february 2015 - middlebury bee

Bee IntellIgencerBee IntellIgencerInforming the towns of Middlebury, Southbury, Woodbury, Naugatuck, Oxford and Watertown

Volume XI, No. 2 February 2015

AN INDEPENDENTLY OWNED FREE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERFREE

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“The trouble with weather forecasting is that it’s right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it.” ~ Patrick Young

Inside this Issue

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Adoptable Pets ............... 8Book Review .................. 2Classifieds ...................... 7Community Calendar ...... 2In Brief ........................... 4Library Highlights ........... 2Library Lines ................... 2

Obituaries ...................... 5Region 15 Calendar ....... 3Senior Center Events ...3, 7Diversified Tax Tidbits ...... 5This is a Hammer ............ 7Varsity Sports Calendar ... 6Winning Ways ................ 6

SundayFeb. 1

Contest to name new park

page 8

super Bowl sunday new England Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks

groundhog Day

special town meeting to elect Region 15 Board of Education memberWhat: Election to fill Region 15 Board of Education seat vacated by Francis Brennan When: 6:30 p.m.Where: Shepardson Community Center auditorium at 1172 Whittemore Road in Middlebury

Happy valentine’s Day to our readers!

MOndayFeb. 2

SaTuRdayFeb. 14

by TeRRence s. mcAULIFFe

The Middlebury Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) at its Jan. 8 meeting unanimously approved a cell tower inside the steeple of the Middlebury Congrega-tional Church, changes to the zoning regu-lations pertaining to affordable housing and an oversize sign at the former Golden Age of Trucking Museum. It also accepted an application for a sign on Straits Turnpike and started enforcement action for excava-tions on Middlebury Road.

A site plan application by Verizon Wire-less and the Middlebury Congregational Church to reconstruct the wooden church steeple with an RF-transparent fiberglass replica and place a natural gas-powered backup generator near the garage at the minister’s house to the left of the church was unanimously approved. Attorney Ken-neth C. Baldwin of Robinson and Cole rep-resented the applicants. He told commis-sioners the project was fairly straightfor-ward, with all changes except the generator entirely within the church. He said the pri-mary benefit of increased capacity would be in a quarter- to a half-mile radius around the church.

Carlo Centore, a professional engineer with Centek Engineers, said the public would not notice the difference except for the generator because the cell equipment would be in an equipment room and all the cables would be concealed in crawl spaces up to the upper steeple, which would house six antennas. Baldwin said the steeple would be very similar to one installed at the Bethlehem Congregational Church in Oc-tober 2013.

Centore provided Commissioner Matt Robison with the generator’s decibel levels, saying they were lower than those allowed by state guidelines without taking into ac-count the additional muting effects of shrubbery and screening. Chairman Terry Smith encouraged Centore to hide the gen-erator from view since it will be directly across from the preschool entrance. Centore estimated a four-month project time, most of which would be spent photographing and measuring the existing steeple to create an exact fiberglass replacement offsite with the actual changeover occurring fairly quickly.

Church trustees brought it the cell tower to a vote of all parish members in August 2014, and it was approved, according to a church newsletter. The parish also voted to renovate the bathrooms, repaint the front of the church and clean out areas where Verizon’s equipment would be located. The revenue to the church from the tower could

be as much as $2,400 per month according to a report on WFSB.

Changes to Section 22.7 of the zoning reg-ulations for calculating the resale value of affordable housing were unanimously ap-proved. The changes incorporate definitions of moderate income consistent with Con-necticut state statutes and are tied to the more appropriate Litchfield and New Haven County statistics rather than the Waterbury Metropolitan Statistical Area. Chairman Terry Smith recused himself from voting because he had not attended the public hearing.

The changes were requested Oct. 2 by attorney Michael McVerry, who said the formula in the regulations was not consis-tent with the Brookside subdivision property declarations and caused difficulties during resale. Town Attorney Dana D’Angelo had asked the commission to wait for surround-ing town comments from the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (COG) which ultimately supported the changes.

Also unanimously approved was a special exception for a 4-foot-by-8-foot sign at the former Golden Age of Trucking Museum at 1067 Southford Road for the new owner Dr. Dean Yimoyines, d/b/a JSD Partners LLC. He told commissioners Nov. 6 the large sign was needed to guide people to the building which is now being used as both a ware-house and for sales for Middlebury Con-signment. Smith recused himself from vot-ing because he had not attended the public hearing.

An application for a special exception for a sign at 687 Straits Turnpike for Dr. Giuseppe Tripodi d/b/a Tripod Realty was accepted for public hearing Feb. 5.

In other new business, Ken Long was unanimously reappointed as the Middle-

bury representative to Council of Govern-ments (COG).

In old business, Smith said town planner Brian Miller was still waiting on updated maps from COG to be incorporated into the long-awaited Plan of Conservation and De-velopment. He said a public hearing would be scheduled in March if the document could be distributed to commissioners with enough time to make corrections and final suggestions.

In other old business, Smith asked re-cording clerk Rachelle Behuniak to find the names of bidders who had assisted in up-dating zoning regulations for Woodbury and Watertown. Behuniak had worked for many months retyping the mostly paper-based Middlebury regulations, with the next step being reorganization. Zoning Enforcement Officer Curtis Bosco commented COG also would be familiar with firms doing zoning update work.

In enforcement matters, Bosco told com-missioners a house on 41 Central Road had received a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) to construct an addition only six inches from the property line. Smith commented P&Z had no jurisdiction, but Bosco said building codes wouldn’t allow construction permits because of required setbacks and fire requirements. Smith asked Bosco to have future ZBA applications routed for P&Z awareness.

In other enforcement, Smith noted what he called “gravel pits” in the center of town, referring to the site formerly occupied by Vinnie’s Pizza and Johnny’s Dairy Bar ad-joining 520 Middlebury Road and to the lot at the corner of Middlebury Road and

cell tower oK, ‘gravel pits’ unwelcome

This excavated lot at the corner of Middlebury Road and Clearview Knoll and one far-ther down the street at 520 Middlebury Road are being referred to as “gravel pits” by Middlebury Planning and Zoning Chairman Terry Smith. (Terrence S. McAuliffe photos)

Middlebury Congregational Church will get a new fiberglass steeple to accommodate a Verizon wireless cell tower that will be placed there.

– See P&Z on page 7

Lpos vote ends in a tie, Fenn Farm

work continues by TeRRence s. mcAULIFFe

The Middlebury Land Preser-vation and Open Space Commit-tee (LPOS) election of officers at its Jan. 7 meeting ended in a tie. Members will vote on officers again at the February meeting. After welcoming Ted Mannello as a new member, the committee discussed upcoming Fenn Farm maintenance and repairs.

In the election, James Crocic-chia nominated Chairman John Cookson to serve again, and Patrick Dwyer nominated Ray-mond Pietrorazio to serve as chair. After a paper ballot of the six members present resulted in a 3-3 tie, Pietrorazio made a mo-tion to move the election to the February meeting. The motion passed unanimously. Voting on a vice-chairman and a secretary also was deferred until February.

Resident Malcolm Todt noted LPOS bylaws require a majority

vote of the entire membership, rather than just the ones attend-ing. In response, Cookson said he could have broken the tie as chairman but declined to do it in this case.

Cookson had opened the meeting by introducing Man-nello, who was appointed by the Board of Selectmen Dec. 15 to fill the position formerly held by Ken Long. Long resigned in Oc-tober.

During approval of the Dec. 3 minutes, Pietrorazio asked why the discussion on electing offi-cers was not in the minutes. Re-cording clerk Tracy Graziano said only motions and actions and comments specifically di-rected to be on the record went into the minutes.

In maintenance items, Pietro-razio said he had drafted a bid package for the cow barn re-roof-

– See LPos on page 7

by mARJoRIe neeDHAm

A press conference Jan. 13 to present an economic impact study of the proposed Competi-tive Power Ventures (CPV) En-ergy Center, the gas-fueled 805-MW power plant CPV wants to build near the Oxford airport, was followed by a Jan. 15 Connecticut Siting Council visit to Oxford that started with a site visit at 1:30 p.m. and continued with a hear-ing at 3 p.m. at Oxford High School that included public com-ments starting at 6:30 p.m. The hearing was to continue at the Siting Council’s New Britain of-fices Thursday, Jan. 29.

The Jan. 13 press conference for the study developed by the University of Connecticut’s Con-necticut Center for Economic Analysis (CCEA) was held at the Greater Valley Chamber of Com-merce in Shelton, Conn. Speakers were Chamber President Bill Purcell, CPV Senior Vice Presi-dent Braith Kelly. CPV Project Developer Andy Bazinet, CCEA President Fred Carstensen, Ox-ford First Selectman George Temple, Southbury First Select-man Ed Edelson and Dave Roche, president of the Connecticut State Building Trades Council.

Purcell lauded the project as “the largest private sector project in our region,” and said it would fuel our energy needs.

Carstensen said the project will bring more than $7.8 billion to the state between 2015 and 2040, and peak employment dur-ing the construction phase will be 2,300 jobs. He said, “I think this is a really great project.”

Temple said of the project, “It’s not just about money. It’s about a really low carbon footprint and little environmental impact. We need the electricity and we need to do so at the least environmen-tal cost.”

Edelson said the plant is good news for all people of our region and those who think the tax ben-efits will go only to Oxford are “pretty myopic.” “I think this is good for all of us,” he said.

Asked by this reporter if the CCEA study included the impact of increased health care costs due to illnesses caused by the plant’s emissions, Carstensen said it did not. He said in aggre-gate the plant would reduce pol-lutants because it was cleaner than previous gas technology.

Public comments at the Jan. 15 hearing were not as positive. A number of union workers and some Oxford residents spoke in favor of the plant, but many more of the 70 speakers who addressed the Siting Council opposed the project.

Perhaps the most moving tes-timony was given by a research oncologist. He said he travels to locations with ongoing oncology trials due to cancer clusters. He said all the locations share one common thread, “Some corpo-ration came in dangling a carrot.” In these locations, he said home values went down, so people couldn’t sell their homes and move out.

Timothy Billings, a CPA who lives ¼ mile from the proposed plant told Siting Council mem-bers the power plant will make property values go down. “Look at Bridgeport and tell me how they prospered,” he said, noting Bridgeport has seen a significant decrease in owner-occupied homes.

Middlebury First Selectman Edward B. St. John said the air-port caused property values to drop in Middlebury’s Triangle Boulevard area and, if a power plant is built in Oxford, “History will repeat itself.”

power plant events continue

2 February 2015The Bee-Intelligencer

We are well into the new year, and according to statistics, only 8 per-

cent of us will be able to keep our New Year’s resolutions. On the up-side, those who do make res-olutions are 10 times more likely to reach their goals. Like most people, I seem to vaguely fall in

the middle of making resolutions – I think about resolving to do something, but it is not necessar-ily at the turn of the calendar, so I guess it can’t count as a New Year’s resolution. I usually can stick to the resolution for quite a while, as it does become a habit, but once I stop activities like ex-ercising or dieting, it is very dif-ficult to start again. Seems that most of us are like that. However, if your New Year’s resolution was to read more books, I might be able to help you with that ...

I just breezed through “The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a Shallow Year” (B CO-HEN, ANDY COH). It must be read with the realization that the title says it all: This is a very shal-low, name-dropping, using-on-l y - i n i t i a l s - w e - a r e - s u p -posed-to-recognize-as-celebri-ties book. If you read this biography with that understand-ing, you will enjoy it. The book, disguised as a diary, follows Co-hen through a year of parties, work and, most importantly, dog care. Sometimes we want a light-weight book that dishes on peo-ple we will never meet (kinda like reading People magazine), and this fits in perfectly.

I’ve written before that we, as a society, can never read enough “never-before-released” infor-mation about the Kennedys. Bar-bara Leaming has written an-other book, “Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: The Untold Story” (B KENNEDY, JACQUE-LINE LEA). Although Leaming writes of Jackie’s early years and marriage, the focus is on the years following the death of JFK. Jackie’s experience with PTS syn-drome is detailed. It seemed to become a daily struggle – not just for her but also for Robert Ken-nedy. Many facets of her daily life

are recorded as Jackie rebuilds her life and continues to fascinate the general public – in life as well as in her death.

Jessie Close has written an amazing memoir, “Resilience” (B CLOSE, JESSIE CLO). You may recognize her last name as the same as that of Glenn Close and for good reason; they are sisters. Jessie’s story is of her lifelong struggle with severe mental ill-ness. Glenn Close writes small “vignettes” interspersed throughout the book, enhancing Jessie’s story of her desperate fight for normalcy. This is a mov-ing story of a family trying to keep one of their own from fall-ing off the edge.

Finally, if you are interested in more of a non-GMO (genetically modified organisms) life, “The Non-GMO Cookbook” (641.6 WES) written by Megan Westgate and Courtney Pineau may help. Here you will find “recipes and advice for a non-GMO lifestyle.” The introduction is informative and helpful, and the book has some terrific recipes. While some of the ingredients may be difficult to find (buckwheat soba noo-dles?), you can always try area organic food stores for them …

While it’s true that many of your favorite authors have re-leased books this month – includ-ing Brad Taylor, Stuart Woods, Jayne Ann Krentz and Jack Hig-gins – I thought it might be fun to look at some books by maybe not-so-well-known fiction au-thors. James Abel gives us “White Plague” (ABE): It looks like an action-packed and exciting thrill ride! Well, maybe not quite that exciting, but it certainly will get your pulse going. A submarine is in deep trouble (no pun in-tended) in the Arctic. On fire and adrift, it also carries a long-bur-

ied plague. It’s a race by Joe Rush and his team to save the crew and ensure that the sub doesn’t fall into enemy hands. Those who read Clive Cussler’s novels will probably love this book.

Did you read “The Rosie Proj-ect”? Graeme Simsion has fol-lowed it up with his new novel, “The Rosie Effect” (SIM). Now happily married to Rosie, Profes-sor Don Tillman is not quite pre-pared for the next step: Rosie is expecting a baby. Can he be the husband she needs? Or will he torpedo the marriage and lose Rosie? If you need to laugh – and who doesn’t? – follow the ultra-logical Tillman as he tries to get back into Rosie’s life and save himself. Love how they decide to name the baby, by the way …

Mark these words: “The Girl on the Train” (HAW) by Paula Hawkins will be the next “you have got to read this” book. Ra-chel takes the same train at the same time every day and creates a fantasy world for the perfect couple she sees daily through her window – until they are no longer perfect. You, too, will be sucked into the story so fast that it will be 2 a.m. before your turn the last page and say “Wow! That was a good book.” Labeled a “Hitch-cockian mystery,” this thriller will keep you awake.

One popular author should be mentioned: Dean Koontz is con-cluding his very popular series featuring Odd Thomas with “Saint Odd” (KOO). Always a quirky character, Odd Thomas goes back to his beginnings in his beloved Pico Mundo. Unfor-tunately, I cannot reveal any more of the story without ruining the ending for you all, so if you are familiar with the character, you will be both excited and sad to read the series end.

P.S. It also seems that the older you are, the less likely you are to make and keep a New Year’s res-olution!

Middlebury Public Library Adult Services Librarian Donna Hine writes Library Lines once a month. If you have a topic you’d like her to cover, contact her at the library at 203-758-2634.

Library Highlights

“Don Martin: Three Decades of

His Greatest Works”with a foreword by Nick Meglin

(Running Press, $30)Reviewed by Larry Cox

Don Martin, perhaps more than anyone else, defined the zany madness that was Mad mag-azine. Martin’s work appeared in virtually every issue of Mad until 1988. In addition to his work for the magazine, he also illustrated record jackets for such music leg-ends as Miles Davis and Stan Getz.

Martin was born in Patterson, N.J., in 1931. He studied at the Newark School of Fine and In-dustrial Art before eventually graduating from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1952. He worked at various jobs before getting his first real break when a submission was accepted by Mad magazine and published in its September 1956 issue.

In this latest installment in the Mad’s Greatest Artists series, more than 200 strips of Martin’s work are featured, including such classics as his “Guide to Some Very Obscure Comics Sound Ef-fects,” “Spider-Man,” “Conehead The Barbiturate,” and, of course, “Scenes We’d Like to See.”

As Nick Meglin, longtime edi-tor of Mad magazine, points out in his foreword, Martin’s color-ing-book approach “was amaz-ingly visceral, and leapt from the page in a way that defied passing over it, especially when sand-wiched between other Mad arti-cles featuring caricatures of real people: depictions of movie and

TV stars by Mort Drucker, athletes by Jack Davis and politicians by Jack Rickard.”

Meglin adds that it wasn’t Mar-tin’s art alone that catapulted his work to the top of readership pop-ularity, but also his zany humor that delighted the magazine’s nearly 3 million regular readers.

Humor, really good humor, is timeless, and Martin’s work is perfect proof. Much of it is just as amusing today as it was when first published decades ago. If you aren’t familiar with Don Martin, grab this book, make yourself comfortable and prepare to laugh out loud.

(c) 2014 King Features Synd., Inc.

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Book Review

Middlebury Community CalendarFeb. 1 to 7, 2015

Monday, Feb. 2Board of Selectmen6 p.m. ...................... Shepardson Community Center, AuditoriumSpecial Town Meeting 6:30 p.m. ................. Shepardson Community Center, Auditorium

Tuesday, Feb. 3Water Commission7 p.m. ............................................................ Shepardson, Room 26

Wednesday, Feb. 4Land Preservation and Open Space6 p.m. ............................................................ Shepardson, Room 26

Zoning Board of Appeals7:30 p.m. ............................................Town Hall Conference Room

Thursday, Feb. 5Planning and Zoning Commission7:30 p.m. ...................................................Shepardson, Auditorium

Feb. 8 to 14

Monday, Feb. 9Police Commission6 p.m. .................................................Town Hall Conference Room

Tuesday, Feb. 10Library Board of Directors3 p.m. .....................................................Middlebury Public Library

Democratic Town Committee7:30 p.m. ....................................................... Shepardson, Room 27

Republican Town Committee7:30 p.m. ....................................................... Shepardson, Room 26

Wednesday, Feb. 11Board of Finance7 p.m. ............................................................ Shepardson, Room 26

Thursday, Feb. 12Parks and Recreation7 p.m. .............................................................. Shepardson, Room 1

Feb. 15 to 21

Monday, Feb. 16Presidents Day Holiday - All town offices, library and transfer station are closed.

Tuesday, Feb. 17Commission on Aging9:30 a.m. ....................................................... Shepardson, Room 26

Elderly Tax Relief Committee5:30 p.m. ....................................................... Shepardson, Room 26

Board of Selectmen (moved due to Monday holiday)6 p.m. .................................................Town Hall Conference Room

Public Works Commission7 p.m. .............................................................. Shepardson, Room 4

Water Pollution Control Authority7:30 p.m. ....................................................... Shepardson, Room 26

Wednesday, Feb. 18Beautification Committee6:30 p.m. ....................................................... Shepardson, Room 26

Feb. 22 to 28

Tuesday, Feb. 24Economic and Industrial Development Commission6:30 p.m. ...........................................Town Hall Conference Room

Conservation Commission7:30 p.m. ....................................................... Shepardson, Room 26

Calendar dates/times are subject to change.If your organization would like your event included in the community calendar, please email the information to [email protected].

Library Lines

Did you resolve to read more books in 2015?

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This column features high-lights from each library. For a more extensive list of events at each library, please visit our website, www.bee-news.com, and click on “Libraries.”

middleburyFitness Fridays to start

Starting Friday, Feb. 13, at 11 a.m., join personal trainer Tammy MacAdams for Fitness Fridays. Tammy has been a fit-ness professional for over 30 years, working in both the design and implementation of lifestyle makeovers. She is a certified per-sonal trainer as well as a group exercise instructor.

Become more active with yoga classes and fitness walks and learn more about nutrition and overall wellness. Please wear comfortable clothes and bring a towel or mat. This program was made possible by a grant from the Connecticut Community Foundation.

Lemony Snicket’s birthday

The entire family is invited to a celebration of Lemony Snick-et’s birthday Friday, Feb. 13, with a children’s movie at 11 a.m. and book activities based on Lemony Snicket’s children’s books at 1 p.m.

8th Annual Puzzle Contest

The Middlebury Public Li-brary will offer its 8th Annual Puzzle Contest Thursday, Feb. 26, at 4:30 p.m. All the puzzles will be identical, and the winner will be the team with the most continuously connected pieces at the finish time of 7:30 p.m. This event is sponsored by the Friends of Middlebury Library. Please call the Middlebury Public Li-brary to preregister at 203-758-2634. All ages are welcome. Light refreshments will be available.

The Middlebury Public Li-brary is at 30 Crest Road. The

telephone number is 203-758-2634, and the website is middle-burypubliclibrary.org.

naugatuckFrench paintings in

Connecticut museumsBrian Denyer will speak about

French paintings in Connecticut museums Tuesday, Feb. 3, at 6:30 p.m. His presentation will in-clude a brief survey of French paintings, with comments both on the artists and their works found in this state. He also will offer information about visiting the museums and their web sites.

This program is free and open to the public. Please call 203-729-4591 to register.

Anti-Heroes TV ClubWednesday, Feb. 11, the li-

brary will offer a brand-new monthly program – a TV discus-sion club that will meet the sec-ond Wednesday of each month to discuss TV’s new band of an-ti-heroes such as Mad Men’s Don Draper, Breaking Bad’s Walter White or Dexter’s Dexter Mor-gan. These critically acclaimed shows feature people viewers find compelling and perhaps even sympathetic despite their serious character flaws or their questionable moral choices. Join Matt Yanarella and Kirk Morrison from the library staff for the dis-cussion and suggestions for club viewing in the months to come. Refreshments will be served. Call the library for more information at 203-729-4591.

Library Scouts Saturday, Feb. 14, at 10 a.m.,

Whittemore’s Library Scouts will gather for their second meeting. Scouts in this program for grades three through eight learn about the library from the inside, se-lecting books, planning pro-grams and earning privileges with priority access to library technology. Registration is re-

Performing artist and storyteller Tammy Denease Richardson portrays pilot Bessie Coleman (right) at the Southbury Public Library Feb. 21. (Submitted photos)

– See Libraries on page 5

February 2015 The Bee-Intelligencer 3

Increasing our intake of whole grains results in lower risk of death from cardiovascular dis-ease and diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, according to two large studies reported in the “Journal of the American Medical Asso-ciation.” The studies tracked 74,341 women in the Nurses’ Health Study and 43,744 men in the Health Professionals Fol-low-up Study.

Bread immediately comes to mind when we think of increas-ing our grain intake, but bread labels can be confusing. Here are some of the myths and truths about bread, as provided by WebMD.com.

Myth: If the bread looks brown and has “wheat” in the name, it contains fiber and whole grain.

Truth: The only way to tell what bread really contains is in the ingredients label. “Wheat flour” or “enriched wheat flour” means it was made with mostly white flour. The color might come from molasses.

Myth: If the name of the bread sounds healthy, such as “grains”

or “natural,” it must be healthy.Truth: Again, the ingredients

label is where you’ll find the true information. A bread can be called “natural” or say how many grains it has, but the first ingre-dient in the label will tell you what’s really in it.

How to buy the healthiest bread:• “Wheatbread”iswheatflour,

not whole wheat. Look for “100 percent whole grain” or “100 percent whole wheat.” Even if you’re picking up a loaf of rye bread, don’t assume it contains rye flour as the first ingredient.

• Bewarethesodiumlevel.Somebreads are quite high in so-

dium and can become a major portion of your daily limit.

• Lookatthecaloriesperserv-ing, and don’t be fooled by the difference between “per slice” and “per serving.”

• Checkthegramsoffiber.For more sources of whole

grains, go online to www.choose-myplate.gov.

Matilda Charles regrets she cannot personally answer reader questions, but she will incorpo-rate them into her column when-ever possible. Send email to [email protected].


Whole grains for health

Falls avenue Senior Center EventsFeb. 1 to 28, 2015

Thursday, Feb. 12, Early Dismissal - Professional Dev. Half Day

Presidents Day Weekend: Friday, Feb. 13, to Monday, Feb. 16

Middlebury Elementary SchoolThursday, Feb. 5 .................. Smarter Balanced Workshop ............ 6:30 p.m.Tuesday, Feb. 10 .................. Jump Rope for Heart ............................. 4 p.m.Thursday, Feb. 19 ................ Snow Date Jump Rope for Heart ........... 4 p.m.Friday, Feb. 20 .....................Mismatch and Clash Day!Friday, Feb. 27 ..................... Dress as your favorite book character

Long Meadow Elementary SchoolMonday, Feb. 9 .................... Friends Together Screening .............. 9:30 a.m.Tuesday, Feb. 10 .................. Jump Rope for Heart ............................. 4 p.m.Wednesday, Feb. 11 ............ Snow Date Jump Rope for Heart ........... 4 p.m.

Gainfield Elementary SchoolTuesday, Feb. 24 .................. Parent Lunches K, 3, 5 ......................... variousMonday, Feb. 25 .................. Parent Lunches 1, 2, 4......................... various

Pomperaug Elementary SchoolTuesday, Feb. 10 .................. PTO ................................................. 9:30 a.m.Tuesday, Feb. 10 .................. PTO Family Dine and Play .............. RathskellerWednesday, Feb. 11 ............ PTO Valentine’s Flower DeliveryMonday, Feb. 23 .................. Celebration of Reading BeginsFriday, Feb. 27 ..................... PTO Dancing Under the Stars ................ 6 p.m.

Memorial Middle SchoolThursday, Feb. 5 .................. Payment 2 for Gr. 8 DC Trip dueFriday, Feb. 20 ..................... Grade 6 Social ....................2:45 to 4:15 p.m.Friday, Feb. 20 ..................... Gr. 7 and 8 Dance ........................... 6:30 p.m.

Rochambeau Middle SchoolMonday, Feb. 2 .................... PTO ................................................. 9:30 a.m.Monday, Feb. 2 .................... PTO ...................................................... 7 p.m.Thursday, Feb. 5 .................. Chorus Day at PHS ............................. 10 a.m.Friday, Feb. 6 ....................... Snow Date, Chorus Day at PHSWednesday, Feb. 18 ............ 8th Grade Band Day at PHS ..................... TBAThursday, Feb. 19 ................ Snow Date for Band Day ........................... TBA

Pomperaug High SchoolThursday, Feb. 5 .................. 8th Grade Chorus Day ........................ 10 a.m.Friday, Feb. 6 ....................... Snow Date, 8th Grade Chorus DaySaturday, Feb. 7 .................. All State Auditions, North Haven ...... 7:30 a.m.Monday, Feb. 9 .................... Dress Rehearsal, Tri-M Concert ......... 3:30 p.m.Tuesday, Feb. 10 .................. Tri-M Benefit Concert ............................ 7 p.m.Wednesday, Feb. 11 ............ Snow Date, Tri-M Concert ...................... 7 p.m.Saturday, Feb. 14 ................ Snow Date All State Auditions .......... 7:30 a.m.Saturday, Feb. 21 ................ Senior Semi-Formal .............................. 7 p.m.Thursday, Feb. 26 ................ Student of the Month Bkfst .............. 6:45 a.m.Thursday, Feb. 26 ................ Talent Show .......................................... 7 p.m.Friday, Feb. 27 ..................... Snow Date Talent Show ......................... 7 p.m.Saturday, Feb. 28 ................ Senior Semi-Formal .............................. 7 p.m.

This is your

Waterbury Hospital

waterburyhospital.orgWe promise to keep you first

Keeping Our Promise to Our Patients and Our Community

Caring for Our CommunityKeeping Patients First

Advocacy for our FutureAward-Winning Care Training and Education

Region 15 School Calendar

senior center events are listed at

www.bee-news.com

Falls Avenue Senior Center events for area adults 55 and older follow. Most require reser-vations, which can be made by calling 860-945-5250. Please speak with a staff member when calling as the senior center does not accept voice-mail reserva-tions. The center is at 311 Falls Ave. in Oakville, Conn.

Cards for SoldiersJoin us Thursday, Feb. 5, at 9

a.m. for Cards for Soldiers. Phyllis Schaar of VFW Post 7330 is sup-plying the St. Patrick’s Day cards; participants are supplying the good wishes. Help sign cards for our soldiers and enjoy some cof-fee and treats with friends. Res-ervations are needed by Feb. 4.

Food driveThe center is hosting its “From

Our Hearts to Your Home Food Drive” during the week of Feb. 9 to 13. Please bring nonperishable food, toiletries and paper goods for the Watertown Food Bank to the center that week. Please check the expiration dates as the food bank cannot accept expired food items.

Medicare statements explained

Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 9 a.m., bring your Medicare summary

notices or explanation of benefits forms to a presentation by Rose-mary B. Jones of the Western Connecticut Area Agency on Aging. She will help you under-stand the information on your Medicare statements. Some-times these statements do not reflect correct information and could contain fraudulent charges. Reservations are needed by Feb. 10.

Learn about your kidneys

Do you know what your kid-neys do every day to keep you healthy? Do you know that one in three Americans is at risk for developing kidney disease? The center is hosting “Your Kidneys and You,” sponsored by the Na-tional Kidney Foundation, Thurs-day, Feb. 12, at 9:30 a.m. Reser-vations are needed by Feb. 11.

Boogie BoysCelebrate Valentine’s Day with

entertainment by the Boogie Boys Friday, Feb. 13, at 2 p.m. Reserva-tions are needed by Feb. 12. This event is sponsored by Northwest Home Care.

Watch Carol Burnett shows

Enjoy the antics of Carol Bur-nett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Law-

rence, Tim Conway and Lyle Waggoner on Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 1 p.m. when the center shows a DVD of classic scenes from The Carol Burnett Show. Reserva-tions are needed by Feb. 13.

Social services information

Residents 55 years of age and older in need of social services assistance may meet with Jim Dunn of the Western Connecti-cut Area Agency on Aging Wednesday, Feb. 18, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Bring your ques-tions and find out what programs are available for older adults. Reservations are not needed.

ReflexologyCertified reflexologist Kim

Stewart will offer 20-minute re-flexology sessions for your hands or feet Thursday, Feb. 19, from 8:30 to 10:15 a.m. The cost is $15. Reservations are needed by Wednesday, Feb. 18.

Cooking with CorkyCooking with Corky will meet

Monday, Feb. 23, at 3:30 p.m. Join chef and wedding planner Corky Plourde as she presents an af-fordable and easy-to-prepare menu. Reservations are needed by Feb. 20.

Wii bowlingThe Falls Avenue seniors will

take on Watertown High students for Wii Bowling Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 3 p.m. Reservations are needed by Feb. 23.

Learn to square danceAdults who like to square

dance or want to learn are invited to the center’s square dance event Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 2 p.m. The caller will be Todd Fel-legy, a professional square dance caller who has called in 25 states and in foreign countries. Podi-atrist Dr. McHugh and Associates are the sponsors. Reservations are needed by Feb. 24.

Effective weight management

New Opportunities Dietician Paula Warncke will discuss ef-fective weight management Thursday, Feb. 26, at 9:30 a.m. In this session, participants will use food journals, self tests and sim-ple exercises that promote con-scious and healthy eating. Res-ervations are needed by Feb. 25.

Nicky D. concertVocalist Nicky D. will be back

for a 90-minute performance Friday, Feb. 27, at 2 p.m. Admis-sion is a dessert to share. Reser-vations are needed by Feb. 26.


Middlebury SoccerMiddlebury Soccer’s Spring

2015 registration is open. Starting this spring, Middlebury Soccer is expanding professional training to enhance player development at all levels and is adding a new program for 3-year-olds called Dinomites. The Dinomites program will focus on improving coordination and motor skills, which are critical for very young players.

Games for the spring season are expected to begin April 11 and end in mid-June. All registrations must be processed through the Middlebury Soccer Association website, www.middlebury-soccer.com. See the website for program details. Register for the in-house program prior to April 1 to avoid a $20 late fee. Travel program registration is due before March 16 to avoid a $20 late fee and being placed on a waiting list. Travel registration closes March 31.

Please contact Glen Gleissner at [email protected] with any questions.

Quilts that CareQuilts that Care, an organization

that makes quilts for people who undergo cancer treatment, will meet Mondays, Feb. 2 and 16, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at The Harold Leever Regional Cancer Center at 1075 Chase Parkway in Waterbury. It also will meet Tuesdays, Feb. 3 and 17, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Bristol Public Library at 5 High St. in Bristol. For information, call Deb at 860-945-0184, email [email protected] or visit www.quiltsthatcare.org.

Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias

Support GroupA monthly support group for

friends and family of people with

Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias will meet Thursday, Feb. 12 at 10:30 a.m. at the Jewish Federation of Western Connecti-cut at 444 Main St. N. There is no charge for this open and on-go-ing group, whose purpose is to provide emotional, educational and social support for caregivers through regularly scheduled meetings.

The meetings help partici-pants develop methods and skills to solve problems and encourage caregivers to maintain their own personal, physical and emo-tional health while optimally caring for the person with de-mentia. Patty Gibbs, a volunteer with the Alzheimer’s Associa-tion, facilitates the group. Regis-tration is not required. For more information, call Debby Horow-itz, Brownstein Jewish Family Service director, at 203-267-3177, ext. 310.

Friends of Fiber Arts meeting

The Jewish Federation Friends of Fiber Arts, a group open to anyone who is interested in any kind of fiber art or craft, will meet Monday, Feb. 16, from 1 to 3 p.m. at The Jewish Federation of West-ern Connecticut at 444 Main St. N. in Southbury. Anyone inter-ested in the fiber arts is welcome to attend this free event. There will be knitters, spinners, weav-ers, crocheters, felters, quilters and needlepoint enthusiasts at-tending. Participants should bring their projects to work on; some informal help and/or teaching will be provided. To reg-ister for this program, call 203-267-3177 or email [email protected].

Woodbury mini-golf tournament

Woodbury’s Indoor Mini-Golf Open will start Friday, Feb, 13,

at 10 a.m. and end Monday, Feb. 16, at 5 p.m. at the Woodbury Senior Community Center. Char-les Bartlett, who created and built the 9-hole mini golf course, has made major improvements to the course that include several new “holes” that are a bit more challenging.

Gather up your friends and acquaintances to play in teams of four. As in the past, the fees will be $2 for children under 10 when accompanied by an adult; $3 for adults when accompany-ing a child; $3 for seniors; and $4 for teens and adults. Net pro-ceeds will benefit Woodbury charities.

For more information, contact Bartlett at 203-527-2724 or Sharon Sherman at 203-885-8200.

Bingo at St. Rose of LimaFriday, Feb. 13, will be “Every-

body Loves Bingo Night” at St.

Rose of Lima in Newtown. Come celebrate your love of the games at a special night of Bingo fun and cash prizes. The evening will feature a dinner concession, along with the usual homemade dessert treats and complimen-tary coffee. Also, there will be a free raffle with Valentine’s Day and Bingo-themed prizes. If you wear something red, pink or Bin-go-themed, you will get a $3 dessert voucher!

As always, Bingo will take place in the St. Rose School hall at 40 Church Hill Road in New-town. Doors will open at 5:45 p.m., and games will run from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The per-person admission fee of $17 will cover all regular games. Upcoming Bingo nights will be March 13, April 24 and May 15. For more information about St. Rose Bingo, contact the St. Rose of Lima School administrative of-fices at 203-426-5102.

“Free” tuition isn’t freeTo the Editor:

The recent headline in the Rep-Am touting that the president was proposing “free” tuition for those attending community colleges certainly is an appealing concept. However, the word “free” is quite a misnomer when being “freely” used by liberal politicians. The headline begs the question, “free for whom?”

A more accurate wording should be “President proposes taxpayer-funded tuition.” And keep in mind that an estimated 43 percent of the population pays NO income tax (Forbes). President Obama (aka Santa Claus) contin-ues to be the master at spending other people’s money and getting applauded for such. This is also a euphemism for “buying votes.”

Wake up, my fellow taxpayers. Remember the words of Mitt Rom-ney in 2011 when he said that “... nothing is really free.” We are about to be saddled with another gov-ernment bill estimated to cost $60 billion over the next 10 years. And if that is a government estimate, you can undoubtedly double it .

So, for the future, all we should “hope” for is a “change.”

Heidi SheaMiddlebury

Will siting council members listen?To the Editor:

Among the responsibilities the Connecticut Siting council has is the need to protect the envi-ronment and ecology of the state and to minimize damage to sce-nic, historic and recreational values. They are also responsible for providing environmental standards and ensuring that the standards that are in place are sufficient to assure the welfare and protection of the people of Connecticut.

The Siting Council has read and listened to much opposition to the proposed power plant in Oxford. They have heard the ar-guments about pollution, air quality, health, environmental impact, airport hazards and fos-sil fuels. Those concerns go on and on and are endless.

All the proponents of this plant have presented is the sup-posed economic impact that will benefit the town of Oxford and the state. There is no mention of concern for the health, welfare and safety of the thousands of residents that will be affected by this behemoth power plant.

There is no mention of how this plant will turn an area known for its clean environment and bucolic landscape into an area that will become identified as heavily industrial. What would anyone believe if they saw the plumes of condensation and pol-lution being spewed hundreds of feet into the air from two 150-foot emission stacks?

The present Siting Council is composed of eight members. Four of those members are ap-pointed by the governor. They are all political appointees.

Therein lies what I consider to be the dilemma. Are these eight appointees going to listen intently and read the arguments presented by the opposition to this plant? And if they do agree with them, will they have the courage to say no to this power plant?

Or are they ultimately, regard-less of what arguments they hear, going to have to bow to the de-sires of those politicians that appointed them? Will they be courageous enough to defy the desires of our governor and other politicians?

Governor Malloy seems to have abandoned this part of Connecticut. He has reduced us to a possible new source of tax revenue to the detriment of our health and safety. As a lifelong Democrat, I campaigned for him and voted for him. But will never again. That doesn’t mean much to him but it does to me.

Some members of the legisla-ture have voiced their concerns about this plant. However, some members of the Connecticut leg-islature from this area have not yet let their constituents know where they stand on this issue. They prefer to sit on the fence. They lack the political courage to jump off of it one way or the other.

Peter BunzlOxford, Conn.

Ambulance contract accountabilityTo the Editor:

The 2010-2014 ambulance contract between the Middle-bury Ambulance Fund and the Middlebury government reads like a pilot episode of “The So-pranos meet The Simpsons.” To begin with, the Middlebury gov-ernment signed a contract with the fire department whereby the town paid certain bills and the fire department kept the ambu-lance proceeds. Under this agreement, which few in Mid-dlebury government can seem to recall, the fire chief would allegedly be mandated to provide quarterly reports, tax returns and audits concerning the Ambu-lance Fund.

Evidently the town failed to put itself on the list of those re-ceiving these reports as, over a four-year period, the Middlebury government claims it got none

of the 16 quarterly reports, just two audits and no tax returns. Keep in mind the ambulance fund was taking in about $150-$200,000 per year at this time.

Then-First Selectman Tom Gormley said of the agreement, according to the Board of Select-men minutes, “There are no fi-nances involved. It is strictly a legal agreement.” What’s that, you say, “no finances” involved? Then why ask for tax returns, audits and quarterly reports on a non-financial contract?

Well, that was our Tom. What about the other members of the Middlebury town government? McCormack and the Finance Board kept right on allocating hundreds of thousands of dollars in spite of the lack of fire depart-ment reporting; the Board of Selectmen did the same. Nobody in town government seems to have seen anything amiss, heard anything amiss, suspected any-thing amiss, and the whole circus went on and on.

The town attorney, Mr. Sava-rese, saw little merit in my at-tempts to FOI financial informa-tion from the fire department during these years. It was a cat-astrophic failure of government on every level, and the local townsfolk sat back, watched it and did nothing.

Although a hackneyed cliche, it’s true: People generally get the government they deserve. And they did.

Pat de AngelisMiddlebury

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In Brief

I am an individual, who is part of a family and that is part of

our community. I want my funeral to reflect that.

We know the things that are important to the families we serve. After all, they’re

the same values that guide our business... family, community, and

personal service. To learn more about how we can help you and your

family create a meaningful funeral, please contact us.

www.nfda.org

online 24/7 at

www.bee-news.com

Middlebury Road (Opposite the Shell Station)Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily

Anthony Calabrese 203-758-2765

Deer Corn • Livestock & Poultry FeedFirewood available

in bins and bags

Bird Seed Headquarters Black Oil, Premium Mix, Sunflower Hearts,

Niger Seed (thistle for finches)


Many people use their per-sonal vehicle for business pur-poses. If you work as a W-2 em-ployee, you probably are reimbursed for that mileage. But if you have your own business, then you want to make sure you are getting the tax deductions you are entitled to.

One of the more frequent questions I am asked is, “I am getting a new car. Should I lease or buy?” My answer is that you will get essentially the same tax deductions regardless of which way you go. The decision to lease or buy is a financing, not a tax, decision. Given a certain set of lease options versus loan op-tions, we can advise our clients on the best financing decision.

The next question often is, “Should I put the car in my name or the name of my business?” Again, this is not a tax issue; this is really an insurance/liability issue. We always encourage our clients to talk to their insurance agents, since it has been our ex-

perience that insurance premi-ums often will be significantly higher if the vehicle is in the business name.

Once you have your new ve-hicle, how do you arrive at your tax deduction? The key factor is the amount of business miles you put on the car. If you put a total of 20,000 miles on your car, 10,000 of which are for business, you get to take a tax deduction for the 10,000 business miles or 50 percent of the total vehicle usage.

There are two methods to use – standard mileage rate or actual expenses. Using the mileage rate, you take your 10,000 business miles and multiply them by the IRS-approved mileage rate (cur-rently 57.5 cents per mile), so you get a tax deduction of $5,750. If

you use the actual expenses method, you add up all your car expenses for the year including, gas, maintenance and repairs, insurance, and depreciation (or lease payments). You then take 50 percent of that total as your tax deduction.

Which method is better? As often applies with tax issues, it depends. The standard mileage rate is certainly the easier one to use, but the actual expenses method may give you a higher deduction if your business mile-age is high or if you have a new car. Generally, you choose the method that gives you the higher deduction in the first year the vehicle is used for business pur-poses, and then you stick with that method.

If you incur parking fees or tolls on business trips, they are 100-percent tax deductible using either method. There are two additional expenses to consider – your Connecticut car taxes and interest on a car loan, if you have

one. These expenses are in-cluded if you use the actual ex-penses method, and you also can add the business portion of these two expenses on top of the stan-dard mileage rate.

The above discussion is very general in nature. The exact amount of your tax deduction will be a function of your per-sonal tax situation. Make sure you consult with your tax adviser.

Mark A. Burns, MBA is a CPA with Diversified Financial Solu-tions PC in Southbury. He can be reached at 203-264-3131 or [email protected].

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Trust & Dignity

Diversified Tax Tidbits

by mARK A. bURns

tax deductions for business use of personal vehicle

Merchants would love for you to slide your unwanted gift cards into a drawer and forget about them. According to CardHub.com, in the past 10 years over $45 billion in gift cards have never been re-deemed.

With a little bit of effort, you can swap your unwanted gift cards for cards you’ll actually use ... or even turn them into cash.

CardHub offers a few tips:• OnCardHub,youcaneithersell

the card at a discount or list it on Facebook for less than the amount on the card. This is help-ful if you have a card for a store that’s not a major retailer or if there’s an odd amount left on it.

• Youcangivethecardtosome-one else as a gift.

• Collectthecashanduseittopaydown debt.

• Swapforacardyoudowanton the CardHub Facebook page.

• Usethecard.Everystorelikelyhas something you’d want. But beware: It’s difficult to spend the exact amount on a gift card, so you might end up paying for

something additional just to use up every last cent on the card. Ask if the store will give you the last few dollars back in cash. Some will.Cnet.com also has some good

ideas for handling unwanted gift cards: • TryCardpool.com.Itssitesays

you can “Buy gift cards for up to 35 percent off or sell gift cards for up to 92 percent cash back.” Cardpool holds the card until it’s sold, but will send you the cash within a day. Certain cards can be turned into Am-azon.com gift cards, and at an increase in the amount you’re offered.

• Reviewafewsitesonlinetoseewhat each one offers and where your best deal is. Others to consider are GiftCard-

Granny.com and CardCash.com.

• ACoinstarExchangekioskisthe best if you need cash im-mediately ... if you’re willing to take 60 percent to 85 percent of face value. Coinstar ma-chines are easy to find; there might even be one in the lobby of your bank or grocery store. Apple Store, L.L. Bean, Star-bucks, Ticketmaster, Best Western and Victoria’s Secret are just a few of the 150 cards Coinstar will take. However, the kiosk will require some identification when you take your slip to be cashed at the counter. Check the locator page to find out if there’s an Exchange kiosk in your area. But mostly, don’t give in to the

feeling that it’s safe to start spending extravagantly. It’s not.

David Uffington regrets he cannot personally answer reader questions, but he will incorporate them into his column whenever possible. Send email to [email protected].


cash for gift cards

Middlebury Congregational Church1242 Whittemore Rd., Middlebury

(On the Green)

OPEN HOUSEfor the 2015-16 school year

Saturday, February 7th10 – 12 noon

We have been nurturing and educating area children for over 60 years. We would love to meet you and show you what makes us special. If you are unable to attend our Open House, please call for an appointment to visit the school.

CHILDHOOD SHOULD BE A JOURNEY, NOT A RACE.

203-577-2275 (call for information)Classes: T/Th AM&PM 3Yr Olds & M/W/F AM&PM 4Yr. Olds

5 day Peer Program

quired for this program, which is part of the library’s new initia-tive, Empowering Children through Library Literacy.

The Howard Whittemore Me-morial Library is at 243 Church St. in Naugatuck. For informa-tion, call 203-729-4591 or visit whittemorelibrary.org.

southburySingle-stream recycling

forum for all agesHave fun, test your knowledge

and learn more about Southbury’s recycling program at the Single Stream Recycling Forum Thurs-day, Feb. 12, from 2 to 3 p.m. in the library’s Kingsley Room. South-bury Transfer Station Foreman Dan Troia, Southbury Recycling Coordinator Jeannette Kilcourse

and Winter Bros. Waste Systems Director of Government Affairs Ryan Bingham will speak at the forum, as will Youth Wildlife and Recycling Foundation members Anna, Julia and Grace Bower Rich-ardson. Bring your questions about single-stream recycling or just learn more about how this innovative process works. Enjoy a fun game that will challenge your knowledge of recycling, and see a video tour of the Winter Brothers recycling operations. Registration is required so please call 203-262-0626, ext.130, or stop by the Ref-erence Desk.

Bessie Coleman historical performance

Take a journey through Ameri-can history Saturday, Feb. 21, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in the library’s King-sley Room as Tammy Denease Richardson portrays Bessie Cole-man, the first African American woman to become an internation-ally licensed pilot. Audiences will

go on a voyage that begins in the segregated South of the United States, where the color of your skin could determine whether you lived or died, all the way to France, where self-determination, not skin color or gender, was what truly mattered.

This free program is open to all and is sponsored by the Friends of the Southbury Public Library. Re-freshments will be served. Regis-tration is required; call 203-262-0626, ext. 130, to reserve a seat.

For more information, call 203-262-0626 or visit www.southburylibrary.org. The library is at 100 Poverty Road in South-bury.

WoodburyTeen Valentine canvas

heart makingIt’s All Hearts and Flowers, Sat-

urday, Feb. 7, at 2 p.m., is a drop-in program for teens in grades six and

up. They will make beautiful Val-entine hearts as they hand paint small canvas hearts and then stitch, embellish and stamp them to make unique works of art. All materials are included.

Kindergarten readiness

Dierdre McGuire, pre-K direc-tor at Chase Collegiate School, will present a Kindergarten Readiness Workshop Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 6:30 p.m. McGuire will review the physical, social and cognitive development of chil-dren entering kindergarten. She also will provide school and par-enting resources. Registration is required.

For more information, call 203-263-3502 or visit www.woodburylibraryct.org. The li-brary is at 269 Main St. S. in Woodbury.

To see more library events, please look online at www.bee-news.com

Libraries -Continued from page 2

Richard m. bioskiLifelong Middlebury resident

Richard M. Bioski, 72, of Middlebury, husband of Helen (Hendzel) Bioski, passed away Sun-day, Jan. 4, 2015, at Waterbury Hospi-

tal after a brief illness.Mr. Bioski was born in Water-

bury, Conn., Nov. 18, 1942, a son of the late Joseph and Lena (Wolski) Bioski. A lifelong resident of Mid-dlebury, he retired from Lewis En-gineering after many years of ser-vice as a toolmaker. Richard was a member of the Naugatuck Elks Lodge, Polish American Club, Con-necticut Antique Machinery Club and New Hampshire Antique Trac-tor Club. He was a communicant of St. John of the Cross Church.

Besides his loving wife of 43 years, he leaves his two daughters, Joan Kirdzik of Bristol and Karen Bioski-Simon of San Francisco, Calif.; his four grandchildren, Eri-ca-Jo and Casey-Lee Kirdzik and Cooper and Mabel Simon; his

great-granddaughter, Cora-Lee Carroll; several nieces and neph-ews; and many childhood friends, all whom he loved dearly. He was predeceased by his beloved brother, Joseph Bioski.

The funeral was Jan. 8 at the Naugatuck Valley Memorial/Fitz-gerald-Zembruski Funeral Home in Naugatuck. Burial was to be pri-vate in Middlebury Cemetery. Me-morial contributions can be made to the Harold-Leever Regional Cancer Center, 1075 Chase Park-way, Waterbury, CT 06708. To send an online condolence, please visit www.naugatuckvalleymemorial.com.

Dennis A. mulhernBeloved husband of

Lynn (Rubas) Mulhern

Dennis A. Mul-hern, 56, of Thomaston, died Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015, at St. Mary’s VITAS after a 13-year battle

with cancer. He was the husband

of Lynn (Rubas) Mulhern.Dennis was born Nov. 13, 1958,

in Waterbury, Conn., a son of Dol-ores (Allen) Mulhern and the late Daniel Mulhern. He was a graduate of Holy Cross High School and Cen-tral Connecticut State University with a bachelor’s degree in engi-neering. Dennis worked for a local landscaping company operating heavy equipment.

Dennis enjoyed motocross rid-ing, camping, fishing, boating, gar-dening, auto races, traveling, being with his friends and hiking with his dogs.

Besides his wife of 21 years and his mother, Dennis is survived by his brothers, Robert (Lois) and Thomas (Diane); mother in-law, Marie; sister in-law, Donna; and brothers in-law, Thomas and David (Claudia). He also is survived by nieces Emily (Eddie), Zoe and Bri-ana; nephews Ryan (Jaqueline), Patrick, Kye and Dylan; a great-nephew, Jack; aunts, Toni and Theresa; and cousins. He also leaves best friends Betty, John, Pat, Anthony and Bill. A special Thank You to all the close personal friends

who showed so much love and sup-port to Dennis.

Dennis was predeceased by his grandparents; uncles Jim, Fran and Leonard; friend Spencer; and father in-law, Tom.

A funeral Mass was celebrated Jan. 17 at St. Teresa’s Church in Woodbury. Burial was to follow in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Watertown. Arrangements were provided by the Woodbury Funeral Home of Munson-Lovetere.

Contributions may be made to the Lourdes Shrine and Grotto, 50 Montford Road, Litchfield, CT 06759. Online condolences may be made through www.munsonlovet-erefuneralhome.com.

Obituary PolicyPlease ask your funeral director to

send obituaries and photos to us at bee-intelligencer@gmail. For more informa-tion, call 203-577-6800.

The Bee-Intelligencer runs obituaries and their accompanying photos free of charge. We do this as a community service to honor the deceased and the family and friends who love them.


An aging king had no son to continue his reign after his passing, so he decided he would adopt a son to be his successor. He knew it was critical that he choose the right person to be the next king, so he launched a grueling competition throughout his kingdom, open to all boys, no matter what their backgrounds.

The choice eventually was narrowed down to 10 outstanding boys. There was little to separate these boys in terms of intelligence, physical attributes and capabilities. The king struggled to find a way to select the one from this group who would be the best to rule over his dominion. He thought and thought and finally said to them, “I have one last test, and whoever comes out on top will become my adopted son and heir to my throne.”

Then he said, “Here are a few seeds of grain for each of you.

Take them home, plant them and nurture them for six weeks. At the end of six weeks, the one who has done the best job of cultivating the grain will become my son and my heir.”

The boys took their seeds and hurried home to begin growing them. Each got a pot, prepared some soil and sowed his seeds. There was much excitement in the kingdom as the people waited to see which boy was destined to be their next king.

In one home, the boy and his parents were heartbroken when after many days of attentive care and nurture, his seeds failed to sprout. The boy did not know what had gone wrong. He had selected the soil carefully, he had applied the right type of nutrients, and he had been very dutiful in watering at the right intervals. He had even prayed over his pot day and night, and yet his seeds had not sprouted.

Some of his friends advised him to buy seeds at the market and plant those. “After all,” they said, “how can anyone tell one seed of grain from another?”

But his parents, who had always taught him the value of integrity, reminded him that if the king wanted him to plant just any grain, he would have asked the boy to get his own seeds. “If you plant anything other than what the king gave you,” they told him, “you would be dishonest. Maybe you are simply not destined for the throne.”

The appointed day eventually arrived, and each of the boys returned to the palace. All the other boys proudly displayed

pots of healthy seedlings. It was obvious they had had great success. The king asked each of the boys who exhibited pots of healthy seedlings, “Is this what came of the seeds I gave you?” Each boy responded, “Yes, Your Majesty.” The king carefully examined each pot, nodded and smiled.

Then the king spoke to the boy who had only a bare pot of soil to present. The boy was shaking. He feared the king might have him thrown into prison for wasting his seeds. “What did you do with the seeds I gave you?” the king asked.

“I planted them and cared for them diligently, Your Majesty, but alas, despite all my efforts, they failed to grow,” the boy said. “I tried my best, but I am clearly not worthy.” He hung his head in shame, and the crowd jeered.

But the king raised his hands and signaled for silence. Then

he placed his hands on the boy’s shoulders and said, “My citizens, behold your next king.”

The people were confused. “Why that one?” many asked, “How can he be the right choice?”

The king took his place on his throne with the boy by his side and said, “I gave all these boys boiled seeds. A boiled seed will not sprout. This test was not about cultivating grain. It was a test of character; a test of honesty. It was the ultimate test. If a king must have one quality, it must be that he has complete integrity. Only this boy passed the test.”

Pat Iannuzzi of Symbiont Performance Group, Inc. is a performance consultant, trainer and coach focusing on selling, presentation and interpersonal skills. He lives in Litchfield and can be reached at 860-283-9963 or [email protected].

DEAR DR. ROACH: I went to a walk-in clinic because I had chest pain. They did an EKG and saw extra beats (PVCs). They recommended I go to a cardiol-ogist, and he put me on a heart monitor, which showed I had 5,000 extra beats within 24 hours. He had me come back in two weeks and did an echocardio-gram (heart muscles are perfect) and heart monitor (still extra beats). He did a stress test, and it was normal. He has no idea why I have extra beats.

I have a feeling they have been going on for a long period of time, because when the nurse asked me if I could feel them while she was doing the echo, it felt like a flutter, and I had been feeling them for at least a year (I didn’t know what it was). He has me coming back to see him in three months. Can you give me some insight? – D.J.ANSWER: Premature beats are very common, almost universal, and come in two types: prema-ture atrial beats (PACs) and pre-mature ventricular beats (PVCs). These can happen in people with perfectly normal hearts, but your cardiologist did exactly the rec-ommended tests, including an EKG, echocardiogram and stress test. This is to be sure your heart function and blood flow are nor-mal. Since they are, you don’t need to do anything about it un-less the fluttering sensation is bothering you.

There are several mechanisms for PVCs. The electrical system of the heart can develop a kind of short-circuit called a re-entry loop, which is the most common cause. Individual heart muscle

cells also can trigger a premature beat.

If you desire treatment, the usual treatment is a beta blocker, which can reduce symptoms. Other medications also are used. In cases where medications don’t work, radio waves can be used to stop the areas of the heart where the extra beats arise.

The booklet on abnormal heart rhythms explains atrial fi-brillation and the more common heart-rhythm disturbances in greater detail. Readers can ob-tain a copy by writing to Dr. Roach – No. 107W, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6. Canada with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

DEAR DR. ROACH: About two years ago, I had terrible pain on the top part of the left side of my head. It also felt very warm. I went to my doctor, who diag-nosed it as shingles and treated me with gabapentin. I can’t recall how long I took the pills, but eventually he told me to wean myself off of them.

My question is: Did I really have shingles? I had the pain, but no sores or blisters. – T.K.ANSWER: There is a condition called zoster sine herpete, which means “zoster without the blis-ters.” I have seen cases where the pain precedes the blisters by months – once by 18 months – but I haven’t personally seen a case where the blisters never show. Still, given your history, I think there’s a very good chance your doctor was right.

Dr. Roach regrets he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Read-ers may email questions to [email protected]. To view and order health pamphlets, visit www.rbmamall.com, or write to P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.

(c) 2014 North America Synd., Inc.All Rights Reserved

Pomperaug High School Varsity Games

1. Darrell Evans, Reggie Jackson, Alex Rodriguez and Jim Thome.

2. Gary Gaetti had 35 in 1995.3. Washington’s Cliff Battles

(1937) and Tennessee’s Chris Johnson (2009).

4. Ken Barnes scored 42 points in a game in 1965, and Michael Finley had 42 in a game in 1994.

5. Dave Andreychuk, with 804 points.

6. Erik Jones was 17 when he won a Truck Series race in 2013.

7. Chris Evert (1985, ‘86), Steffi Graf (‘87, ‘88, ‘93, ‘95, ‘96), Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (‘89, ‘94) and Monica Seles (‘90-’92).


1. In 2014, Adrian Beltre became the fifth player in major-league history to hit 100 home runs for three different teams. Name two of the first four.

2. Name the last right-handed hitter to belt 30 or more home runs in a season for the Kansas City Royals.

3. In 2013, the Rams’ Tavon Austin became the third player in NFL history to have three touchdowns of 55 or more yards in a game. Name either of the first two.

4. Frank Kaminsky set a record in 2013 for most points scored by a University of Wisconsin men’s basketball player (43). Who had held the mark?

5. Gilbert Perreault is the Buffalo Sabres’ all-time leader in points scored (1,326). Who is second?

6. In 2014, Cole Custer became the youngest driver to win a NASCAR national touring se-ries race (16 years old). Who had been the youngest?

7. Between 1985 and 1996, four women combined to win a total of 12 French Open singles titles. Name three of the four.

Answers:

premature heartbeats are extremely common

the most valuable personal qualityWinning Ways

by PAT IAnnUZZIInsights for

Constructive Living

get the latest local news at

www.bee-news.com

Feb. 1 to 28, 2015Boys’ BasketballTuesday, Feb. 3 ....................Weston (H) ........................................... 7 p.m.Friday, Feb. 6 ....................... Notre Dame-Fairfield (H) ....................... 7 p.m.Friday, Feb. 13 ..................... Kolbe Cathedral (H) .............................. 7 p.m.Tuesday, Feb. 17 .................. Newtown (H) ........................................ 7 p.m.Friday, Feb. 20 ..................... Stratford (H) ......................................... 7 p.m.Tuesday, Feb. 24 .................. Bethel (A) ............................................. 7 p.m.Friday, Feb. 27 ..................... SWC Quarterfinals (A) ........................... 7 p.m.

Girls’ BasketballTuesday, Feb. 3 ....................Weston (A) ........................................... 7 p.m.Friday, Feb. 6 ....................... Notre Dame-Fairfield (A) ....................... 7 p.m.Tuesday, Feb. 10 ..................Masuk (H) ............................................ 7 p.m.Friday, Feb. 13 ..................... Kolbe Cathedral (A) .............................. 7 p.m.Tuesday, Feb. 17 .................. Newtown (A) ......................................... 7 p.m.Saturday, Feb. 21 ................ SWC Quarterfinals (A) ........................... 5 p.m.Tuesday, Feb. 24 .................. SWC Semifinals (A) ......................... 5:30 p.m.Thursday, Feb. 26 ................ SWC Championship Game (A) ......... 7:30 p.m.

Ice HockeyWednesday, Feb. 4 .............. North Branford (A) ........................... 8:30 p.m.Wednesday, Feb. 11 ............ Branford (A) ......................................... 4 p.m.Wednesday, Feb. 18 ............ New Fairfield-Immaculate (A)........... 7:40 p.m.Thursday, Feb. 19 ................ Guilford (A) ..................................... 7:30 p.m.Saturday, Feb. 21 ................ Daniel Hand (H) .............................. 7:30 p.m.Wednesday, Feb. 25 ............ East Haven (A) ..................................... 6 p.m.Saturday, Feb. 28 ................ Amity (H) ......................................... 7:30 p.m.

Boys Indoor TrackSaturday, Feb. 7 .................. SW Championship Meet (A) .................. 5 p.m.Friday, Feb. 13 ..................... Class L State Meet (A) .............................. TBASaturday, Feb. 14 ................ Class L State Meet (A) .............................. TBASaturday, Feb. 21 ................ CIAC State Open (A) ................................. TBA

Girls Indoor TrackSaturday, Feb. 7 .................. SW Championship Meet (A) .................. 5 p.m.Friday, Feb. 13 ..................... Class L State Meet (A) .............................. TBASaturday, Feb. 14 ................ Class L State Meet (A) .............................. TBASaturday, Feb. 21 ................ CIAC State Open (A) ................................. TBA

Boys’ Swimming and DivingTuesday, Feb. 3 .................... New Fairfield (H) .............................. 6:30 p.m.Tuesday, Feb. 10 .................. New Milford (H) .................................... 6 p.m.

WrestlingWednesday, Feb. 4 .............. New Fairfield (A) ................................... 6 p.m.Saturday, Feb. 7 .................. Farmington/Branford (H) .................... 10 a.m............................................ Seymour/MaloneyMonday, Feb. 9 .................... Bethel (H) ............................................ 6 p.m.Saturday, Feb. 14 ................ SW Conf. Championships (A) ................ 9 a.m.Friday, Feb. 20 ..................... Class L State Tournament (A) ................ 6 p.m.Saturday, Feb. 21 ................ Class L State Tournament (A) ................ 8 a.m.

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Monthly SUDOKU

(Kathleen Brown-Carrano cartoon)

In a recent column, you advised readers to shut heating registers in unused rooms to

save energy. However, that may not be completely correct. I recently had a high-efficiency furnace installed. The technician told me not to shut off heating registers in unused rooms as it could damage the furnace. So, shutting the registers doesn’t always apply if you have a new furnace. – Sandy, via e-mail.

Thanks for the update! I looked into guidelines for newer, high-

efficiency forced-air furnaces and found that, indeed, HVAC experts recommend against arbitrarily shutting off registers in unused rooms.

There are a number of reasons for this. The newer furnaces are configured to heat your entire home’s square footage in the most efficient way possible. Start shutting off registers, and that setup no longer works as the pa-rameters of the system have been changed.

Shutting off several registers can affect the blower motor in particular, according to the En-

ergy Vanguard (www.energyvan-guard.com) blog post, “Can You Save Money by Closing HVAC Vents in Unused Rooms.” Newer systems feature both registers and air return ducts in each room. Shut off the register, and the air return is affected as well, increasing air pressure and forc-ing the blower to work harder to circulate warm air back into the house.

Air ducts in newer systems also are not normally sealed, the blog notes. So when the return air pressure goes up, air begins to escape from the duct system itself, forcing the blower to work harder to draw enough air to heat.

Low airflow over other com-ponents of a high-efficiency sys-tem can cause problems, too. The heating coils actually can get too hot, as can the heat ex-changer, increasing the risk that

it could crack and release ex-haust gases, including carbon monoxide, into your home.

So, does that mean heating registers should never, ever be shut? The answer to this is to talk to your HVAC contractor. While Energy Vanguard notes that one or two temporarily closed regis-ters shouldn’t negatively affect the system, it’s better to ask than to wonder.

What if you’re not sure if you have a high-efficiency system? What if you have an older heating system, or a zoned system? Then it’s time to schedule a checkup with a heating and air-condition-ing professional who can tell you the best way to manage your particular heating system.

Send your questions or home tips to [email protected].


by sAmAnTHA mAZZoTTA

new furnace? Don’t shut heat registers

Q:

A:

Going on a trip this winter? Don’t turn off the heating system: Set the

thermostat to 55 degrees F, which will reduce the energy bill while preventing pipes from freezing.

SNAP application helpThe Staywell Health Center

sends outreach workers to the Middlebury Social Services Cen-ter the second Monday of each month (Feb. 9) at 10 a.m. to help residents apply for the Supple-mental Nutrition Assistance Pro-gram (SNAP), also called food stamps. You can just walk in. No appointment is needed.

Valentine’s Day lunchWednesday, Feb. 11, at 11:45

a.m., the center will host a Val-entine Party in the Shepardson Community Center auditorium. There will be entertainment and door prizes. On the menu by Chef John will be corn chowder with bacon, country harvest pork loin with mushroom gravy, veg-etable medley, mashed potato and Valentine’s Day cake.

The cost is $8 per person. Please call 203-577-4166 to re-serve your seat.

Holiday closingThe senior center will be

closed Monday, Feb. 16, for Pres-idents Day.

Commission on AgingThe Commission on Aging will

meet Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 9:30

a.m. All interested persons are welcome to attend.

Donate used ink cartridges

Don’t throw your used ink cartridges away. Please donate them to the Middlebury Senior Center, which will recycle them. Thank you.

Driver safety program

The next AARP Driver Safety course will be Monday, March 2, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the senior center. The course is the nation’s first and largest driv-er-refresher course. Using new materials and new videos, the course covers new defensive driving techniques, new laws and regulations, how to deal with aggressive drivers, and how aging affects drivers.

Drivers who attend the class will receive a completion certif-icate and may be entitled to a discount on automobile insur-ance (contact your insurance company for details).

AARP membership is not re-quired, and drivers of all ages are invited to attend. The cost to participate is $15 for AARP mem-

bers and $20 for nonmembers. All checks must be made out to “AARP.” Call 203-577-4166 to reg-ister.

Trip

Flower and Garden Show

Thursday, Feb. 19, at 10 a.m., the Middlebury minibus will head for Hartford for the 34th Annual Connecticut Flower and Garden Show. Please call the se-nior center at 203-577-4166 to reserve your seat. The fee of $23 will include admission and transportation.

Painted Pony restaurant

As part of the Senior Dine lunch program, the minibus will go to the Painted Pony restaurant in Bethlehem Friday, Feb. 27. This trip is on the fourth Friday each month.

You must have a Senior Dine card to participate. If you do not have a card, stop by the senior center office to get one. If you want to go to the Painted Pony, call 203-577-4166 to reserve a seat.

Middlebury Senior Center news

Clearview Knoll. He said both of those excavations were out of compliance and needed to be cleaned up.

Bosco said a site plan applica-tion was expected from Wesson Energy to develop the Vinnie’s and Johnnie’s property into an expansion of the Shell Station and agreed to call and have them fin-ish the permitted soil remedia-tion work. Smith said the work on the Clearview Knoll lot owned by

Robert LaFlamme d/b/a Pomeroy Enterprises LLC may have been done without an approved site plan or bond. An excavation per-mit was approved Jan. 5, 2012, with the stipulation that exca-vated material be offered to the town, and trucks hauling the ma-terial not stack up and wait on Route 64 or Clearview Knoll. Smith said brush was stacked up on the sides of the excavation with boulders everywhere and sewer pipes sticking out of the ground. Commissioner Matt Robison agreed the excavation was messy and said trucks were speeding by

his house. Smith asked town en-gineer John Calabrese if he could estimate the amount of fill re-moved from the site, saying it was more that 100 cubic yards, above which a fee needed to be paid. Bosco said a fee also needed to be paid if the fill was being dis-posed of in Middlebury. Smith said the site couldn’t be left in that condition and instructed Bosco to have LaFlamme appear at the Feb. 5 meeting.

The next regular P&Z meeting will be Thursday, Feb. 5, at 7:30 p.m. at Shepardson Community Center.

p&Z -Continued from page 1

ing using information from two quotations received from ven-dors and his knowledge of typical procedures. Cookson advised him to reorganize the package around the town’s regular bid structure, which he said was available in town hall and in-cludes things such as bonding and insurance requirements.

Pietrorazio took on the job Nov. 5 when members agreed the work, expected to cost more than $5,000, was not sufficiently ur-gent to bypass the town’s bidding process but still needed to be done quickly so repairs could start before the more expensive spring busy season. Cookson told him to include Building In-spector Ollie Leduc and Town Engineer John Calabrese in writ-ing the technical specifications, and then run the package by Public Works Director Dan Nor-ton and First Selectman Ed St. John. Pietrorazio said he’d bring his materials to them for incor-poration in the formal bid pack-age.

Masonry repairs on collapsing horse barn walls are still waiting

for a third written proposal, Pi-etrorazio said. He received quotes in November from two contractors but has been unable to get one more. He said an area on the west wall needed to be supported by jacks so loose stones and dirt could be removed and the stones cemented back in place, a repair he said was not controversial and was likely to cost less than $5,000, thus not requiring competitive bidding. He asked members to suggest additional contractors, and two were mentioned for his fol-low-up.

In electrical repairs, Cookson said Mark Electric of Middlebury had been waiting on CL&P but was now ready to begin the out-side work replacing and upgrad-ing old, brittle wiring from the service entrance into the farm-house, and inside upgrades of the electrical service to 200 amps from 60. He said the street wiring would go to a pole and not a mid-line connection as had been pre-viously specified. The work also will include a manual transfer switch to an existing backup gen-erator. All work should be com-pleted in about two weeks if the weather cooperates.

On the topic of asbestos re-

moval from furnace pipes in the farm house basement, Cookson said he had been told by Norton that BriCo Environmental Ser-vices LLC of Windsor had per-formed the work. The $4,275 purchase order for removing and disposing of the asbestos and then reinsulating with Fiberglas, had been awarded to Abatement Plus LLC of Windsor by Norton in November after he reviewed two bids for the remediation. Cookson said all the work was completed except for a 3-inch pipe where materials were on order. Cookson noted a concern by owner Rob Fenn on heat loss from unwrapped pipe elbows. Cookson said Norton spoke to BriCo and was told elbows did not radiate enough heat to justify the additional expense of wrap-ping. Pietrorazio said he wanted to go on record and inform the committee that the Connecticut Department of Energy requires all the pipes, including elbows, to be insulated to an R-value of R-3. Cookson said he would bring that information to Norton.

The next regular LPOS meet-ing will be Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 6 p.m. at Shepardson Commu-nity Center.

Lpos -Continued from page 1


contestant submits the same name, the winner will be chosen at random.

Entries will be judged by a panel appointed by the Parks and Recreation Commission. Proulx said their decision will likely be announced by the end of March.

Entry forms can be down-loaded at Middlebury-ct.org or picked up at the Parks and Rec office in Shepardson Community Center. Entry forms can be mailed to Parks and Recreation, 1172 Whittemore Road, Middle-bury, CT 06762 or emailed to [email protected].

DEAR PAW’S CORNER: I saw a social-media post today about a bobcat that was considered “special needs” and couldn’t be released back into the wild. What exactly is defined as special needs in an animal? – Darla J., Jacksonville, Fla.DEAR DARLA: “Special needs” defines any animal, domestic or wild, that requires additional care beyond what might be considered normal for its species. That need could be due to a physical injury, illness or emotional/behavioral problems.

We most often hear about be-havioral problems in dogs, espe-cially those that were abused or abandoned. But other pets and wild animals also can have be-havioral issues. It takes a lot of attention, patience and skill to care properly for these animals.

Likewise for animals that come into shelters and rehab

facilities that have been injured or are ill: Their emotional/be-havioral issues often go hand in hand with their physical issues.

People looking to adopt a pet from a shelter often are told that a dog or cat has special needs or has specific issues that must be addressed. While responsible shelters do their best to rehabil-itate a pet prior to putting it up for adoption – including foster-ing the pet to more experienced volunteers who can help reduce behavioral issues – prospective pet owners need to be aware of

a pet’s health and behavioral needs and be prepared to ad-dress them.

A special-needs pet will need more attention from its new fam-ily. That usually includes specific medical treatment, with more veterinary visits and a medica-tion routine that must be met, plus more training and attention than a healthy pet might need. Owners must be prepared to dedicate extra time and expense to such pets. It’s often worth the effort.

Send your questions or com-ments to [email protected].


special-needs pets?

Adopt A Rescue pet

Your pet could be featured as “Pet of the Month” in this picture frame. Send us your pet’s photo by email to [email protected] or by regular mail to P.O. Box 10, Middlebury, CT 06762 along with your pet’s name, your last name and your town.

Send in your pet photosPET OF THE MONTH

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These cats are with Pet Protectors. If you foster a cat for them, they will provide everything needed for their care. Learn more about the Foster Care Program at www.petprotectorsrescue.org. Applica-tions are on the website, or call 203-330-0255 or email [email protected] for more information or for an application.

SAMSONSamson is a sweet male neutered orange-and-

white short-haired cat with golden eyes who is approximately 3 to 4 years old. He is mellow, af-fectionate, healthy, calm and a sweetheart. He may be slightly shy at first, but he soon comes around. He probably would be fine with another mellow cat; it may depend. Samson is in need of a reliable foster home until he can be placed, everything provided.

Please open up your heart and home to Samson. Find a foster application on the website or call or email for one (see below).

MADDIEThis pretty female spayed brown-and-black

tabby mix cat with green eyes is 2 to 3 years old. She is active at times, loves attention, is affection-ate, healthy, social, good with everyone, mellow and a real sweetheart. She is fine with most other mellow cats. Find an adoption/foster application on the website or call or email for one (see below).

by mARJoRIe neeDHAm

Middlebury Parks and Recre-ation Director Betty Proulx said the department is holding a “Name the Park” contest for the new park on Maple Drive behind the Mary I. Johnson School building. The contest will be open to students in grades K through eight who reside in Mid-dlebury, and the prize will be a $50 savings bond. Entries must be received no later than March 1, 2015, and incomplete entries will be disqualified.

Proulx said the new park fea-tures two multipurpose fields that can be used for soccer, la-crosse and football. It also has a concession stand and rest rooms. Construction was started on the park in 2001, and it was built with both federal grant money and town funds.

Proulx said the lower field will be ready for use this summer, and the upper field will be ready for use next year. She expects to have a sign with the winning name on it in place by spring.

At 2.21 acres, the unnamed park is the town’s smallest park outside of the Middlebury Rec-reation Area, which is 1.34 acres. Ledgewood Park has 5.22 acres and Meadowview Park has 8.19 acres.

The new park cannot be named after an individual or a family. Other rules are that con-testants must reside in Middle-bury, and Middlebury Parks and Recreation Department staff members and their families are not eligible. If more than one

contest to name new parkby TeRRence s. mcAULIFFe

The Middlebury Economic and Industrial Development Commis-sion (EIDC) at its Dec. 23 meeting continued to work on the long-promised Commercial Develop-ment Guidebook. The meeting was chaired by Commissioner Terrence McAuliffe in the absence of Chairman Michael Kenausis. A planned Nov. 25 meeting did not occur due to lack of a quorum.

Before working on the draft, members informally discussed the changing appearance of Mid-dlebury Road in the area between Glenwood Avenue and Clearview Knoll, agreeing on the need for a vision and stronger planning. They also informally discussed the Oxford power plant coming before the Connecticut Siting Council.

McAuliffe distributed a third draft of the guide, now 22 pages in length. It was compiled from interviews with town officials and is based on the structure of a Georgetown, Mass., guide. Kenau-sis had said Oct. 27 he wanted the guide to be ready for electronic publication during the first quar-ter of 2015 and he appointed Mc-Auliffe to develop a draft from input supplied by fellow mem-bers.

In discussions about the draft, members agreed an introduction to the guide from First Selectman Edward B. St. John, along with his photo, would show the town’s commitment to economic devel-opment. Commissioner Ted Manello discussed Water Pollu-tion Control Authority require-ments and agreed to provide a few paragraphs on commercial considerations and capacity re-serves.

Commissioner Armando Pa-olino said Middlebury and Ox-ford are appealing because of their easy access to highways and Oxford Airport. He offered to meet with Keystone Aviation to get their opinion on the needs of business travelers. Paolino showed members a map of the Oxford Airport Enterprise Zone, noting almost all of Middlebury is in the zone. He agreed to sup-ply about a page of text and charts comparing that incentive to the Middlebury incentive us-ing analogous terms and num-bers so developers could under-stand the difference. They can choose one or the other, but not both.

Commissioner Frank Mir-ovsky, mentioning the Win-chester Electronics tax-incentive application, said quality of life

for employees and good schools are big factors for locating in Middlebury. Manello suggested placing contact information alongside the department de-scriptions, but McAuliffe said a checklist of forms and depart-ments, although desirable, wasn’t feasible due to the amount of professional judg-ment involved for complicated applications. Members dis-cussed the amount of marketing within the guide being about the same as the Georgetown docu-ment and agreed a possible fu-ture glossy marketing brochure could be developed to focus and expand those benefits.

As homework, McAuliffe asked members to read the draft as if they were a commercial de-veloper looking for information and write down comments on overall structure, missing or wrong information, and sugges-tions. He asked them to consider the introductory pages and the appropriate and consistent level of detail to include.

The next regular meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 6:30 p.m. at Shepardson Community Center was canceled due to inclement weather.

EIDc continues work on guide

The building with the concession stand and rest rooms is next to the upper field at the new park at the end of Maple Drive in Mid-dlebury.

The lower field at the new Middlebury park has its own parking area. (Marjorie Needham photos)

february 2015 - middlebury bee

Documents

middlebury ct

middlebury road

towns of middlebury

wooden church steeple

straits turnpike

community calendar

upper steeple

cell equipment