core implementation, a new Smarter Bal-anced Assessment, as well as the new teacherevaluation system set to swing into motion thisyear.

To Sklarz, MES is “always evolving.” Otherthan new people inside of the rooms, he’s alsopleased with the advancement of its curricu-lum. The third grade has received a new read-ing series called “Journeys” which was fundedin the fiscal year’s budget, he said. Addition-ally, administration has been working sinceMay on two feasibility studies, the languagestudy and all-day kindergarten, with the find-ings being reported back to the school board inOctober and November, respectively.

Sklarz pointed out the field he works in isexciting because each year brings “a fresh start.”

“It’s like a little bit of Christmas anticipa-tion,” he said.

However, Sklarz’s main focus is making surethe school defines itself this year.

“This is going to be the year we define our-selves and come together as a board, a schoolcommunity, and a broader community of tax-payers,” he said, stressing the new principalsearch to come. “We will define what we valueand what’s important.”

Students will begin the 2013-14 school yearnext Wednesday, Aug. 28.

Colchester Blight Ordinance Task Force Createdby Melissa Roberto

The Board of Selectmen last Thursday, Aug.15, unanimously approved the formation of atask force responsible for drafting and recom-mending a blight ordinance to town officials.

The approval followed a town meeting ear-lier that evening, which was held to discuss theissue of blight in Colchester.

The selectmen’s support was in response toa motion made by resident Steve Schuster dur-ing the blight meeting. Schuster and several inthe crowd endorsed the formation of a task force– an approach initially pitched by the select-men at the start of the town meeting.

Per town charter, the Board of Selectmen isresponsible for interviewing and selecting can-didates for the task force and establishing acharge for it to follow. The selectmen agreedThursday the task force should consist of sevenmembers, and to begin forming it at their nextregular meeting, which will be held Thursday,Sept. 19, at 7 p.m.

The town meeting was scheduled after resi-dent Bob Prentiss issued a petition of 242 sig-natures to Town Hall in May. Prentiss formu-lated the petition in hopes the selectmen would“draw up a strong blight ordinance with teeth,”the petition stated.

Nearly a dozen residents spoke of their con-cerns regarding blighted properties in theirneighborhoods last week. A common concernseemed to be that blighted properties have anegative effect on residents’ property values.

The choice words “junkyard” and “eyesore”were used to describe a few. According to resi-dent Dave Anderson, one residence inColchester has a front yard filled with unregis-tered boats, trucks, motor homes and construc-tion equipment.

“You name it, it’s there,” he said. “On thefront yard in plain sight.”

Others described blight they’ve seen in townas overgrown grass and hedges that cross over

to their own properties.Resident Patricia Blaauboer said her

household’s situation is a “little different.” Inthe last five years, Blaauboer said her neigh-borhood has been the scene of three houses inforeclosure. She highlighted the appearance ofone in particular.

“The gutters are falling off the house; theshudders are falling off,” she explained, add-ing that “occasionally someone will come byand mow the lawn.”

Still, the deteriorating appearance of thehouse is “as much blight to us as a broken-downcar is to someone else.”

Residents eager to see an ordinance in placeto address the issues suggested the ordinancebe drafted sooner rather than later. A handfuldeclared they’d like to see it enforced in 30-60days.

At their board meeting that evening, the se-lectmen agreed the issue is in need of resolu-

tion, but seemed to feel that quality of the ordi-nance is most important.

“Though it is an urgent need, it is also verycomplex,” selectwoman Rosemary Coyle ex-plained. “It’s easy to pass something but if youcan’t do anything with it, it really doesn’t doany good for citizens or us as a town.”

Coyle furthered she feels an ordinance willbe helpful “if you give it enough time and ifyou give it enough effort.”

Selectman Jim Ford added it’s “critical” totake time to create the ordinance so it’s doneseriously.

First Selectman Gregg Schuster pointed outa similar task force has been formed at the statelevel to create a model of blight ordinances forcommunities to follow. He said the ordinanceis expected to pass in February.

“I’m sure we can monitor that and have someinformation from [that task force] and incorpo-rate [it],” said Schuster.

Colchester School Year Starts with New CES Principal

Getting Ready for School ‘the Colchester Way’

by Melissa RobertoFor Colchester’s youth, each new school year

brings a new setting to become acquainted with,a new teacher to meet, perhaps a new bus route,and a time where milestones like learning totie a shoe or learning addition and subtractionawait.

This year, the students at Colchester Elemen-tary School will also be welcomed by a friendlynew face, their new principal, Anne Watson.

One month into her new administrative role,Watson said she’s already impressed by the pre-kindergarten through grade two school and thedistrict as a whole.

“I am really, really impressed by the dedica-tion of the staff and the amount of time theyput in,” she said. “I consider myself fortunateto be a member of such a collaborative team.”

Watson joined Colchester Public Schools inJuly after spending a majority of her career asan administrator in elementary schools in andoutside of the state. Her career in the educationfield began as a teacher in the early 1990s whenshe taught for eight years at Naubuc Elemen-tary School in Glastonbury. She then spent anadditional two years in that district, taking onher first administrative role as assistant princi-pal at Hebron Avenue School, where she alsotaught students of the school’s gifted and tal-ented program on the side.

During her time in Glastonbury, Watson alsotaught technology at the graduate sector of theUniversity of Hartford.

In 2002, Watson transitioned to theMiddletown school district as principal ofMacdonough School, a kindergarten- throughfifth-grade school. She stayed in Middletownfor one year – which included the implementa-tion of a school-wide reform in literacy – be-fore her family moved to Maine. Watson thenassumed another principal position at WoodmanPark Elementary School in Dover, N.H., forthree years. On top of her principal duties,

Watson also taught at the graduate level, thistime in the education department at the Uni-versity of New Hampshire.

For the past seven years, Watson has spenther time as a principal back in Connecticutwithin the Avon district at Thompson BrookSchool, a fifth- and sixth-grade intermediateschool.

Watson highlighted, however, that throughmost of the administrative titles she’s held,spending time in the classroom with studentswas a constant.

“Up until I left my principal position in AvonI would teach in the classroom as often as Icould,” she said.

“My true passion is making learning fun forstudents,” she furthered.

As an administrator, Watson said she likesto think of herself as a “collaborator,” whichher fellow administrators find fitting. Superin-tendent of Schools Jeffry Mathieu said that, like“all of the new administrators,” Watson “be-lieves in the Colchester spirit.”

Board of Education Chairman Ron Goldsteinsaid he feels confident with Watson’s entranceto Colchester as well.

Watson “comes to us from Avon with ter-rific experience at a high performing school,”he explained. “We’re confident that she’s go-ing to bring that same philosophy here.”

Like other administrators and teachers inColchester, Watson spent several hours thissummer training for the new teacher evaluationsystem. The new principal said it’s been “great”to be alongside other professionals in the dis-trict during that training.

“It’s given me an opportunity to really get toknow them,” she said.

The seasoned administrator added this com-ing year at CES will be significant due to theimplementation of all-day kindergarten for all,which she supports.

“It’s a gift of time for students,” she con-

The halls of Bacon Academy may be quiet now but that will soon change nextWednesday, Aug. 28, when students file in for the first day of school. The day willbegin with the high school’s annual celebration, “First Day the Bacon Way.”

by Melissa RobertoColchester’s youth and adolescents are most

likely spending their last few days of summervacation trying to savor every last minute pos-sible, sleeping in and basking in the sunshinebefore the pens and pencils and books comeout.

But the lack of enthusiasm most students mayfeel as the summer comes to a close is easilymade up for in excess by Colchester adminis-trators and teachers ready to take on a newschool year, as Superintendent of Schools JeffryMathieu put it, “the Colchester way.”

The Colchester method Mathieu highlightedis the district’s “unique” environment createdby the community as a whole.

“It’s a spirit of helping out, helping yourneighbor and going beyond what’s expected,”Mathieu said.

Mathieu described some of his anticipationof the upcoming year in a back-to-school letterhe wrote to staff.

“I wrote, ‘if you watch TV around the holi-days they always say December is the mostexciting time of the year but for educators, theend of August and the beginning of Septemberis the most exciting time because we get to seethe students again,’” the superintendent re-called.

Colchester students will break the hush that’sexisted in the four public schools all summernext Wednesday, Aug. 28. At Colchester El-ementary School (CES), new principal AnneWatson will greet the town’s youngest schol-ars and lead the kindergartners throughColchester’s first year of full-day kindergartenfor all. (A full article on Watson’s appointmentappears elsewhere in this issue.) The all-daykindergarten for all has been a long-time com-ing for the Colchester district, Board of Educa-tion Chairman Ron Goldstein explained.

“We are excited to see this happening,”Goldstein said, “because we know researchshows it’s when you get kids started early whereyou have your biggest impact.”

At Jack Jackter Intermediate School, newassistant principal Jen Reynolds will welcomestudents. Already familiar with the town, as shealso lives here, Reynolds will experience herfirst administrative role in Colchester. Mathieuand Goldstein both said Reynolds’ impressiveperformance during what the superintendentdescribed as a “rigorous” interview processplayed a big role in her recruitment.

William J. Johnston Middle School may bethe talk of the town this fall, as information ofthe town’s proposed building project – whichwould renovate and add to the middle schooland include a senior center and community cen-ter – will be presented by the Building Com-mittee at each of the schools’ open houses. Theproject will go before the voters at a town meet-ing on Sept. 18 and a subsequent town-widereferendum on Oct. 1.

“Getting out information about the projectis what the building committee’s focus will beduring the first few weeks of school,” Goldsteinsaid.

Meanwhile, at Bacon Academy, 902Colchester adolescents will also experience anexciting start. Neal Curland, the interim assis-tant principal for the 2013-14 year, comes tothe school after spending the last 17 years as aspecial education teacher at Norwich FreeAcademy. He will fill in for assistant principalCharlie Hewes, who is taking a leave of ab-sence to finish a doctorate degree in curricu-lum. Mathieu said Hewes will return for thefollowing school year. However, becauseHewes’ focus for his doctorate in curriculum,he’ll help out the district from time to time dur-ing the upcoming school year, as it works onthe implementation of new state mandates likethe Common Core State Standards and newteacher evaluations.

Curland is excited to start his administra-tive endeavors in Colchester, and Mathieu saidthe district is just as thrilled to receive him.

“From my visits last spring when I was in-terviewing for the job I loved the family atmo-sphere [Bacon Academy] has,” said Curland.“It seemed like a very happy place. It has a greatculture and friendliness to it that was very at-tractive.”

That Bobcat culture will be experienced start-ing the first day, Principal Marc Ambruso high-lighted this week. In typical Bacon fashion, highschool students will continue the school’s tra-dition of celebrating the first day of school in-stead of dreading it. The tradition, “First Daythe Bacon Way,” is a student-organized “ampingceremony” similar to a pep rally, Ambruso ex-plained. The day will begin with the distribu-tion of T-shirts to all students and a pep rallyfollowed by a quick run-through of classes. Theremainder of the day features activities on thefootball field including an inflatable water slideand dunk tank.

The tradition is of no cost to the district,Ambruso said. A committee of students led byone staff member fundraises for the event eachsummer. One of the chairwomen of the com-mittee, senior Jen Cole, said $4,500 was col-lected this year through fundraisers and the helpof sponsors.

“I think it’s something everyone remembers,”Cole said. “School spirit starts off on the firstday.”

On day two, though, academics will be infull effect. The high school is going to be staffedwith seven new teachers and seven new para-professionals. Ambruso said a library mediaspecialist position became vacant this summerand the interview process is still being con-ducted. Ambruso – also fairly new to his posi-tion, being named interim principal last fall andthen tapped for the permanent position this pastspring – thinks the new staff coming to Baconwill strengthen the school’s culture.

“I think anytime you get new blood it’s aninfusion of new ideas,” said Ambruso.

Following the retirement of Colchester’s longtime elementary school administrator,Jacqueline Somberg, the Board of Education appointed new principal Anne Watsonat the start of the summer. Watson comes from Avon with lengthy experience as anadministrator. Watson will welcome students on their first day next Wednesday,Aug. 28.

Similar to the last few years, the district willcontinue making significant improvements toits kindergarten- through 12th-grade curriculumto implement the demands of Common CoreState Standards per mandates descending fromthe state level. This year will also mark thedistrict’s first stab at its hybrid of the newteacher evaluations, or System for EducatorEvaluation and Development (SEED). The stategave all districts a choice of implementing itfully or in phases, Goldstein explained.Colchester chose to fully take it on this year,he said.

“We decided we needed to be fully investedin it to make it work,” the board chairman said.

Earlier this week Mathieu spent time tour-ing each of the four Colchester schools “walk-ing each hallway, checking outside groundsand seeing what custodians and maintenancestaff did.”

“We’re very prepared,” Mathieu said, “andready for the students to start.”

cluded.The principal furthered additional time for

kindergartners will allow the town’s youngeststudents to take their time succeeding in evencommon, everyday actions like going throughthe lunch line.

“Even that is a huge change and they reallyhave to spend a lot of time learning,” Watsonsaid. “It will be interesting; it will be fun.”

CES’ school atmosphere, which is summa-rized in its slogan, “Soar to Success at CES, aschool that C-A-R-E-S,” is also something thatWatson said attracted her to the school. Prima-rily, her decision to apply for the role came from

her knowledge that CES is classified as a schoolusing the “Responsive Classroom” approach –which, according to responsiveclassroom.org,is an approach that “leads to greater teachereffectiveness, higher student achievement, andimproved school climate.”

Additionally, she hopes to maintain thehappy environment current at CES.

“It has a happy and nurturing and comfort-able environment,” she said. “The bottom lineis to make sure every child is learning to theirpotential and enjoying themselves why they doit.”

Marlborough Day Just Two Days Awayby Melissa Roberto

Though backpacks may soon be of greateruse than beach totes, families interested inspending one last day of fun outside withouttraveling too far can head to Blish Park thisSunday, Aug. 25, for Marlborough Day, to cel-ebrate local businesses within the community.

Marlborough Day is a community-wideevent free to the public hosted by theMarlborough Business Association, associationexecutive Jessica Olander described. The eventhas been held for a total of 25 years and wasoriginally run by the town before it took a briefhiatus. In 2007, the MBA took over the plan-ning duties and has followed through with itsagenda of “showing off what Marlborough hasto offer” ever since, Olander said.

The event’s focus of showcasing Marlbor-ough businesses means all participating busi-nesses or civic organizations who will have abooth on site at the park are MBA members. This year, 38 have chosen to participate.

In addition to free admission, the day is filledwith pluses for attendees, who do not have tobe residents of Marlborough to attend. In fact,attendance is the only thing required for theopportunity to snag free goodies and win prizes.

Like years past, activities sure to please the

youth are the Monster Mobile Arcade, a 75-foot air-conditioned arcade trailer, and theRoaming Railroad, a trackless train that offersrides to kids around the park. Local musicianJim Ferguson and bands Dino and the No-Names and The Modern Riffs will also be onsite providing the tunes.

But this year, the select few music groupswon’t be the only ones in front of a mic. Thisyear’s event will host its first-ever“Marlborough Idol,” where attendees will havethe opportunity to compete in a singing com-petition. The first round of acapella auditionswill begin at 11 a.m.

Some of the sponsored activities will alsoremind attendees that summer hasn’t ended.Those who pay a visit to the AHM Youth andFamily Services booth will be able to make theirown lemonade while another stop to OneidaHolistic Health Center will treat attendees withchair massages, reiki and reflexology.

Last year’s favored activity of spray-on tat-toos will make their way back to the park thisyear, sponsored by Organized East of the River.

“People waited in line for a half hour lastyear,” Olander recalled. “It was a great, greatactivity.”

Hot Stepz Dance Academy is also going toperform for attendees with The Modern Riffs.

And the celebration wouldn’t be completewithout food. Olander said items like pizza,chicken tenders, chili cheese fries, a “walkingtaco” consisting of Fritos chips, seasonedground beef and other savory additions, will beavailable – possibly the only things that willcause attendees to reach into their wallets.

The local Boy Scouts will also serve cheese-burgers and hot dogs, while the RepublicanTown Committee will sell fried dough.

Last year, about 650 attendees came throughthe park to partake in the festivities, Olandersaid. But this year, the executive strives for aneven bigger crowd.

Craig Robinson, chairman of theMarlborough Day Committee and owner of ItsSo Ranunculus flower shop, defined the eventas “simple and comfortable.” The MBA mem-ber pointed out that he hopes Sunday’s weatheris similar to last year’s perfect low-humiditytemperatures and clear skies.

Robinson said two years ago a tornado warn-ing caused the event to wrap up early; the yearprior it was held in tents due to rain. But that

hasn’t put a damper on his excitement each yearwhen the event gets close.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Robinson said.“You walk away with some possible gift ideasor ideas of areas to go for gifts that are sup-plied in town.”

Whether it’s the arts and crafts, extra good-ies and prizes, entertainment or food that at-tracts attendees, Olander highlighted the event’strue purpose.

“It really is a community give-back,” sheexplained.

Marlborough Day is pretty much a break-even event for the MBA, she furthered. Thebusinesses use it as a way to give back to thecommunity that keeps them going, she said.

And according to Robinson, kids, teens andfamilies – or really anyone who attends – willmost likely walk away with miscellaneousitems supplied by Marlborough’s own, somethat might fill up those backpacks just in timefor the school year.

The event will be held from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.at Blish Park in Marlborough on Sunday, Aug.25. Attendees are reminded pets are not al-lowed.

Belltown Goes Back to School Next Week

Next week the chairs in this East Hampton High School classroom will be in theirupright positions and filled with students. Classes start next Thursday, Aug. 29.

by Elizabeth BowlingBelltown schools will ring in the 2013-14

school year Thursday, Aug. 29, and a lot willbe new – from administrators, to teachers, tothe curriculum, East Hampton academics aregetting a facelift.

According to Superintendent of SchoolsDiane Dugas, Tim Vantassle on Monday washired as the new assistant superintendent ofschools, a position that has been vacant sinceKevin Reich retired from the position last fall.(Reich currently serves as part-time facilitiesdirector for the schools.)

Vantassle comes to East Hampton fromEnfield, where he was the principal at John F.Kennedy Middle School, Dugas said.

She called Vantassle a “very strong curricu-lum leader,” a “team player” and a “collabora-tor.” She furthered, “He brings a wealth of back-ground and experience.”

Dugas also said Vantassle has a “deep un-derstanding” of the national Common CoreState Standards, which Connecticut – and 46other states – adopted in 2010. The new stan-dards highlight the “expectations of what allchildren should know to be college and careerready,” Dugas explained.

She said the Common Core requires that stu-dents have a “deeper focus” rather than a widebreadth of curriculum, which differs from theway East Hampton schools have taught in thepast. This year’s curriculum will adapt to “bestprepare students for college and career,” shesaid, “and by doing that, they will inevitablymeet the requirements for the new testing.”

The “new testing” is the Smarter BalanceAssessment, a field test created by the state thatwill replace the Connecticut Mastery Test inthe 2014-15 school year, Dugas said. TheSmarter Balance Assessment program will as-sess students in grades three through eight, aswell as grade 11.

Dugas called the Smarter Balance Assess-ment “a much more rigorous assessment” with“different teaching and learning expectations.”

Because the new test must be completedonline, Dugas said students will need to becomemore digitally-literate than ever before.

“One of our big focuses this year is prepar-ing both the district to be digitally-ready as wellas preparing the students to be digitally-liter-ate,” Dugas said.

The town is also implementing fiber opticsthat will “support high-speed Internet as wellas to help support additional technology re-sources for the delivery of the new curriculum,”Dugas said. The process is already “in theworks” and should be completed by January,but the town is applying for a state grant to easethe financial burden, Dugas said.

Echoing Dugas’ thoughts on digital literacy,East Hampton High School principal JohnFidler said that this year it will be crucial for

students to master technology – specifically,computerized testing.

This year, high school students will practicecomputerized testing in EHHS’s four computerlabs. “It’s a pilot year,” Fidler said.

But after this year, the high school renova-tion project calls for increased technology inthe building. According to Fidler, the renova-tion project will be in its “schematic design”phase for this entire year. No part of that de-sign development should impact the students,he affirmed, and construction isn’t scheduledto begin until fall 2014.

Dugas said she is excited for the renovationproject. “We’ll be designing for what the fu-ture holds for the students,” she said.

But looking more to the present, Dugas said11 new teachers were added to the district thisyear. She said, “We’ve been working verycollaboratively this summer” and she hopesthey’ll bring a great energy to East Hamptonschools.

New teacher and administrator evaluationswill be implemented this fall and will empha-size “developing rich opportunities for conver-sation between teachers and administrators andcolleagues around teaching and learning,”Dugas said. She noted the importance of teach-ers and administrators working together in aprofessional learning community.

The state mandated that every district in Con-necticut implement the new teacher and admin-istrator evaluation system this year. The sys-tem will measure effectiveness based on stu-dent learning, observation of performance andpractice, and stakeholder feedback. (Parentswill have the opportunity to fill out a surveythis fall to contribute to the new evaluation sys-tem.)

Regarding teachers, Fidler said the highschool teachers have been filtering in and outall summer, getting their classrooms ready, andreworking their curriculums.

He said the teachers are working to “alignour curriculum to the standards of the Com-mon Core.” He furthered, “We have a very hardwork faculty” and he knows his teachers are upfor the challenge.

In addition to curriculum changes, one ma-jor change at the high school this year will bethe elimination of the one-hour delays everyWednesday, which were implemented last year,Fidler said. The weekly delays were used togive teachers time to assess their students’ workand, based on those assessments, make “im-provements to their own instruction...in theirclassrooms,” he said.

But the weekly delay was “too disruptive”so it will not continue this year, Fidler said.Instead, he said, faculty and department meet-ing time may be consolidated to provide timefor teachers to do those assessments.

Last year also marked the beginning of the

high school’s academic support system called“X-block,” which happened every Tuesday andThursday. Essentially, it is a time when allteachers and all students are accessible and itwill continue this year.

“We’re really trying to bring everyone tomastery,” Fidler said explaining why X-blockwill continue.

Mastery is a common theme in East Hamp-ton schools for the 2013-14 academic year.

Memorial Elementary School’s new princi-pal, Mindy Wilkie, said she and her staff wentthrough a lot of professional development andtraining to master the new evaluation plans. Theprincipals evaluate the assistant principals andthe teachers, and Dugas evaluates the princi-pals, Wilkie explained.

Regarding the “nuts and bolts” of going backto school, Wilkie said she and her staff areworking on updating the school website, get-ting handbooks together, cleaning the building,and finalizing registration, which will continueuntil the first day of school.

Wilkie said there will be a three-day teacherprofessional development Aug. 26, 27 and 28.In addition, the new teacher orientation was thisweek, as well as kindergarten orientation.

According to Wilkie, Memorial ElementarySchool has about 150 kindergarteners. To putthat in perspective, those kids are the class of2026.

A little more than 60 students will attend all-

day kindergarten – there are three full-day sec-tions – and about 80 will attend half-day kin-dergarten sections.

Because many parents have expressed dis-satisfaction in sending their children to half-day kindergarten, Dugas will conduct a feasi-bility study, via a feasibility committee, to ex-plore the possibility of implementing all-daykindergarten for all kindergarteners in the fu-ture.

Wilkie said all-day kindergarten is “definitelya benefit” because it gives the kids time to “re-ally dig into the curriculum.”

Also to help dig into the curriculum, Wilkiesaid each classroom was outfitted with projec-tion screens and two newer computers. Shecalled the advancement of technology in EastHampton’s schools a “huge initiative.”

“We’re moving very fast toward that [wire-less access] because every student will be as-sessed through electronic means,” Wilkie said.

Wilkie said Memorial’s schedule has beenmodified so that teachers have more “collabo-rative time” together, a notion that Dugasstrongly supports.

Wilkie said, “I’m most looking forward tocreating the culture and the climate – that teach-ing and learning climate.” She furthered, “It’snot just about students learning anymore. It’sabout teachers learning.”

“I’m so excited to just see the school in ac-tion,” she added.

East Hampton Fireworks Return With A Bang

Hundreds gathered at the East Hampton Middle School athletic fields to watchthe Fire Department’s 90th anniversary commemoration fireworks display. Theshow used to be an annual event and the fire department hopes to revive thecommunity’s tradition.

by Elizabeth BowlingLast Saturday’s return of East Hampton’s

fireworks show was nothing short of a success.This year the East Hampton Volunteer FireDepartment commemorated its 90th anniver-sary of service to the town with a 30-minutefireworks display that left hundreds in awe.

It was a perfect night – clear and 70 degrees– for families and friends to spread out a blan-ket on the lawn of the East Hampton MiddleSchool athletic fields and enjoy a sense of com-munity, great food from Franks’ MobileKitchen, and a great show.

The display, put on by Ocean State Pyrotech-nics from Rhode Island, went off without ahitch.

Each vehicle that entered the East HamptonMiddle School parking lot was welcomed by afriendly greeting from members of the EastHampton Volunteer Fire Department. Membershanded out notes to each vehicle, explainingthe purpose of the show and thanking the peopleof East Hampton.

The note called the show a “family-orientedfireworks display” and a “public service, solelyfor the entertainment and enjoyment of the resi-dents of our community and surroundingtowns.” Indeed, it was.

Jim Burke, the fire department’s public in-formation officer, said he hopes this year’s fire-works revival will lead to a yearly tradition forthe town.

“We are planning on making this an annualevent,” he said.

Admission was free and many spectators ar-rived early, giving kids time to run around ex-citedly. Some youngsters played with the glowsticks that the Junior Division sold that night.

Each child under the age of 12 was given afree raffle ticket as they entered the complex.According to Burke, 238 raffle tickets werehanded out.

Excitement was in the air as the crowd waitedfor the show to start.

At 8:45 p.m., the audience was teased by acouple practice fireworks. By 9:10 Burke an-nounced that the winning ticket belonged toThomas Cromwell. The winner and his family– his grandmother and three younger brothers– were upgraded to “VIP seating” for the fire-works show.

The crowd gave Cromwell a round of ap-plause as he and his family took their VIP seatsand seconds later the lights illuminating theathletic field were suddenly turned off, caus-ing some spectators to shriek. But the pitchblack lasted only a moment because then theshow began with a bang, literally.

After the loud and bright grand opening, onespectator said with amazement, “Oh wow! Didyou see that?!”

“Ooh’s” and “ahh’s” spread like wildfirethroughout the crowd. Any lull generated a greatcheer from impressed spectators. And the big-ger the fireworks, the bigger the cheer.

The grand finale left one spectator saying,“That’s what I’m asking from East Hampton!”Another said, “I don’t know if I can containmyself for the rest of the evening!”

Jim Kostin, who enjoyed the show with hiswife, Trudy, said, “We thought it was a lot offun. It was well-organized and it was a greatnight for it.”

Tina Lanzi watched the show with her fam-ily. She said simply, “We had a wonderful time.”

Hamm Wins Citizen of the Year Award in East Hampton

Gail Hamm, East Hampton’s former state representative, recently won the 2013East Hampton Citizen of the Year award, presented by the East Hampton VillageLions. Village Lion Linda Brogan is shown at left, with Hamm and Hamm’s husband,Alan Hurst.

by Elizabeth BowlingEast Hampton’s Citizen of the Year is typi-

cally an individual who has made a differencein the town throughout his or her life – and thisyear’s winner is no exception.

Gail Hamm, the 2013 recipient of EastHampton’s Citizen of the Year Award, said, “It’sobviously a great honor.”

The former state representative said she was“pretty surprised actually” to have been namedCitizen of the Year by the East Hampton Vil-lage Lions because “there’s so many people inour community who have done so much that tobe singled out was a bit overwhelming.”

According to a press release sent by the Vil-lage Lions, Hamm was chosen for her “decadesof unselfish service to both the local commu-nity and our state.”

Hamm served East Hampton for over 20years. Her work for the town included servingon its Democratic Town Committee and Boardof Education. She was also elected state repre-sentative for the 34th Assembly District of EastHampton and Middletown in 1998.

It was her time in the state assembly, Hammsaid, where she did her most significant workfor East Hampton.

“I was able to successfully bring some fund-ing back,” she said, referring to two $25,000grants she helped the town receive to improveLake Pocotopaug, as well as federal money shehelped secure for East Hampton for ComstockCovered Bridge over Salmon River.

Village Lions member Teri Schlosser agreed.“She’s done so much for East Hampton in termsof our resources, such as Lake Pocotopaug andhelping to get Comstock bridge restored,” shesaid.

Schlosser also said Hamm was “instrumen-tal” in getting the restoration of the Joseph N.Goff House underway.

While those were big accomplishments forEast Hampton, Hamm said she felt her most

significant work in general was her work withjuveniles.

“I was very interested in status offenders anddecriminalizing runaways,” she said, regardingproposed legislation to ease punishment forsome youth offenders.

Since her retirement from office late last year,Hamm said she’s “been resting.”

While Hamm may be best known outsideEast Hampton for her time as a state legislator,in Belltown she has served in many clubs andorganizations. She is a life member of theChatham Historical Society, Middlesex LandTrust, and Friends of the East Hampton Library,and she and her husband, Alan Hurst, are alsomembers of East Hampton Rotary.

Being named Citizen of the Year was just oneof the accolades that have been bestowed onHamm this year. In addition to being honoredat the Old Home Days Parade in July, Hammearlier this year was feted at the HumanitarianAwards Program for the Eastern ConnecticutDistrict of Lions Clubs International, whereLions clubs from the eastern part of the statehonored individuals for outstanding service totheir communities. The Village Lions nomi-nated Hamm for that award as well.

Schlosser said Hamm has done so much worklocally, but also beyond the local level, andthat’s what sets her apart from other Citizen ofthe Year award winners.

Hamm’s name has now been added to theCitizen of the Year plaque on display at EastHampton Public Library. Past years’ recipientsinclude: Joan Youngs in 2012, Red McKinneyin 2011, JoAnn Ewing in 2010, DonaldIngraham in 2009, Dennis Erickson in 2008,Cindy Baloga in 2007, Ray Krupa in 2006,Eugene Hubbard in 2005, Joseph Becker in2004, Frederick Everett in 2003, MonicaMurray in 2002, Ronald Christopher in 2001,Emma Prince in 2000, Gladys Smith in 1999,and Charles Nichols in 1998.

Portland Prepares for Back to School

Portland Selectmen Gear Up For Schoolby Elizabeth Bowling

With the start of school rapidly approaching,the Board of Selectmen was faced with last-minute decisions regarding Portland’s schoolbus contract and school lunch fund at its regu-lar meeting Wednesday.

According to Superintendent of SchoolsSally Doyen, Nichols Bus Service of EastHampton has been the bus company of choicefor Portland schools for years. At the requestof the Board of Education, the selectmen de-cided to waive the bidding requirements so thatNichols Bus can extend its contract with theBoard of Education by two years. For the 2014-15 school year, Nichols will charge the Boardof Education a zero percent increase; but in the2015-16 school year the company will increaseits charges by 1 percent.

Doyen also informed the board about an is-sue that arose with the Board of Education’scontract with Sodexo, an outside company thatprovides the schools with their lunches.

In the past four years that Sodexo has beenserving Portland, the company has not been ableto make any money from its school lunch pro-gram, Doyen said, so in order for it to continuein Portland, Sodexo is asking that the Board ofEducation pay the company $20,000 if the com-pany can’t make that amount through sellinglunches.

Doyen said, “This is a problem every smallschool district in Connecticut is facing.”

Every selectman but one voted in favor oftransferring up to but not more than $40,000(more likely approximately $10,000) to the

school lunch fund from the Board ofEducation’s unspent funds from the 2012-13year. Selectman Carl Chudzik was opposed.

He said, “I feel like we’re having our feetheld to the fire here and I don’t like it.”

Also at Wednesday’s meeting the board wasintroduced to the C-PACE (Connecticut Prop-erty Assessed Clean Energy) energy saving pro-gram. C-PACE offers businesses the opportu-nity to update their facilities to be more energyefficient and pay for the program through taxes,according to Andy Bauer, the chairman ofPortland’s Clean Energy Task Force.

Implementing C-PACE comes at no cost tothe town, he said. Rather, the town simply col-lects the payment from the business and deliv-ers it to CEFIA, the company that coordinatesC-PACE, he furthered.

“C-PACE is generally available to projectsthat are $100,000 or more,” Bauer explained tothe board. “And it can be a combination of en-ergy efficiency and clean energy.”

He said there are about a dozen businessesin Portland that would be eligible for C-PACEif the town adopts the program. He also saidthe task force supports C-PACE.

“The town gets reimbursed for any cost,” headded.

First Selectwoman Bransfield said the boardwill revisit the C-PACE program at a later meet-ing.

Other business that was brought to the boardincluded the installment of a new, uniformphone system in town and school owned build-

by Elizabeth BowlingThe Portland Highlanders will hit the books

running after an extended summer vacation –at least, one that seems extended in compari-son to surrounding towns.

According to Portland’s Superintendent ofSchools Sally Doyen, students will return toschool Tuesday, Sept. 3, the day after LaborDay, but teachers will go back Monday, Aug.26, for four days of a “concentrated period oftime for staff development.”

Doyen said the Portland school districtdoesn’t have any new administrators this year,but eight new certified staff will join the team.

During the week of professional developmentbefore classes actually start, staff will go overthe new teacher and administrator evaluationsystem and implement the new curriculum stan-dards of the national Common Core State Stan-dards to their respective curriculums, Doyensaid.

The Common Core was adopted by Con-necticut and 46 other states in 2010 and Port-land has been working the Common Core intoits curriculum for a couple of years already.

Doyen noted that teachers will need “a goodchunk of time” to continue to rewrite their cur-riculums because the Common Core standardsshift a lot of the previous standards to differentgrades; for example, what was expected of sec-ond graders in the past may now be expectedof first graders.

Doyen said some curriculum changes will beminimal, while others will be more “signifi-cant.” For example, she said, the way teachersteach writing and language arts will change alot. Previously, writing was taught progressively– young students in elementary school focusedon writing narratives, middle school studentslearned expository writing, and in high schoolthey were taught persuasive writing. But nowstudents must be taught all types of writing assoon as kindergarten, Doyen said.

“The standards, overall, emphasize writinga lot,” she said. She noted that even math andphysical education teachers will have to learnhow to teach writing.

Portland schools started integrating the Com-mon Core standards for math into the curricu-lum two years ago; last year, the new standardsfor reading were added to the curriculum; andthis year, writing will be added to that list.

“We still have a lot of work to do in that [lan-guage arts] area,” Doyen said.

The Common Core curriculum will preparestudents for the Smarter Balance Assessment,or SBA. The SBA is a field test, created by thestate, that will replace the Connecticut Mas-tery Test no later than the 2014-15 school year,but maybe as soon as this year.

That means that this spring, students will ei-ther take the Connecticut Mastery Test or the“rigorous” SBA, Doyen said. The SBA wouldassess students in grades three through eight,as well as grade 11.

“Next year we’re absolutely going to the new[Smarter Balance Assessment] test based on theCommon Core,” Doyen affirmed.

The Board of Education last week submitteda technology grant application for $476,750 tohelp pay for additional bandwidth with new fi-ber optic transmissions lines, Doyen said. Theupdates to technology are important to theschool district because the Smarter BalanceAssessment is an online test.

“Right now we do not have the resources forthe online tests,” Doyen said. “We don’t knowhow far we’re going to get with the funds wehave.”

It is uncertain for now whether Portlandschools will receive additional funding for tech-nology from the state, Doyen said, but becauseimprovement to technology is essential, Port-land schools will proceed, on some scale, withupgrading bandwidth and infrastructure.

Also regarding technology, Doyen said theschools got some new computers this year, aswell as four portable Macintosh labs, each with25 computers.

Also new this year is full-day classes for allkindergarteners. Doyen said the 95 registeredkindergarteners are split up between six teach-ers. Doyen said all-day kindergarten is whatshe’s most excited about for this upcoming year,and she’s not the only one. “The teachers arevery excited and the parents are very excited,”she added.

“We’re really thrilled,” Doyen furthered, re-garding all-day kindergarten. “The new require-ments for Common Core start in kindergarten.”

Portland High School principal AndreaLavery said the three major focuses this yearfor both the high school and the middle schoolare: continuing to incorporate Common Corestandards into the curriculum, the new teacherevaluation program, and the New England Ac-creditation Evaluation in May for grades seventhrough 12.

Portland High School Principal Andrea Lavery, right, and Scott Giegerich, themiddle school principal, are excited to start the 2013-14 school year – and are literallyopening the doors to the new year. Portland students hit the books Tuesday, Sept. 3.

The schools have been preparing for the ac-creditation – something that happens once ev-ery 10 years – for two years already, Laverysaid.

“As an administrator, I’m most excited aboutgoing through the evaluations and the accredi-tation,” Lavery said.

Portland Middle School Principal ScottGiegerich said the middle school and highschool had opened two hours late, once a monthsince last year and dedicated that time towardcollaborative efforts between the two schoolsin regards to the preparation.

Lavery said, “We’re so proud of our staff.”She confirmed that the monthly delays willcontinue this year, as well.

According to Giegerich, the school perfor-mance index for the Portland school districtreceived an 89.1 out of 100 in the 2011-12school year. Last year, the district exceeded that

ings – a $70,000 expenditure.Dave Kuzminski, the town’s technology co-

ordinator, said the phone system is “five yearspast end of life.” The new system would notinclude upgrades to the high school and middleschool building; that would come later.

The board will make a decision on the in-stallation of a new phone system in the fall,Bransfield said.

Another request to the board came from thePortland Library. The library is seeking to sub-mit a request for a construction grant from thestate to improve handicapped accessibility tothe building’s restrooms.

The board agreed to go forward with the grantrequest for $20,000 on behalf of the library. Ifthe grant is approved, it would cover half of thecost of the construction project, Bransfield said.

* * *Also at Wednesday’s meeting, a Brownstone

Quorum representative, Howard Rosenbaumpitched some ideas to the selectmen regardingpotential improvements to Brownstone Quorumto “bring the park up to its full potential,” aswell as ways to fund those improvements.

Rosenbaum said his top priorities are con-tingent upon providing a water system to thepavilion – for an estimated $30,000 – and theyinclude installing a sink in the utilities roomand installing bathrooms.

He also suggested installing barbecue grills,picnic tables and an exercise trail in the park,for example.

Regarding the cost of installing water,Chudzik said, “I think it’s an awful lot ofmoney.”

Because these projects would take “multipleyears” and some significant funding,Rosenbaum suggested to the board that thefunds be raised by having the town set aside 15percent of the revenue earned by the park eachyear for five years and put that money “backinto the park.”

Bransfield said she would look into alterna-tive options and she would report back to theboard members and to Rosenbaum.

After viewing a different presentation by lo-cal chiropractor John Mormile Wednesdaynight, the Board of Selectmen announced thatthe month of September will officially be Sub-luxation Awareness Month.

According to Mormile, the entire practice ofchiropractics was developed around sublux-ation, which is a partial dislocation, specificallyin the spine.

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the board ap-pointed members to various boards and com-missions. Carol Caldes was appointed as a fullmember to the Planning and Zoning Commis-sion; Christian Rubenbauer was appointed asan alternate on the Planning and Zoning Com-mission; and Jan Janowski was appointed tothe Portland Housing Authority.

The next Board of Selectmen meeting isscheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 7:30 p.m.,at Portland Library.

number (though the official new number is yetto be disclosed). This year, the district will aimto continue to improve.

“When you set goals and you make a planand you work toward that plan, you can be suc-cessful. And we were successful,” he said.

The music program at the middle school isalso finding success. Giegerich said the middleschool music program is “flourishing.”

Similarly, the world language program at thehigh school is flourishing.

“We have expanded our world languageclasses,” Lavery said. “We hired a part-timeworld language teacher so we can offer moresections of world language.”

Lavery said that after the wild weather thepast couple of winters, as well as the shootingsat Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtownlast December, she hopes for a mild year.

“We’re just hoping for a quiet year,” she said.

Portland School Board Decides to Buy Minibusby Elizabeth Bowling

The local Board of Education just needs todot the i’s and cross the t’s before school be-gins for students on Sept. 3, and that’s just whatit did at its regularly scheduled meeting Tues-day night.

Last month, two school vans that transportedstudents to and from their school buildings didnot pass the state’s safety inspection and nowthe countdown to the first day of school has theBoard of Education scrambling to buy a vehicleto take the place of the rejected vans.

“We really are in a bind,” Doyen said. “Wehave looked at a variety of different ap-proaches.”

According to Doyen, the best option is topurchase a minibus from the state bid list forapproximately $45,000, which would come outof the Board of Education’s operating budget.

The town schools already have three mini-buses, so this new purchase will be the fourthand will serve as a “back-up” in emergency situ-ations, Doyen said.

Without a back-up vehicle, Doyen said,“We’d literally have to get a taxi to transportstudents.”

But board member Ben Srb said he wasn’tcomfortable making a decision on the purchase

of a new vehicle just yet, because he wanted to“sit down and do a thorough [financial] analy-sis.” He asked if the board could push back itsdecision by one meeting, but Doyen told him“we can’t put it off.”

The new vehicle would need to be ready bythe first day of school and Board of EducationChairman Christopher Phelps echoed Doyen,pointing out that the board didn’t have “theluxury of time.”

“It’s unfortunate that our backs are sort ofagainst the wall,” said board member AndreaAlfano. “Maybe it’s not the best decision, butmaybe it is. We have to trust the folks that makethose financial decisions.”

Those “folks” are the director of finance, theschool business manager, the school district fa-cilities manager and the superintendent ofschools.

Doyen said, “We’ve done our homework.”Alas, the board went to a vote and Phelps,

Alfano and board member Michael Pelton votedin favor of the purchase of a minibus throughthe state bid for approximately $45,000. Srbabstained.

The two vans in question can no longer trans-

Albino Burmese Python Found in Portlandby Elizabeth Bowling

A Portland resident recently stumbled acrossan albino Burmese python near the cranberrybog on South Road while on a walk with herhusband and dog.

When Janet Nocek found the six-foot-long,yellow and white snake Sunday, Aug. 11, shesaid the animal was “beautiful” and “very doc-ile.”

Nocek informed Portland resident JohnLeShane, whose home is close to the bog, ofher discovery. LeShane didn’t hesitate to ap-proach the snake.

LeShane, the founder of the MeshomasicHiking Club, said he’s come across a handfulof snakes in the past – mostly rattle and watersnakes – so he felt comfortable enough to makecontact with the python.

“It just looked friendly,” he said, “and so Istroked its back. That’s when it slithered awayslowly.”

After the snake slithered into the bog, whereit lingered along the edge, LeShane walked back

to his house and called the Department of En-ergy and Environmental Protection to informthem of the misplaced reptile.

DEEP officer Harold Lindo arrived about anhour later, and then identified the snake as analbino Burmese python, LeShane said.

He said he and Lindo then stepped away fora minute to Lindo’s truck to gear up for the cap-ture. But when they walked back to where thesnake had been, it was gone.

LeShane said the two men, as well as fourother DEEP officials who had joined them,looked for the snake for two hours before they“deserted the hunt that day.”

The following morning, at around eighto’clock, DEEP officer Michael Godart was al-ready at the bog looking for the snake whenLeShane joined him. A couple hours later, af-ter still no luck, Lindo joined them.

But soon the search party was over.“Godart’s the one that spotted the snake

curled up with a bunch of ferns on a little pen-

port children, but they can be used for some-thing else. Doyen suggested using them to trans-port food for the schools’ lunches, for example.

Also at Tuesday night’s meeting, Doyen saidthe repaving of the Brownstone IntermediateSchool parking lot is “well underway.” Thepaving portion is completed and the curbing willbe completed Monday, she said. All that willremain at that point will be the painting of theparking spot lines.

But the Brownstone Intermediate Schoolparking lot isn’t the only thing in Portland aca-demics that’s getting a facelift. The curriculumwill continue to adapt to include material thatmatches the Common Core State Standards.

“The principals and the teachers have workedreally hard for a couple years to do two thingsat once,” Doyen said regarding the work thathas gone into incorporating Common Corematerial into the existing curriculum.

Also on Tuesday, the board reviewedPortland’s test scores from the 2012-13 aca-demic year.

“We were really, really pleased with our testscores,” Doyen said, “We really did extremelywell.”

In many of the testing sections, the majorityof students reached the “goal level” and nonewere below the “basic level,” Doyen raved.CAPT test results stayed “about the same,” sheadded.

It’s possible that a new test called the SmarterBalance Assessment will be given this springin place of the Connecticut Mastery Test. “Wedon’t know 100 percent what test will be giventhis spring,” Doyen said. Regardless, theSmarter Balance Assessment will be given forthe 2014-15 school year.

* * *According to Doyen, all of Portland schools’

certified staff has been hired and one parapro-fessional still needs to be hired.

“We’re in good shape” regarding the hiringprocess, she said.

The district is also in good shape in terms ofsecurity. First Selectwoman Susan Bransfieldconfirmed that police presence will continue atPortland schools this year, according to Doyen.

* * *The next Portland Board of Education meet-

ing is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m.at the Portland High School media center.

insula,” LeShane said.Godart called Lindo for backup, LeShane

said, and they “went in for the capture.” Lindotook the head and Godart got the tail, he ex-plained. The snake, who “struggled a little bit,”was placed in a canvas bag for the time being.

The next day the snake was sent to RainforestReptiles Shows Inc., a company in Massachu-setts that will use the snake for educationalpurposes. Rainforest Reptiles works closelywith DEEP to find and collect all exotic ani-mals that are released into the wild, accordingto Rainforest Reptiles’ herpetologist generalcurator Michael Ralbovsky.

Ralbovsky said the albino Burmese pythonis on the federal government’s “injurious spe-cies” list, which means it has been deemed il-legal to move across state lines without theproper permits. Rainforest Reptiles Shows Inc.,however, has the license necessary to transportthe snake, he said. The company travels nation-

wide with its exotic animals and brings themto schools, museums, libraries and lecture halls.

The particular snake found in Portland wasbetween six and seven feet long and was thewidth of a tennis ball, Ralbovsky said. He saidthe snake was not big enough to harm anyone.In fact, he said it was “bitten several times by asnapping turtle.”

“It’s going to take some months of rehabili-tation before the animal is in good shape again,”he furthered.

Ralbovsky said he is convinced that some-one released the snake into the wild and that itdid not end up in cranberry bog by naturalcauses. “This type of python is from Asia,” hesaid, proving his point.

Ralbovsky pleaded that if someone is con-sidering releasing an exotic pet into the wild,they should call DEEP or Rainforest Reptilesinstead and “we’ll come get the animal. Don’tdump it in the wild.”

Huge Crowds Anticipated for Hebron Fair Headlinerby Geeta Schrayter

The Hebron Harvest Fair is just around thecorner, and this year the Hebron Lions, whohold the annual festival, have had a unique chal-lenge to deal with: how to handle the fact thatthe headline music act this year has becomeone of the most popular groups in the nation.

Florida Georgia Line, a country duo madeup of Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard, soaredto fame last year when their song “Cruise” be-came the fastest debut single to reachBillboard’s country Top 10 (after 14 weeks)since Brooks & Dunn’s “Brand New Man” in1991. “Cruise” went on to set the record forthe longest number one song on Billboard’s HotCountry Songs after it was remixed featuringhip-hop artist Nelly, and became the third best-selling digital track ever.

This week, the single dropped to number twoon the Hot Country Song’s list, but it remainsnumber one on Billboard’s Country StreamingSongs.

The remix with Nelly made a crossover hiton pop radio as well, peaking at number fouron the Billboard Hot 100; as of press time, it’sstill in the Top 20.

Their album Here’s to the Good Times, re-leased last December, has since gone platinum,and peaked at number one on Billboard’s TopCountry Albums list (like the single, the albumdropped just this week to the number two spot).It also hit number four on the Billboard 200,which charts albums across all genres.

Tickets to see Florida Georgia Line duringtheir tour are currently on sale, but on Sept. 8,their website floridageorgialine.com lists a con-cert in Hebron, Conn. – for free. The statementisn’t entirely true: those who want to see thegroup will need to purchase admission ticketsto the Hebron Harvest Fair that day, but withgeneral admission at $13, the price is less thana concert ticket.

However, the group’s popularity and the costto see them in Hebron that Sunday means theHebron Lions Club and the town have had someextra planning to do in preparation.

Fair President Adam Miclette said this weekthe Lions are expecting Sunday ticket sales toreach upwards of 25,000. As of Wednesday,around 2,500 advance tickets had been pur-chased for the fair, and at a planning meetingfor the event held Friday, Aug. 16, Miclette saidadvanced ticket sales were up over 355 percentcompared to last year.

But, Miclette noted this week the advancetickets are general admission tickets to the fairand there’s no way to tell how many are forSunday. He added it was important for fairgoersto know they were purchasing a fair ticket, nota concert ticket, and purchasing a ticket didn’tguarantee a view of the band.

“Our viewing area is a restricted count andthere’s only going to be so many viewing spotsto the number of people that may be at the fair,”he said, “so there will be some obstructed view-ing, but the concert will be heard throughoutthe fair.”

Miclette said while it will be harder to do sothis year, attendees who have been coming tosee the shows for years and come early to setup their chairs can still do so.

“We’re not going to discourage the traditionalpeople that have been coming for years,” hesaid. “We’re going to have people coming downto that area and sitting there all day.”

While in the past the fair has hosted artistswho later went on to become well-known, suchas Kenny Chesney, or were at one time ex-tremely popular, like Charlie Daniels, Miclettesaid this is the biggest artist to perform whilethey’re at their peak.

“When I started booking them [last January]they didn’t even release their CD yet,” Miclette

explained. “I really follow up-and-coming art-ists trying to find that diamond in the roughthat could possibly have something, or a hitrecord, when they get to the fair” and – Micletteadded with a laugh – “I guess we hit the lotterywith this one.”

While Miclette said it was “absolutely” idealto have an artist of this caliber perform at thefair, with their popularity comes a number ofconcerns, like traffic and parking.

“We’ve worked as a group and secured vari-ous parking lots and we’re going to park vari-ous locations at once, something we’ve neverdone before so that should ease traffic flow,”he explained.

In addition to parking at the fair grounds,the Lions have secured parking at RHAM andGilead Hill School as well as Gilead Hill Cem-etery and Burnt Hill and Veterans Park.

The parking capacity the group secured wasconfirmed at 8,000 cars at the Aug. 16 meetingwhich, based on 3.5 people per vehicle, wouldamount to 28,000 people. But with the twoparks, which were confirmed after the meet-ing, there is enough parking around town for acrowd of 31,000.

In addition, Miclette said there would be freeparking and free shuttle buses to the fair at vari-ous locations and extra lanes of traffic wouldbe added to help ease the backup on Route 85.

“There will be three [lanes] instead of two inthe area of the fairgrounds” he said, so that therewill be a line for fairgoers and thru-traffic willbe able to continue on.

“Traffic should be kept at a minimum we’rehoping,” he said.

Safety and security has been another area ofconcern. In order to address the larger crowd,Miclette explained there will be added secu-rity, added state police and a larger presence of

medical assistance.Some of the additions include extra security

guards in the concert area and six additionalhired ambulances with emergency vehiclesfrom Hebron and Colchester on the fairgroundsas backup.

Chatham Health District Emergency Re-sponse Coordinator Bill Kramer added at themeeting there would be 18,000 gallons of wa-ter on site and the Chatham Health Districtwould have extra people around for inspections.

At the Aug.15 Board of Selectmen meeting,Town Manager Andy Tierney said he had been“working very hard with the Lions Fair due tothe influx on Sunday.”

“We want to make sure we have everythingcovered,” he said, commenting on the concertbeing advertised on the band’s website as free.

“With all that out there we’re taking steps,”Tierney added. “We’ve notified every barracksaround us of that day and what’s going on.”

“The influx of people in Hebron,” added se-lectman Dan Larsen, “may potentially be onewe’ve never seen before.”

Miclette said the realization there could be alarger-than-usual crowd and the need for extrapreparations came to the group slowly.

“It came to us gradually as [Florida GeorgiaLine] started winning the award shows and theirpopularity grew,” he said. “We knew we wouldhave a hard time maintaining the crowds andthat we’d have to step up our team in order todo so.”

But Miclette felt everyone was prepared.“We should do okay,” he said, adding he

hoped “for a nice sunshiny day and everybodygetting in and having a good time” Sept. 8 aspotentially record-setting crowds “cruise” intothe fair to see the record-setting group.

Getting Ready for a New RHAM Dayby Geeta Schrayter

Walking through the halls at the RHAMmiddle and high schools this week, the mostnotable attribute, aside from the sheen on thefreshly-waxed floors, is silence. There’s enoughsilence for footsteps on the tile to echo off thewalls. There’s enough silence for the adminis-tration – while they admit they enjoy the quietto an extent – to be ready for students to returnand liven things up a bit, as they will nextWednesday, Aug. 28.

On Tuesday, high school principal ScottLeslie said things were in order for their ar-rival.

“Right now we’re pretty much all done,” hesaid. “We’re in pretty good shape.”

Mike Seroussi, principal of the middleschool, added, “The building looks good, whichis nice.”

But as the students come back, Leslie ex-plained they were going to be asked to do cer-tain things differently. This, he said, was be-cause of the impending shift to the CommonCore State Standards and Smarter BalancedAssessments from the Connecticut Mastery andConnecticut Academic Performance Tests.

The new assessments, which are scheduledto implement fully next year, are focused moreon an individual student’s skills rather thanworking through content which is the same foreveryone. The difficulty of a particular ques-tion, for example, is based on whether or not astudent answered the prior question correctly.

These changes would hold true at the middleschool as well. And, in addition, Seroussi ex-plained a STEM (Science, Technology, Engi-neering and Mathematics) program was goingto be piloted in the upcoming year with 31 stu-dents – out of 70 who applied.

“It’s an attempt to formalize a pre-engineer-ing program,” he said of the STEM program,explaining the courses would incorporate moretechnology and instead of the normal specials

offered at the school, students could take acourse in, for example, robotics or music tech-nology.

“We’re looking at math and science andwhere we lack and pushing in more programs,”Seroussi said. “I hope it expands – I’d love tobe able to accommodate everyone [who ap-plies].”

In addition to academic changes Leslie men-tioned there are about 15 new staff members atthe schools including a social studies, English,and science coordinator, new teachers, and anew assistant principal, Penny Bryzgel, whotook over for Don Wilson when he retired atthe end of the 2012-13 year.

“We have all our hires,” Seroussi furthered.“It’s nice to start with a full slate.”

Along with staff and curriculum changes,there will also be changes for administrationand teachers in the form of new evaluation re-quirements from the state. The evaluations,which are expected to be much more time-in-tensive (a third of the teachers will need to beevaluated this year) and required a significantamount of training, have been a common topicof discussion among school administrators.

Seroussi explained there had been threeweeks of training for the evaluations over thesummer, and although the school developedtheir own state approved plan to follow, staffstill needed to participate in the training.

That training continued at the school Tues-day, as Superintendent of Schools Bob Siminskishared an overview of the teacher evaluationswith new staff.

Among those present were English coordi-nator Lauren Fierman and social studies coor-dinator Jennifer Stachowiak. Between presen-tations, Stachowiak said she was “grateful” tobe a part of the RHAM community and waslooking forward to the return of “structure androutine,” while Fierman added she was look-

The hallways at RHAM were gleaming – but noticeably empty – this week as staffand administrators made their final preparations for the new school year. All thepreparations will come to a head, and the silence will dissipate next week whenstudents return.

New teachers met in the Media Center at RHAM Tuesday to prepare for theupcoming school year, beginning Aug. 28. The meeting included an overview of thenew and more time-intensive teacher evaluation plan by Superintendent of SchoolsBob Siminski. The new plan will be given to a third of the staff this year.

ing forward to “getting to know the commu-nity and what’s been described as a warm andwelcoming family.”

All of the training has meant less time toprepare for the start of the year, and for Seroussithat meant doing “a summer’s worth of workin less than two weeks.”

But “school has to start,” he laughed.“There’s not much of a choice.”

Returning for the third year will be the “OneBook, One School” program at the middleschool, as part of the school climate plan toaddress bullying. In the program, the entireschool as well as parents and even communitymembers if desired, will read the same book.

This year that book is Ok for Now by GaryD. Schmidt, the story of a boy who moves to anew town and, in addition to starting up at anew school, has to endure an abusive father,suspicious residents and his older brother’s re-turn from Vietnam, among other things.

“This year [the book] is based on kids creat-ing a positive climate and how to treat others,”Seroussi explained. “The book is about a stu-dent on the fringe.”

Along with reading the book, various activi-ties are planned that coincide with the themesand topics presented. The book also has a fo-cus on birds, and Seroussi said this could pos-sibly translate into some work with the Con-necticut Audubon Society in Glastonbury andmaking birdhouses in shop class.

“It’ll be interesting,” he said.But while there are a lot of positive things to

look forward to, there will also be a sense ofmourning at the school as the new year starts.Hebron resident Paige Houston, who wouldhave started her senior year at RHAM nextWednesday, died in a car crash Aug. 6. Bothprincipals said the situation could prove diffi-cult as the year begins.

“It’ll be hard; it’s never easy,” Seroussi said,adding some students may not fully process thesituation until they return to school and she isn’tthere.

“It’s our job to try to maintain a normal rou-tine,” he said.

Leslie added on the first day back, somethingwould “definitely” be done to remember andcelebrate Houston.

“And I know that students will want to me-morialize her,” he said. “As the year goes onwe’ll come up with a permanent way to memo-rialize her and will be working on that and howto handle the situation.”

Leslie added the guidance office at RHAMwill be available for any student should whoneeds counseling or grief support.

As the year begins, and then continues on,Leslie said one of the biggest challenges wouldbe “effectively balancing some of the more sig-nificant needs of the districts.”

He commented on the recent volunteer clean-up weekend at the school, and called the event“fantastic.” But now, he said the challenge willbe figuring out how to sustain the grounds.

“We just don’t have the resources to main-tain them – so as a region, how do we do that?”he wondered.

As usual the challenge, Leslie continued,“seems to be the budget and resources.”

And so, both students and faculty will havetheir fair share of challenges and hard work inthe upcoming year: but the administration islooking forward to it.

“I look forward to the school year,” Seroussisaid.

“After summer it’s always exciting to geteveryone back in the building,” Leslie furthered.“I know our students excel academically, andI’m looking forward to pushing them a littlemore.”

PThis photograph, taken Wednesday Aug. 14, shows the calico lobster that was

shipped – most likely unknowingly – to Tri-Town Foods in Portland. The lobsterwas to be donated to Mystic Aquarium, but died en route.

Rare Calico Lobster Foundat Portland Tri-Town Foods

by Elizabeth BowlingLast week an unusual type of lobster washed

up to Portland’s Tri-Town Foods, again.Just last month, customers and employees at

Tri-Town Foods were in a frenzy of excitementwhen a rare blue lobster, which employeesnamed Blue Lou, made its way to the grocerystore’s lobster display tank before it was do-nated to the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk.Then three weeks later a calico lobster, anotherrarity, found its way to the same Tri-Town Foodsbefore it was donated to Mystic Aquarium.

Unfortunately, the calico lobster died on itsway to the aquarium last Friday, Aug. 16. Thecause of death is unknown.

Dan Smith, the manager of Tri-Town Foodsin Portland, was away on vacation when thelobster shipment that contained the calico lob-ster came in but he said it happened the “sameway as the last one.”

The same company – The Lobster Co. inKennebunkport, Maine – sent a regular ship-ment of lobsters, probably not even aware thata calico lobster was in the mix.

Smith said he didn’t think his employees orcustomers really understood the rarity of acalico lobster, probably because it wasn’t asshockingly different looking as a blue lobster.

Regarding the calico lobster’s death, JacintaSimoncini, Mystic Aquarium’s assistant direc-tor of marketing, said, “The supermarket wastransporting it but it did not survive.”

She added, “We were excited to be able toget this lobster.”

She explained that there was a mix up lastmonth when Tri-Town Foods offered to donateBlue Lou to Mystic Aquarium but an aquariumemployee mistakenly turned down the offer.

“We always take donations of blue lobsters,”Simoncini said. She even called Tri-Town Foodsafter the mix up to see if Blue Lou had beendonated yet. Alas, he had been; he’s currentlytaking up residence at Norwalk MaritimeAquarium.

Smith said it was “too bad” that the lobsterdied on its way to the aquarium. He wonderedif calico lobsters are more prone to sicknessdue to their unusual coloring.

According to Laura Wandel, the supervisorof fish and invertebrates at Mystic Aquarium,the calico coloring is due to a “genetic muta-tion to the colors gene.” Aside from the unusualcoloring, though, a calico lobster is a “com-pletely normal lobster,” she said.

Route 66 Car Crash inEast HamptonUnder Investigation

by Elizabeth BowlingA two-car car crash occurred at the inter-

section of routes 66 and 16 early in the morn-ing on Saturday, Aug. 17.

The vehicles involved were a 2003 AcuraJP 560 and a 2011 Hyundai Elantra, said Sgt.Timothy Dowty of the East Hampton PoliceDepartment. Because the accident is cur-rently under investigation, Dowty was unableto disclose further information regarding thedrivers.

Dowty said that both drivers – neither ofwhom were identified – were taken toMarlborough Clinic and “rerouted from therefor further care.”

According to a press release from EastHampton Police Sgt. Jarod Boynton, both ofthe vehicles’ operators were transported instable condition to Hartford Hospital for treat-ment of their injuries.

The press release stated that the crashcaused Route 66 to close for approximatelyan hour and a half.

The cause of the crash is currently underinvestigation and anyone who may have in-formation regarding the accident is asked tocontact the East Hampton Police Departmentat 860-267-9922.

Two Vehicles Set on Fire NearAir Line Trail in Colchester

by Melissa RobertoColchester Police are investigating what

they’re calling a case of arson, after two aban-doned cars near the Air Line Trail went up inflames.

Police said a call was made from a pass-erby at about 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 12. Two ve-hicles sitting in an old junkyard near the walk-ing trail on Old Amston Road were on fire,Officer Craig Scheel, on scene at the time ofthe incident, recalled this week. Scheel couldnot give an exact address of the junkyard; hesaid the department is still investigating whoowns the property.

Fire fighters from the Colchester HaywardFire Department arrived at the scene and putout the fire in under 30 minutes, Fire MarshalReed Gustafson confirmed. He said the firewas only contained to the two vehicles anddid not spread anywhere else.

There were no medical transports or inju-ries from the fire, Gustafson said. The mar-shal said the fire is classified as “incendiary.”

“Someone lit it,” he explained. “All of theother factors, like lightning and electricity,were ruled out. There is no other plausible

explanation.”Scheel added that “gasoline or lighter fluid”

is believed to have been used to ignite it.Scheel said the abandoned cars were rusted,

and did not belong to anyone using the trail.He added the vehicles are believed to be fromthe 1940s or ‘50s.

Both Scheel and Gustafson classified thisincident as a “rare occurrence” in the town.

“This is the first time we’ve responded tovehicle arson,” said Scheel. “We’ve had simi-lar instances to trash cans and smaller itemsbeing lit on fire.”

Anyone with information about the incidentis asked to contact the investigating officer forthe case, Officer Jonathan Goss, at 860-537-7555 ext. 4083.

Scheel further requested anyone who seessuspicious persons or activity in general, spe-cifically in the evening and overnight hours,should call Colchester Police at 860-537-7270.State Police at the Troop K barracks inColchester can also be reached at 860-537-7500.

Hebron Selectmen Discuss STEAP Dreamsby Geeta Schrayter

Discussion of how best to apply for stategrant money was on tap at last Thursday’s meet-ing of the Board of Selectmen.

The selectmen talked about Small Town Eco-nomic Assistance Program (STEAP) priorities,in order to provide Tierney with some direc-tion as far as what area to focus on when sub-mitting an application for the next round ofSTEAP grant awards.

Selectwoman Gayle Mulligan explained shehad talked to state Rep. Pam Sawyer the day ofthe meeting in order to get an idea of what thestate was looking for in terms of projects.

Mulligan said she shared the top projectswith Sawyer, which included the addition ofmore sidewalks in the center of town, a waterline to Amston Lake, a new public works facil-ity and an amphitheater in Burnt Hill Park.

“It sounds like they are not supporting anyrecreations kinds of things,” Mulligan stated.“So the least likely on this list right now wouldbe the amphitheater.”

Mulligan added she thought it would be“great” to have an amphitheater in town but shefelt more planning was necessary. She addedthe upcoming concert featuring the artist FloridaGeorgia Line during the Hebron Harvest Fairwould be a “telltale sign” of how well the towncould handle concerts at the park.

Florida Georgia Line is expected to drawupwards of 30,000 people, and has requiredextra planning regarding parking and security.Mulligan said holding concerts at Burnt Hill

Park “would have the same kind of issues.”She went on to say the public works depart-

ment wasn’t a shovel-ready project yet – an at-tribute that’s usually looked for in STEAPproject applications. In addition, Sawyer saidmore research should be conducted regardingbringing water to Amston Lake before the towntackles that project.

That left extending the sidewalk in the cen-ter of town down to Hebron Elementary School.

“She said what we may want to focus on isthe project we’ve been working on,” which isthe sidewalk, Mulligan said.

Town Manager Andy Tierney and the otherselectmen agreed.

“There may be people in the audience say-ing ‘why do we keep applying for sidewalks?’”Tierney said. “But when you’re applying, thegovernor who is in there picks the projects andwe want a lot of different things but we have topick what has the best chance of getting fund-ing.”

“One of the reasons we looked at this, froma Main Street standpoint, is for more foot traf-fic,” added Board of Selectmen Chairman JeffWatt.

He said the sidewalks that were already inplace had increased the amount of people whowalk around, helped to accommodate those whowould rather walk than drive, and helped openup opportunities for individuals coming fromthe Russell Mercier Senior Center to get aroundthe center of town.

Selectman Mark Stuart felt similarly.“If you look at the long-term plan, this links

into the trails,” he said. “It gives people an in-centive to get out of their cars and walk around.”

Selectman Brian O’Connell added the ex-tension would benefit the Memorial Day pa-rade as well.

“With the way we have the current parade[route], it would also afford people to parksafely down toward the school and set up onthe sidewalk. I think from a good old fashionedpracticality standpoint [the sidewalks] makesense,” he said. “Like the town manager pointedout, it’s dependent upon what the powers thatbe up in Hartford are willing to consider. Wehave to roll with those punches.”

“They may change their focus next timearound to look at parks and recreation,”Mulligan added. “And by that time, some ofthe other projects, like the amphitheater, maybe more shovel-ready.”

In the end, the board agreed the best routefor this round of STEAP grant priorities wouldbe to apply for money to extend the sidewalkfrom Hebron center to Hebron ElementarySchool.

* * *Also at the Aug. 15 meeting, the selectmen

appointed members to the newly-establishedLibrary Board of Trustees.

The new board consists of Peter Casarella,Marjory Graham and Robert Nickels who werenominated by the selectmen, along with Althea

Carr, Karen Cohen, Susan Porter, Gail Rich-mond, Judith Sawicki and Deborah Witt whowere recommended by the Douglas Library ofHebron Association from the association mem-bership.

The purposes of the board include the adop-tion of policies, goals and objectives for theoperation of the Douglas Library, monitoringand reviewing library operations, developingthe budget with the library director, accept giftsor donations on behalf of the town and havingsole authority over the use of private funds cur-rently held or donated in the future to the li-brary.

The Library Board of Trustees was unani-mously appointed.

* * *The selectmen also awarded a bid for up-

grades to the generator at the town office build-ing.

While there is $58,400 budgeted in the Capi-tal Improvement Plan budget for the project,Tierney recommended awarding the bid toHiggins Enterprises, Inc. out of East Hamptonfor an amount not to exceed $54,035.

Dan Larson recused himself from the mo-tion since he works for another company whoapplied, and the motion passed 4-0.

* * *The next Board of Selectmen meeting is

scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 12, at 7:30 p.m.in the Hebron town office building.

From the Editor’s Desk

Observations & Ruminationsby Mike Thompson

Not many people have the whole “adultsacting like children” thing down to a sciencequite like the fine folks of the RepublicanNational Committee.

(Note I said “national.” Let me stress I’vemet a number of delightful local and evenstate Republicans over the years. I eagerlyattended longtime Hebron Republican DonnaMcCalla’s going-away party back in June –and I didn’t even get thrown out – and PamSawyer remains one of the nicest people onthe planet. But, I don’t know, something aboutwhen they hit that national stage, they juststart spewing the strangest, stupidest things,and I just scratch my head and go, in the wordsof my former editor Kathleen Stack, “What’swrong with these people?!”)

Case in point: The RNC agreed last Fri-day to ban CNN and NBC from hosting Re-publican presidential primary debates. Andwhy was this? Because both networks aredeveloping movies based on the person who,if it weren’t for that pesky President Obama,would be the Republicans’ Public Enemy No.1: Hillary Rodham Clinton.

NBC has decided to make a movie basedon Clinton’s life apparently because, well,hers would make for an interesting movie. Shewent from lawyer to governor’s wife topresident’s wife (becoming the embodimentof the old song “Stand By Your Man”) to U.S.senator then to secretary of the state. It’s quitethe ride – even if you leave out the fact thatshe might run for president again in 2016.

But, the Republicans would argue, youcan’t overlook that she may run for presidentagain. And I suppose they’d have a point – ifthe movie painted a completely rose-coloredversion of her, scrubbing away any possibleunpleasantries, and, worse still, opted to airthe film like a week before Election Day 2016.

Here’s the thing, though: nobody knowswhat the movie will be like. Sure, Diane Lanehas been cast as Clinton. But a script hasn’tbeen written yet. The Republicans can’t evenpretend to know what the content of the moviewill wind up being. They’re basing their opin-ions on the mere announcement of the movie– and reacting in best little kid fashion: “Ohyeah? Well you can’t play in our clubhouse!”

Plus, barring NBC from the primaries isreally just punishing the network’s news di-vision of NBC for something its entertain-ment division is doing. In fact, when theproject was announced, some with NBCNews expressed concern that the projectmight make things difficult for the news di-vision. Did they anticipate something likethis? Perhaps; they know how the RNC oper-ates.

(By the way, I should note that, after FoxNews commentators roundly trounced themovie, Fox TV studios, which was going tobe coproducing the project, has pulled out.The company said the move was purely fi-nancial, but forgive me if I don’t really buythat.)

I actually find the Republicans’ barring ofCNN from their primary party to be evenworse. At least you can argue the NBC pieceis going to be along the lines of a“docudrama” – and some parts of it may befictionalized to build excitement. But CNN’sis going to be a straight documentary; a filmdocumenting the interesting history of thisinteresting woman.

And, once again, as was the case withNBC’s work, CNN’s movie is still a work inprogress. It’s not expected to debut on thechannel until 2014 (which, I might add, is still

two years before the next presidential elec-tion. This just further drives home the ridicu-lousness of the RNC’s overreaction. NBC’smovie would I’m guessing come out around2014 as well. If these movies are as the Re-publicans seem convinced they will be, thenthey have plenty of time to ban CNN or NBCfrom the debates.)

CNN, fortunately, had the guts to call theRNC out on this, issuing a statement that said,“We encouraged all interested parties to waituntil the program premieres before judgmentsare made about it. Unfortunately, the RNCwas not willing to do that.”

NBC, meanwhile, seemed to backpedal alittle from its movie, hinting it may not evenget made: “[The film is] ‘in development,’ thefirst stage of any television series or movie,”NBC Entertainment Chairman BobGreenblatt said, “many of which never go intoproduction.”

True, Fox TV’s pulling out of the Clintonmovie probably hurt the project. But I hope itstill goes forward, and I’m glad CNN’s stand-ing firm. To scrap either one would give theRNC exactly what it wants.

I think the Republicans will eventuallycave, as they would want as much of the me-dia spotlight as possible for their primary de-bates. But as of now, they’re standing by theirstupid, childish decision – and showing theydidn’t learn anything from the 2012 elections.

* * *Connecticut made national news on Mon-

day – and not for a good reason. In fact, itwas for an incredibly stupid one.

A power outage left Cablevision custom-ers in Fairfield unable to watch TV Sundaynight. Instead of merely waiting for their cableto be restored, some enraged residents (who,according to CNN, appeared to be very upsetthey were missing Breaking Bad) called 911to complain. So many called, in fact, that theFairfield Police Department finally had to postsomething on its Facebook page.

“We are receiving numerous 911 calls re-garding the Cablevision outage,” the policedepartment wrote. “This is neither an emer-gency or a police-related concern. Please di-rect your inquiries to Cablevision.”

The message went on to remind residents911 should be called “for life-threateningemergencies ONLY,” and warned them, “Mis-use of the 911 system may result in an ar-rest.”

Moral of the story: If your cable’s out, don’tcall 911. It seems like common sense – butapparently it is not.

* * *Lastly, eagle-eyed Hebron residents may

have noticed something funny on the frontpage of their Rivereast last week. The datewas inadvertently listed as “August 16, 2016,”instead of “August 16, 2013.” No, Hebrondidn’t momentarily jump ahead three yearsin time, nor did the town get delivered thepaper ahead of time, a la the old Kyle Chan-dler show Early Edition. It was a simple –albeit stupid – production gaffe, one that Ican’t recall ever happening in the six yearsI’ve been editing this paper. Just when youthink you’ve seen everything....

Fortunately, the mistake was caught in timeto be fixed for all other editions of the paper.But for anyone in Hebron wondering just whatwas up with their cover page last week.....well,now you know.

* * *See you next week.

East Hampton Police News8/7: East Hampton Police reported respond-

ing to the Route 66 Citgo/Food Bag for a re-ported fight in progress. Susan Ann Shea, 51,of 279A Middle Haddam Rd., Portland, wasarrested and charged with second-degree un-lawful restraint and second-degree breach ofpeace, police said.

8/8: Christopher Sarahina, 26, of 37 OldMiddletown Ave., was arrested and chargedwith possession of a controlled substance andpossession of drug paraphernalia, police said.

8/8: Police reported responding to a MeeksPoint Road residence to a report of a fight in

progress. Barton Walter Blau was arrested andcharged with third-degree assault, third-degreestrangulation and second-degree breach ofpeace, police said.

8/11: Christopher A. Nosal, 36, of 1 NorthMaple St., turned himself in pursuant to an out-standing warrant for his arrest. Nosal wascharged with second-degree larceny and theftof electric service for profit or economic gain,police said.

8/14: Brandon Allen Yon, 20, of 188Marlborough St., was arrested for third-degreeburglary and fifth-degree larceny, police said.

Colchester Police News

MarlboroughPolice News

8/14: State Police said Joseph Lacaffa, 38,of 14 Meadow Rd., Enfield, was charged withpossession of a narcotic, sale of a narcotic andpossession of paraphernalia.

8/17: State Police said Karen J. Torromeo,56, of 25 Old Mill Rd., Agawam, Mass., wascharged with DUI and speeding.

8/12: Colchester Police said a citizen turnedin found property at Troop K belonging to anunknown person(s) in the CVS parking lot. Theproperty is secured at Troop K. Anyone miss-ing property is asked to call Officer CraigScheel with an accurate description of the prop-erty.

8/12: Colchester Police said Michael J.Fiondella, 31, of 640 Old Hartford Rd., wascharged with second-degree failure to appearand interfering with a police officer.

8/12: State Police said Marisa Haggett, 21,of 35 Blish Rd., was charged with second-de-gree failure to appear.

8/13: State Police said Anthony Caye, 20, of79 Gill St., was charged with breach of peace,first-degree reckless endangerment and first-degree attempt to commit assault.

8/14: State Police said Lawrence James, 34,of 383 Green Hollow Rd., Moosup, was arrestedon an active PRAWN arrest warrant for viola-tion of probation.

8/15: State Police said Thomas J. Tortoriello,55, of 15 Asinof Ave., Chicopee, Mass., wascharged with reckless driving and DUI.

8/15: State police said Wesley Letendre, 38,of 35 Carlton St., Apt. 1, New Britain, wascharged with possession of marijuana and pos-session of drug paraphernalia.

8/16: State Police said Nicholas Inkel, 23,of 32 Hammond Ct., was charged with sixth-degree larceny.

8/17: State Police said Randolph T. JamesJr., 23, of 117 Westbourne Parkway, Hartford,was charged with second-degree failure to ap-pear.

ObituariesEast Hampton

Benjamin J. NeiweemBenjamin J. Neiweem

passed away Monday,Aug. 12, in Anchorage,Alaska. Born Sept. 29,1988, Ben was a gradu-ate of East HamptonHigh School (‘06) andLincoln TechnicalSchool (‘07).

He is survived by hisparents, Anne andJames Neiweem, as wellas his sisters, CherylBrew, Holly Neiweemand Rebecca Pratt, and his brother, DanielNeiweem. Ben is also survived by several lovingnieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins. Benwas generous, kind, and was always a giver ofwhatever he had. His smile could light up a roomand his family and friends will sadly and dearlymiss him.

Ben worked in HVAC and masonry with nu-merous local businesses. He loved music andplayed the drums. Ben was also an avid sports-man and outdoorsman. He loved athletics, espe-cially baseball and epic home run derby competi-tions with his sister. Ben liked to run, and en-joyed all activities that brought him outdoors. Heshared this love with his young nieces and neph-ews, playing with them outside, and taking themfor hikes and nature walks. Ben enjoyed spend-ing time with his family at his parents’ cottage onthe Salmon River where he found great pleasurein kayaking.

Visiting hours were at the Spencer FuneralHome, 112 Main St., East Hampton, on Tuesday,Aug 20. A funeral service followed that morningin the Spencer Funeral Home, followed by a fam-ily burial at Lakeview Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you in-stead make a donation to The Salvation Army(donate.salvationarmyusa.org) or Feed the Chil-dren (feedthechildren.org).

PortlandRobert E. Parker

Robert E. Parker, 79, of Portland, husband ofthe late beloved Dorothy (Csere) Parker passedaway Saturday, Aug. 17, at Yale New Haven Hos-pital. He was the son of the late John and Harriet(Bailey) Parker.

Born April 2, 1934, in Middletown, he grewup in Cromwell, graduated from MiddletownHigh School and lived in Portland for the past 55years. As a teenager, he worked in tobacco fields.For most of his life he was a tool and die maker atParker Bailey Manufacturing Company. For thelast 15 years he worked at Precision Plastic Prod-ucts in Portland. He was a U.S Army veteran hav-ing served in Korea as a sergeant. He was also alifetime member of the Korean War Veterans As-sociation, and a member of Glastonbury ElksLodge 2202.

He leaves his daughters, Suzanne Parker of OldGreenwich and her significant other AlfonsoFormisano, and Mary Genta and her husbandMark of Hamden; brothers, John (Vera) Parkerof East Hampton and Clifford (Mary) Parker ofCromwell; a sister, Mary Parker of East Hamp-ton; grandchildren, Meredith Siller of Los Ange-les, Calif., and Stefanie Siller of Old Greenwich,and their father, Randy Siller; many nieces andnephews; his loving cat, Mitzi; and his secondfamily from Precision Plastic Products.

Memorial services were held Thursday, Aug.22, at Portland Memorial Funeral Home 231 MainSt Portland. Burial will be private. Relatives andfriends called Thursday, before the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made toPet Animal Welfare Society, 504 Main Ave.,Norwalk, CT 06851.

To send an online expression of sympathy, visitportlandmemorialfh.net.

East HamptonMarjorie Ann Lester

Marjorie Ann (Dyndiuk) Lester, 69, of EastHampton, passed away Wednesday, July 31, atSt. Francis Hospital. Born Sept. 10, 1943 in NewBritain she was the daughter of the late Theodoreand May V. (Benedict) Dyndiuk of Plainville andBristol. She was a graduate of Plainville HighSchool Class of 1961.

Marjorie proudly served her country in the U.S.Navy. She was retired from the State of Connecti-cut where she was a clerk in the Chief State’sAttorney’s Office for Juvenile Matters in the Hart-ford District.

She leaves behind her loving brother TedDyndiuk of Los Angeles, Calif., and many closefriends and colleagues.

A memorial service will be held today, Aug.23, at 1 p.m., in Agawam Veterans Memorial Cem-etery in Agawam, Mass.

East HamptonKathleen Sabourin AbrahamKathleen Sabourin Abraham, 78, of Belcher-

town, Mass., passed away peacefully at home withher family by her side Tuesday, Aug. 13. She wasborn Oct. 11, 1934, in College Point, N.Y.

For 22 years, Kathleen was an educator in thesixth grade in the Wellesley, Mass., school sys-tem. Following her retirement, she worked part-time as a teacher and at UMass Disabilities Ser-vices Refugee Services. Since 1992, Kathleen andher husband Len have lived in Belchertown, pre-viously residing in Stowe, Mass. She was a mas-ter gardener and part of the Friends at ClappMemorial Library in Belchertown.

Kathy also worked in ESL in Amherst andSouth Hadley and was very involved in St. Francisof Assisi Church in Belchertown as a Eucharisticminister, a member of the Spiritual Life commit-tee and on the pastoral council. She loved to traveland greatly appreciated photography.

Kathleen will be greatly missed by her hus-band of 35 years, Leonard G. Abraham, along withhis four sons, Roger, Rich, Bob and Charlie; her12 nieces and nephews; and 9 Abraham grand-children.

A memorial Mass will be held at St. Francis ofAssisi Church, on today, Aug. 23, at 10 a.m. Burialwill be private at the family’s convenience.

For further details, visit beersandstory.com.

East HamptonD. Elaine Dutch

D. Elaine (Randall)Dutch, 85, of Moodus,formerly of East Hamp-ton, passed away Satur-day, Aug. 17, at the He-brew Home and Hospi-tal in West Hartford,surrounded by her lov-ing family. Born inJohnston, R.I., on June25, 1928, she was thedaughter of CharlesHoward and Doris(Green) Randall ofWeston, Maine, and Portland.

Elaine was a long-term resident of East Hamp-ton, where she was a 51-year member of the Con-gregational Church and a Sunday School teacher.She served as a lifeguard and a swimming instruc-tor at Sears Park, worked for the East HamptonHigh School student hot lunch program and re-tired from the Post Office after 10 years of ser-vice.

An active civic leader, she served as the EastHampton PTO president and as the mentor andleader of the East Hampton chapters of the Brown-ies, Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts. She worked onmany service projects and fundraisers, includingsewing quilts with the Monday Morning QuiltClub for donation to adults with cancer, makingteddy bears for children with cancer, and servingthe visually impaired as a member of the EastHaddam Community Lions club.

A sports enthusiast and lifelong Red Sox fan,she attended the sports games of her children,grandchildren and great grandchildren, bowledwith the East Hampton, Portland, Glastonbury andMiddletown women’s leagues, and golfed withthe Portland 9 West women’s league. She alsoenjoyed crafts and playing mahjong, bingo, andcards, and was an active member of both the EastHampton and East Haddam senior centers.

She is survived by two sons, Charles R. Dutchof Salem and the mother of his children, SusanL. (Jacobson) Dutch of Middletown, Bruce M.Dutch and his wife Frances (Haglund) Dutch ofMoodus, and a daughter, Susan E. Dutch ofWestfield, Mass. Elaine is also survived by ninegrandchildren (Christopher Dutch, StephenDutch, Deanna Nason, Brian Dutch, Bruce Dutch,Robert Dutch, Elaine Dutch, Randall Dutch, andMiranda Morse) and 10 great-grandchildren (Jor-dan Ziobron, Jasmine Ziobron, Lily Dutch, LydiaDutch, Kyla Dutch, Lucas Dutch, Kayla Nason,Tanner Nason, Christine Morse and Liam Deleno-Ohland).

She was predeceased by her husband of 55years, Robert A. Dutch, a son, Eric A. Dutch, anda grandson, Gregory C. Dutch.

A celebration of Elaine’s life will be held Sat-urday, Sept. 7, at 11 a.m., at the East HamptonCongregational Church, 59 Main St., East Hamp-ton, with the Rev. Thomas Kennedy officiating.Burial will be at the convenience of the family atGracelawn Memorial Park, Auburn, Maine.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made tothe East Haddam Community Lion’s, P.O. Box328, East Haddam, CT 06423.

Messages of condolences may be sent to thefamily at spencerfuneralhomeinc.com.

AmstonEdward Kenneth Winter

Edward Kenneth Winter, 52, of Weathersfield,Vt., died Wednesday, July 10, following a longand valiant battle with cancer. Ed was born Aug.26, 1960, to Judith Gothreau of Hartford.

He was raised in Amston and, after a year inMaine with the Larabee family, returned to gradu-ate from RHAM High School in 1978. He at-tended CCSU on a full scholarship and pursued acareer in computer programming. In 1990, Edsettled in Vermont where he met Mary Matthews,his wife of the past 20 years.

Ed’s pride and greatest joy was his children:Josiah, 16, Grace, 14, and Jonathan 9. Ed alsoleaves behind his siblings, Gael Chase ofHigganum, Dale Winter of W. Windsor, Vt., AnneSaucier of Willington, Mary Jean Gothreau ofCheshire, and Libby Chowaniec of Windsor. Hewill be greatly missed by his many loving aunts,uncles, cousins and nieces. Ed possessed a bril-liant mind and truly generous spirit.

Ed was an All-Star baseball player, a founderand original member of both the Amston Lakersand the Scorpions. He was an avid sports enthu-siast, gifted hockey player, intrepid golfer anddeacon at Trinity EFC in Windsor, Vt. He enjoyeddigging for old bottles, sailing and making usgroan at his jokes. Most of all, he loved beingwith family and friends. As we so loved beingwith him.

Throughout his life, Ed’s unwavering faith,quiet stoicism and indomitable sense of humorwere an inspiration to us all. He touched the heartsof everyone who knew him. Although comfortedthat he is reunited with his beloved Gramma andGramps (Esther Lillian and Louis AlexanderSteves), we will miss him profoundly.

A memorial service will be held at HebronChurch of Hope in Hebron Saturday, Sept. 14, at1 p.m. A reception will follow at Butterball’s inHebron. Additional information is available onFacebook at Ed Winter Memorial Page or by emailto: EdWinterMemorial@gmail.com.

With hope that someday other families may bespared this heartache, contributions in Ed’smemory may be made to the American CancerSociety.

ColchesterViola K. Nystrom

Viola K. Nystrom, 93, of Colchester Commonspassed away Monday afternoon, Aug. 12, atHarrington Court in Colchester. She was born Oct.23, 1919, in Detroit, Mich., daughter to the lateJohn and Armo Kauranen and thereafter spent herchildhood years in Pomfret.

Upon graduation of Putnam High School, shemoved to Brooklyn, N.Y., to further her businessskills. She married in 1943 and was lovingly de-voted to Henry E. Nystrom, who predeceased herin October 2000.

Viola’s most-cherished life’s work was as ahomemaker, yet she also became an owner/op-erator of hardware stores in Brooklyn and Scot-land. She served too, as a popular central figurein the town of Scotland, as a highly “well liked”tax collector. Viola was very proud of her heri-tage, as part of a large group of friends with Finn-ish and Swedish heritage. She warmly welcomedand loved to entertain friends both in Connecti-cut and in Florida. She always enjoyed baking,sewing, musical gatherings, gardening and golf.In her retirement she also enjoyed exploring herartistic talents in oil painting. She and Henry trav-eled stateside and abroad, seeking out friends asexcursions on “trains and trolleys” (her husband’spassion). Viola was always giving to others andalso became the oldest member of the First Con-gregational Church of Griswold.

She is survived by her sons John Nystrom ofAndover, Carl Nystrom and his wife Janice ofMerrimack, N.H.; a daughter, Virginia Valace andher husband Tony of Norwich; sister-in-law HelenKauranen of Ballouville; four grandchildren,Zenas Zelotes, Greg Valace, Jennifer Nystrom andRhonda Pieper; three great-grandchildren; severalnieces and nephews.

Besides her husband, she was predeceased bytwo brothers Leo Kauranen and Carl Krupula andhis wife Alice. Viola was also blessed in having avery dearly and devoted friendship with AnnieBaker of Gales Ferry.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m.Saturday, Aug. 24, at the First CongregationalChurch of Griswold.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made tothe Griswold Congregational Church, 878Voluntown Rd., Griswold, CT 06351 or to theFinnish Aura Hall, P.O. Box 243, Voluntown, CT06384.

The Gagne-Piechowski Funeral Home, 490Voluntown Rd., Jewett City, has been entrustedwith arrangements. For online condolences, visitgagnepiechowski.com.

AndoverMichael Pelletier

Michael Pelletier, 52, of Ellington, formerlyof Manchester, loving husband of Patricia L.(Willett) Pelletier, died peacefully while sleep-ing at home on Wednesday (August 14, 2013).Mike was born in Manchester on Dec. 29, 1960,one of four children of Odette Caron (Pelletier)Kennedy of Manchester and the late Leo Pelletier.

He attended Manchester schools, graduatedfrom Cheney Tech, and had lived in Andover andStafford before moving to Ellington 15 years ago.He was a former employee at Hartford Bearingfor 20 years and has worked in the Hartford areaall his life. Mike was a member of the RockvilleElks and the Knights of Columbus, was a RedSox and Patriot fan, and enjoyed playing dartsback in the day. He loved life, the outdoors, andespecially his fire pit.

With his wife and mother he is survived by hisstep-daughter, Jessica (Cosman) Ruggiero, herhusband Louis, and their son Louis of Tolland;his step-father, Benoit Kennedy of Manchester;two brothers and a sister, Gaston Pelletier, andhis wife Joyce of East Hartford, Luc Pelletier andPam Holmes of White City, Fla., and NancyParandes and her husband John of East Hartford,and many nieces, nephews, and extended family.

Mike’s family would like to extend a special“thank you” to the Crystal Lake Fire Departmentfor all their help.

A prayer service was held Monday, Aug. 19,at the Holmes Funeral Home, 400 Main St.,Manchester. Burial followed in St. James Cem-etery in Manchester. Visiting hours were Sunday,Aug. 18, at the funeral home.

Memorial contributions may be made to theAmerican Heart Association, P.O. Box 417005,Boston, MA 02241-7005.

To leave a message for his family, visit holmes-watkinsfuneralhomes.com.

ColchesterAlbert J. Garrison

Albert J. “Al” Garrison, 85, of Coventry, for-merly of Manchester, beloved husband of the lateAnn M. (Sartori) Garrison, died peacefully Thurs-day, Aug. 15, at Harrington Court in Colchester.

He was born July 18, 1928 in East Hartford,son of the Late Wilbert and Rose (Slater) Garri-son. He served in the United States Navy and wasa lifetime member of the Manchester Army andNavy Club. Al enjoyed collecting watches andantique banks, going to Mohegan Sun and heloved to drive. Prior to his retirement he hadworked at Manchester Sand and Gravel for over32 years.

He is survived by three sons, Michael T. Gar-rison and his wife Sheryl of Scotland, Richard J.Garrison of Lebanon, Ronald A. Garrison and hiswife Joan of Coventry; his daughter, Debora Gar-rison of Colchester; sister, Carol Fiaschetti ofEnfield; two sisters-in-law, Dot Garrison andGladys Garrison, both of Manchester; 10 grand-children; 18 great-grandchildren; and numerousnieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by three brothers, BudGarrison, Sonny Garrison and David Garrison,and his stepmother, Evelyn Norton Garrison.

The family wishes to extend special thanks tothe nurses and staff at Harrington Court andWindham DaVita Dialysis.

Graveside services were held Monday, Aug.19, at St. James Cemetery, 360 Broad St.,Manchester. There were no calling hours.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may bemade to a charity of the donor’s choice.

To sign the online register book, visit holmes-watkinsfuneralhomes.com.

PortlandJoseph Paul Vinci Jr.

Joseph Paul Vinci Jr., 83, formerly of MiddlesexAvenue Ext., Portland, husband of Cecile(Sylvestre/Mercier) Vinci, died Saturday, Aug. 17,at Chestelm Health & Rehabilitation Center. Hewas born March 28, 1930, in Middletown, theson of the late Joseph and Maria (Salemi) Vinci.

Joe was a veteran of the Korean War servingwith the US Army. Prior to his retirement, he wasa sheet metal assembler with Pratt & WhitneyAircraft.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by hisson, Joseph P. Vinci III and his wife Judy of Knox-ville, Ten.; three daughters, Susan Tyler and herhusband James of Portland, Nancy Boudreau andher husband Kevin of Somers, and Barbara DeVostand her husband Richard of Coventry, Vt.; two sis-ters, Rose Marie Vinci and Elena Vinci, both ofMiddletown; six grandchildren; eight great-grand-children; also several nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his brothers, Sebastian(Mike), Salvatore, John, Nicholas and LouisVinci; and a sister, Sebastiana (Anna) Rousseau.

Funeral services were held Thursday, Aug. 22,from Biega Funeral Home, 3 Silver St.,Middletown, followed by a funeral liturgy in St.Sebastian Church, Washington Street,Middletown. Burial with military honors will bein the State Veterans Cemetery, Middletown.Friends called at Biega Funeral Home Wednes-day, Aug. 21.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions maybe made to Alzheimer’s Association ConnecticutChapter, 2075 Silas Deane Hwy., Ste. 100, RockyHill, CT 06067; American Diabetes Foundation,2080 Silas Deane Hwy.,2nd Fl., Rocky Hill, CT06067; or the American Heart Association , 5Brookside Dr., P. O. Box 5022, Wallingford, CT06492.

To share memories or express condolencesonline, visit biegafuneralhome.com.