middlebury bee december 2014

By MARJORIE NEEDHAM

Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department (MVFD) Chief Tony Bruno moved from acting chief to chief in just a matter of days. When then-Chief Paul Perrotti was arrested by the FBI the morning of Nov. 6, Middlebury First Selectman Edward B. St. John appointed Bruno as acting

fire chief. He had been a first deputy chief, second in com-mand under Perrotti.

Perrotti’s arrest came six months after the FBI came to Middlebury in May and seized files, one or more computers and various other items from the Middlebury firehouse on Tucker Hill Road. The November arrest came shortly before the MVFD

annual election, which was set for Sunday, Nov. 9.

The 44 voting members at-tending that election unani-mously elected Bruno by casting one ballot for him. Bruno thanked them for the vote of con-fidence.

St. John said, “He’s very expe-rienced and will do fine. He cer-tainly has my support and the town’s support.”

Bill Stowell said, “I think he will bring the department back together again. It was too frac-tured before. Now it won’t be a one-man show.”

Interviewed the day before the election, Bruno, 44, said he is the divorced father of three girls ages 7, 10 and 16. He moved to Mid-dlebury from Waterbury 22 years ago.

His love of firefighting started at a young age. He said, “I lived near a fire station and always loved seeing the trucks on the road.” He said he used to visit the fire station when he was 10 or 11, and he knew then he wanted to be a firefighter when he grew up.

He worked as a fire inspector at Uniroyal Chemical in Water-bury from 1993 to 2001 and now works for the state of Connecti-cut as a department of health fire marshal. He said his union con-tract will allow him to respond to Middlebury fire calls.

He said David Greene Sr of Middlebury introduced him to the MVFD. Starting as an appren-tice, he worked his way up through the ranks to first deputy chief over the years.

The day before the election he said if he was elected chief his goal would be to have everyone in the department working to-gether with great morale. He stressed the importance of pub-lic trust, which he said he would work to regain if it was damaged by Perrotti’s arrest, and he said he would maintain an open-door policy in the department. He said members meet the second Mon-day of each month at 7 p.m. at the firehouse and the meetings are open to the public.

“This is not a one-person op-eration,” he said. “We’re still a team, and we work together.”

Of his job as chief, he said, “I’m only here to pick up the pieces and keep this department together for the department and the community.”

The FBI said a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging Perrotti, 47, with three counts of theft from programs receiving federal funds. It is alleged he embezzled more than $70,000 from the MVFD and used the money to pay for unauthorized personal expenses and for expenses asso-ciated with his electric company. It also alleges Perrotti submitted invoices to the Town of Middle-bury for MVFD expenses that were instead related to his busi-ness. It further alleges he used an MVFD Home Depot credit card and an MVFD debit card for cash and purchases not related to the MVFD. Perrotti appeared in court and was released on a $250,000 bond.

The Middlebury Police Depart-ment is introducing its newest member, K9 Jay. Jay was acquired recently from a reputable supplier of police K9s and has been living with his handler, Officer Ed De-mers, a veteran K9 officer. Jay has been receiving some basic train-ing from Demers and is expected to undergo formal training at the State Police K9 Academy begin-ning in February 2015.

Demers said Jay has been com-ing along nicely. He has brought the dog to the police station sev-eral times to acclimate him with the personnel and the environ-ment.

The department’s current K9, JJ, a yellow Labrador retriever, is set to retire in the near future af-ter 10 years of service. Demers said JJ knows retirement is com-ing; on several occasions when he has left him home while he brought in Jay, the new K9, family members told him JJ “whined all day,” a sure sign of separation anxiety.

The community as a whole was extremely generous in aiding the department in the purchase of Jay. As of early November, the department had received more than $10,000, which will more than cover the cost of the K9 and anticipated equipment and some related training expenses.

Police Chief James Viadero, speaking on behalf of himself and the police department mem-bers, thanked the community for their generous donations. He said Jay will be an integral addi-tion to the department. It is an-ticipated that he will graduate from the training academy in April and at some point thereaf-ter be cross-trained in narcotics detection.

Viadero said it was great to see the enthusiasm and interest the fundraiser for a new dog gener-ated. Numerous letters of thanks and praise were received from people who said the current K9, JJ, had impacted their life in some way during his career.

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

Volume X, No. 30 December 2014

AN INDEPENDENTLY OWNED FREE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERFREE

Prst. Std. U.S. Postage PaidNaugatuck, CT

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“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” ~ Epictetus

Inside this Issue

Published by The Middlebury Bee Intelligencer Society, LLC - 2030 Straits Turnpike, Middlebury, CT 06762 - Copyright 2014

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saturdaydec. 6

middlebury police Department Food and toy DriveWhat: Middlebury police and police explorers collect food and toys to help families during this tough economic time.When: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (If you can’t make that, drop items off at the police department.)Where: Dinova’s Four Corners at 600 Middlebury Road in Middlebury

Annual tree Lighting on the green What: Tree lighting, entertainment by Middlebury Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts and carol singing. Enjoy hot chocolate, cookies and Santa at the Middlebury Congregational Church parsonage open house.When: 4 p.m.Where: Town green on Whittemore Road

menorah lighting for HanukkahWhat: The first light on the menorah on the town green will be lit and Hanukkah songs and “Rock of Ages” will be sung. Those in attendance will be invited to take responsibility for lighting the menorah on the following nights. Refreshments will follow in Westover’s Red Hall.When: 3:30 p.m. Where: Middlebury town green on Whittemore Road.

www.BEE-NEws.cOM

Book Review .................. 2

Classifieds .................... 11

Community Calendar ...... 5

Fire Log .......................... 8

In Brief ........................... 6

Library Happenings ......... 2

Library Lines ..........................2

Region 15 Calendar ....... 5

Senior Center Events ...... 4

This is a Hammer .......... 12

Varsity Sports Calendar ... 8

Winning Ways ................ 8

tuesdaydec. 16

Jay, Middlebury’s new K9 officer, sits obediently next to a Mid-dlebury police cruiser. (Submitted photo)

middlebury has new K9, Jay

Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department Chief Tony Bruno sits at the desk in the chief’s office Nov. 8, the day before he was elected to the position. He had been appointed acting chief on Nov. 6, the day the FBI arrested then-Chief Paul Perrotti on charges of embezzle-ment. (Marjorie Needham photo)

mvFD chooses tony Bruno as chief

p&Z rejects Quassy cottage plan

By TERRENcE s. McAULIFFE

The Middlebury Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) at its Nov. 6 meeting denied a Lake Quassapaug cottage ex-pansion. It also renewed per-mits for Benson Woods, ap-proved modifications at Quassy Amusement Park, continued a hearing on changes to afford-able housing regulations, ap-proved a change in use for the former Golden Age of Trucking Museum and agreed to write a letter of opposition to the pro-posed Oxford Airport power plant.

An application to expand a 1,161-square-foot seasonal cot-tage at 2 West Lake Road on Lake Quassapaug was denied without prejudice, meaning it could be resubmitted in the future. The expansion was first proposed Sept. 4 with a foot-print of 3,500 square feet. That was reduced to 1,869 square feet Oct. 2. Commissioners had questioned sewer and water capacity for additional expan-sions but were told by West Shore Homeowners Associa-tion (HOA) president John But-kus the systems were able to support expansion of every unit to three bedrooms and had received approval from all nec-essary entities.

Town attorney Dana D’An-gelo said zoning regulations required approval from adjoin-ing cottages as well as HOA approval before expansions could be considered. She told commissioners a letter from a West Shore homeowner ques-tioned that approval, but Chairman Terry Smith said a letter from Butkus, not present at the meeting, affirmed HOA executive board approval of the expansion.

Steve Molder, an HOA mem-ber representing some of the

10 or so owners in attendance, said executive board meetings must be noticed to members and Gail Hanley, an HOA board member, said she had no knowledge of the board ap-proval. Smith told Hanley and Molder their issue was internal to the association and con-firmed he had an approval let-ter signed by Butkus.

In commissioner discussion, Erika Carrington questioned the percentage of expansion in the application, saying it was absurd to include the square footage of a porch in the “be-fore” calculations and not use them in the “after” calculations. Attorney Thomas Riley, repre-senting purchaser Paul Largay, said the confusion is in the or-der of the description of the ordinances. The original foot-print was intended to include all the porches, etc., but the resulting structure did not have to include it in its calculations. Carrington acknowledged the calculation was allowed in an earlier approval but said, “There needs to be a time to stop.” She also said “I think it was disingenuous to be led to believe the homeowners could be sort of a guard dog on these applications, and it’s not.”

The application by Middle-bury Land Development LLC for renewal of an excavation and grading permit for Benson Woods at North Benson Road was approved for another year after the applicant’s counsel, Jennifer Yoxall of Carmody & Torrance, offered cookies and joked with commissioners about applying for the 11th yearly renewal since the project started in 2002. Benson Woods is an age-restricted community of 79 homes and a 1,200-square-foot community building. Mark

– See P&Z on page 5

Panthers seniors own night

page 9

2 December 2014The Bee-Intelligencer

As you read this, your mind is probably on almost anything but relaxing with

a good book – or reading sugges-tions for good books! But we re-ally should take time out at this busy time of year to just kick back and do absolutely nothing but read. If you let it, the act of read-

ing can be revitalizing and excit-ing, and it takes you out of the everyday stress of living for just a little while. Let a book transport you away from shopping and wrapping and baking and just plain everyday running to that very special world created by every author just for you. And so many of your favorite authors love to sell their books at this time of year! How lucky are you?

Yes, I know it doesn’t seem possible, but James Patterson has written a continuation of the Alex Cross books – I wonder how many books that makes that he has written just this year alone? Anyway, “Hope to Die: The Re-turn of Alex Cross” (PAT) just popped into the library in time for some fortunate person to read. Sorry, we already have a list of patrons waiting for it, so it may be a while before anyone can pluck it off the shelf. But feel free to put your name on the list or place a hold in our catalog – you may get the book more quickly. This one seems to be more of a psychological thriller, pitting Cross against a madman who abducts Cross’s family. The purpose is to make Cross into a murderer – hmm. Always fast-paced with extremely short chapters, a Patterson book is sure to keep you interested.

“The Girl Next Door” (REN) by Ruth Rendell involves a crime of passion coming to light after 60 years. The discovery of bones in a tin draws together old friends who once played at the site where the bones were discov-ered. We are given the identity of two of the victims, but the third is withheld until the book’s con-clusion. Sixty years can’t change old feelings that surface, and those childhood relationships never really do change either. More an exploration of this lack of change than a murder-mys-tery, this novel is vintage Rendell, who has written captivating mys-teries for over 50 years.

One of my favorite authors (and a former librarian to boot) is James R. Benn. A local author

from Hadlyme, Benn writes of the fictional ongoing adventures of Billy Boyle during World War II. Boyle just happens to be the nephew of Dwight D. Eisen-hower and is often asked by him to investigate certain sensitive situations. “The Rest is Silence” (BEN) involves a corpse washed up on the same shore where the rehearsal for the D-Day invasion of Normandy is to take place. Billy and his best friend and co-investigator, Kaz, are invited to stay with Kaz’s old friend Da-vid at Ashcroft, his family manor. Lots of family drama compounds the drama of the delicate inves-tigation. This is very well re-searched World War II fiction with a strong insight into Eisen-hower and the military at that time.

The final book of fiction is also by a long-term author with a re-curring main character: The book by Clive Cussler (and his son, Dirk Cussler) is entitled “Ha-vana Storm” (CUS). Dirk Pitt is back, this time in the Caribbean Sea, and somehow becomes in-volved in the political situation in Cuba. Coincidentally, his chil-dren also are in Cuba chasing an Aztec stone – now all are tangled up in preventing a potential en-vironmental disaster as well as an overthrow of the Cuban gov-ernment – never a dull moment with these guys!

Name-dropping, pictures of long-ago celebrities, tales of true and absurd stories from a former 007 – does it get any better? Roger Moore has penned a collection of remembrances from his 70-year career. “One Lucky Bas-tard: Tales from Tinseltown” (B MOORE, ROGER MOO) is chock full of pictures and amusing sto-ries of his friendships with other celebs and their stories also. Very lightweight, but fun to skim through if only to recognize ac-tors from bygone years and to read what Frank Sinatra was re-ally like.

Have you seen the movie “In-terstellar” yet? “The Science of Interstellar” (530.1 THO) by Kip Thorne explains how many of

the other-worldly effects can happen in reality. Wormholes, black holes, the fifth dimension and creatures from “outer space” are given their origin and mean-ing in this highly readable book of science. The author was in-volved with the making of the movie – and making it as close to reality as is possible. He set guidelines before production began to ensure this: Nothing in the film could violate the laws of physics, and everything that hap-pened had to have a basis in “real science.” I haven’t seen the film yet, but it has opened to tremen-dous reviews. Now I can’t wait to see it!

It must be the month for sci-ence books. “This Changes Ev-erything: Capitalism versus The Climate” (363.738 KLE) by Naomi Klein is a fascinating look at how the climate is changing and why we insist on still burning fossil fuels to fan that flame. Ap-parently, we are not looking at a gradual change, but one that could occur instantly under the right (or wrong) conditions. We are basically told by this author that we need to drastically change our society and econ-omy, or the environment will become drastically changed. Thought provoking ...

“On His Own Terms: A Life of Nelson Rockefeller” (B ROCKE-FELLER, NELSON ROC) by Rich-ard Norton Smith is the final choice. Few among us would fail to recognize the name or his many accomplishments – help-ing to develop the Rockefeller Center as well as the Museum of Modern Art, to name just two. But after having attained the gov-ernorship of New York four times, Rockefeller always craved the White House address. Pa-trons who enjoy the ins and outs of politics will surely enjoy this book.

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 Happenings

FInd The Bee-InTeLLIgenCer on

“Catification”By Jackson Galaxy

and Kate Benjamin

(Penguin Group, $21.95)Reviewed by Ealish Waddell

Viewers of Animal Planet’s “My Cat From Hell” know Jack-son Galaxy as the guy with the guitar case full of cat toys and a knack for talking recalcitrant cats down from the ceiling. Who knew he also could be a design muse?

Worried by the “aesthetic panic” that some of his clients seem to display at the idea of

incorporating cat toys and furni-ture into their interior design, Galaxy produced this book to demonstrate how stylish it actu-ally can be.

Galaxy and co-author Kate Benjamin start out by exploring the unique ways cats see the world and by analyzing the an-cient “Raw Cat” urges that lie just under the surface of today’s do-

mesticated indoor moggy. They encourage owners to observe their cats’ specific inclinations in order to design a personalized environment where they can feel comfortable and confident and to study both the horizontal and the vertical traffic patterns of their homes, especially areas where multiple pets and humans are pushed together and con-flicts can quickly arise.

Once these parameters have been established, the real fun of “Catification” begins. The rest of the pages are filled with photos of real homes that have been modified in attractive, diverse and often ingenious ways to ap-

peal to their resident felines. These range from a simple row of well-placed shelves to room-size kitty amusement parks, from easy DIY projects using basic and inexpensive materials to behind-the-scenes looks at the cus-tom-built creations seen on the TV show.

But the common thread here is that all these cat toys look cool. With a wide variety of ideas and inspiration to suit all homes, styles and budgets, the goal is to make it easy, fun and even chic to show the world that it’s our cat’s home as well as our own.

(c) 2014 King Features Synd., Inc.

subscribe towww.bee-news.comto keep up with the latest news

Library Lines

make time for reading good books

middleburyMiddle School Masterminds

Middle School Masterminds for youth in grades five to eight will meet Monday, Dec. 1, at 3:30 p.m. for a holiday 3-D ornament party. They will make ornaments on the 3-D printer and decorate them and will enjoy some holiday treats. Please call 203-758-2634 or stop by to sign up.

Brown Bag Book Discussion Group

The Brown Bag Book Discus-sion Group will meet Wednesday, Dec. 3, at 1 p.m. to discuss “Still Life” by Louise Penny. New members are welcome.

Wreath-makingTuesday, Dec. 9, at 6 p.m.,

make your own wreath at our Flanders Wreath Workshop. Cel-ebrate the season this year by keeping it green, handmade and local! Please call 203-758-2634 or stop by to register. Cost is $20 per wreath made.

The Middlebury Public Library is at 30 Crest Road. The telephone number is 203-758-2634, and the website is middlebury-publicli-brary.org.

naugatuckPublish your work

Tuesday, Dec. 2, at 6:30 p.m. Naugatuck’s own Pat Scalisi re-turns for another engaging talk on the state of the publishing industry. Which type of publish-ing format is right for your work – traditional, small press/inde-pendent or self-published? If you’re considering becoming an author or are actively writing, don’t miss this valuable event. FREE and open to all, but please register to ensure seating. Call 203-729-4591 for more informa-tion.

How to pay for collegeWednesday, Dec. 3, at 6:30

p.m., Vincent Winans from “The College Guys” will shed some light on the challenges of meeting one of the biggest expenses you may encounter in life. How do colleges’ financial aid systems work? What sources are available to you for loans and other fund-ing sources? Get strategies and

straight talk you can begin using right now to make higher educa-tion more affordable. FREE and open to all, but please register to ensure seating. Call 203-729-4591for more information.

Online book fair Did you miss the store fund-

raiser? You can shop online at Barnes and Noble until Friday, Dec, 5, and support the library by entering Bookfair ID 11450087.

Elizabeth Richard fundraiser

Shop at Elizabeth Richard Sunday, Dec. 7, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. to help raise funds for the library. If you can’t make it that day, come to the store five days before or after the event and in-form staff that you would like your purchase to go towards the Howard Whittemore Memorial Library.

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

southburyNew document scanner

The library now has a self-ser-vice Library Document Station

(LDS) scanner. The LDS consists of an 11-inch by 17-inch flatbed with a document feeder. It is con-nected to an all-in-one, user-friendly touch screen. Books and documents (color, black and white, grayscale) can be scanned. Scans can be sent to email, USB, Google Drive and Smartphone. The LDS document station is in the Refer-ence Department adjacent to the public fax machine. It is free-of-charge.

Betsy Rogers-Knox exhibit

An exhibit of Betsy Rogers-Knox’s watercolors will be on exhibit at the library from Thurs-day, Dec. 4, 2014 until Wednes-day, Jan. 28, 2015. Rogers-Knox earned a certificate in botanical illustration from The New York Botanical Garden and is en-chanted by the full life cycle of the plants she portrays in water-color. She usually observes her plant subjects for a full year be-fore beginning her compositions.

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

WoodburyHandwriting book signing

Saturday, Dec. 6, at 2 p.m. Da-vid J. DeWitt, author of “Hand-writing Analysis: Discover Your Own Vocational/Career Poten-tial” will show how to explore career options through graphol-ogy and personality awareness. How an individual dots his or her

I’s and crosses his or her T’s is indeed telling. In fact, handwrit-ing can reveal much about how people think, feel and behave – and as the book proves, it also can be a useful tool. The newly released self-help book is pub-lished by Outskirts Press.

Upcycling clothesTeens and adults are invited

to join Kate Gorham of the Golden Button Arts & Crafts Stu-dio to create a new upcycled t-shirt or bag Tuesday, Dec. 9, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Learn ba-sic hand sewing techniques, em-broidery stitches, and how to apply vintage trim or appliques. Please bring some old t-shirts, pillowcases, tote bags or other items you’d like to upcycle into something new. Space is limited, so call the library to register at 203-263-3502.

Art ExhibitWorks by teaching artist Kate

Gorham are on exhibit at the li-brary in December. “Animals in Scarves” is a series of brightly colored acrylic paintings of ani-mals wearing scarves. Gorham is a painter, crafter and owner of The Golden Button Arts & Craft Studio in Woodbury. An artist’s reception will be held Sunday, Dec. 14, from 2 to 4 p.m.

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 library events for the remainder of the month, please look online at www.bee-news.com

This painting of a fox wearing a scarf is part of Kate Gorham’s “Animals Wearing Scarves” exhibit at the Woodbury Library during the month of December. !Submitted photo)

Book review

December 2014 The Bee-Intelligencer 3


DEAR DR. ROACH: My 21-year-old son is a college athlete, a sprinter, but he has had recurrent high systolic blood pressure readings since he was a senior in high school. He’s generally easy-going and not stressed. Doctors always attribute the elevated results to “white-coat syndrome” since he is otherwise in excellent health and doesn’t drink, smoke or use drugs. The last reading was 142/78 when he checked it at a drugstore monitor.

He’s never had any reason to be nervous in a doctor’s office, and the initial high reading was with the same pediatrician he’d been seeing all his life. Once, a nurse had him rest quietly for a few minutes and rechecked the reading; it was lower, but still high. He just finished four months of rigorous basic training with the Army with no problems (his high reading on his physical was put down to nervousness), and he may now be anxious no matter where or when the read-ing is taken, but I’m worried that something else may be going on. Is there something we should have checked? – K.C.ANSWER: The real question is whether your son has “white coat” hypertension or just hyper-tension. The best way of answer-ing this is with a 24-hour blood-pressure (BP) monitor, which checks the blood pressure every 15-30 minutes while awake and less frequently at night. If those

readings are mostly in the nor-mal range, we could conclude that he has reactive, or white-coat, hypertension.

However, it is possible he has hypertension. Healthy young people sometimes get hyperten-sion, and he may be able to get his blood pressure down without medication through salt reduc-tion and relaxation techniques. But if he needs them, there are medications that will not affect his athletic abilities.

I sometimes order an echo-cardiogram to look for changes in the heart that go along with high blood pressure. However, the elevated blood pressure readings are only of a few years’ duration, so he might not have these yet. I think the 24-hour BP monitor is the way to go.

High blood pressure is one of the most common ailments for the general population. The booklet on it describes what it does and how it’s treated. Read-ers can order a copy by writing:

Dr. Roach – No. 104W, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Can-ada with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.DEAR DR. ROACH: Is there much difference between D.O. degrees and doctor of medicine degrees? I just noticed that my PCP has a “D.O.” after his name and nothing else. – B.B.ANSWER: A D.O. is a doctor of osteopathy, someone who went to an osteopathic medical school. D.O. physicians are li-censed to practice medicine and surgery in all U.S. states; in Can-ada, licensing varies by province. The training of an osteopathic physician is similar to that of a doctor with the M.D. degree, but osteopathic physicians obtain training in osteopathic manipu-lative medicine.

It has been my experience that D.O. physicians are very similar to M.D. physicians in most re-spects.

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 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

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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.

Book clubThe center’s book club will re-

view “The Christmas Box” by Rich-ard Paul Evans Monday, Dec. 1, at 10 a.m. Next month’s novel is “As-tor Place Vintage” by Stephanie Lehmann. That discussion will take place Jan. 5. Check the Wa-tertown Library for the book. New members are welcome. Reserva-tions are not needed.

Singer to performOakville singer John Elliott will

bring his energetic performance to the center Wednesday, Dec. 3, at 2 p.m. Reservations are needed by Tuesday, Dec. 2.

From Bonnets to Bellbottoms

The Connecticut Historical So-ciety will present this program Fri-day, Dec. 5, at 2 p.m. The program explores how clothing communi-cates who we are, what we do and the society in which we live. Partic-ipants will look at everything from military inspiration during the Civil War to the influence of political lib-eralism in the 1960s. Recall the clothing of your ancestors, your parents and your own fashion choices through more than 100 years of fashion. The audience may contribute to the discussion by

bringing a favorite garment and sharing memories associated with that article of clothing. Reservations are needed by Thursday, Dec. 4.

Superintendent of schools to speak

Watertown’s Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bridget Carnemolla will be at the center Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 10 a.m. to introduce herself and answer questions about the Watertown Public Schools. Reservations are needed by Tuesday, Dec. 9.

Crime victim resourcesWednesday, Dec. 10, at 2 p.m.,

a representative from the office of the State Victim Advocate will tell residents about the resources available to crime victims through-out the state and how to avoid scams and frauds. Reservations are needed by Tuesday, Dec. 9.

Boogie Boys to performThe Boogie Boys will perform

for two hours at the center’s Christ-mas Party Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 2 p.m. Admission is a dessert to share. Reservations are needed by Monday, Dec. 15.

Social services information

Residents 55 years of age and older in need of social services assistance may meet with Jim Dunn of the Western Connecticut Area Agency on Aging Wednesday, Dec. 17, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. He is available to provide one-on-one assistance with social services questions and needs. Reservations are not needed.

ReflexologyCertified reflexologist Kim Stew-

art will offer 20-minute reflexology sessions for your hands or feet Thursday, Dec. 18, from 8:30 to 10:15 a.m. The cost is $15. Reser-vations are needed by Wednesday, Dec. 17.

Quilt talkFriday, Dec. 19, at 2 p.m., Susan

Jerome will present “Let’s Talk Quilts,” an exploration of the way quilts have become a part of Amer-ican culture. She will discuss def-initions and ideas surrounding the word “quilt.” Learn about textile history and how to properly store textile heirlooms for future gener-ations and discover how techno-logical changes in producing fab-ric influenced the production of quilts and the use of time during the 19th century. Audience mem-bers are invited to bring one quilt or quilted object with them. Res-ervations are needed by Thursday, Dec. 18.

New Year’s celebrationBring in the New Year a few

hours ahead of time Wednesday, Dec. 31, at 2 p.m. Bob Lupi will provide the entertainment. Admis-sion is a dish of appetizers to share. Reservations are needed by Tues-day, Dec. 30.

Bible studyNew Hope Anglican Church

offers a nondenominational Bible study at the center each Friday at 10 a.m. Join other seniors for the study and discussion. No reserva-tions are required.

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.

MES performanceMiddlebury Elementary

School (MES) is putting on a per-formance by Doran Hann, “Po-etry in Motion,” Thursday, Dec. 4, at 10:15 a.m. The Middlebury Senior Center is offering a ride to seniors who would like to at-tend. Please call the center at 203-577-4166 to reserve a seat on the bus. Our bus has only 20 seats, so don’t wait to call. The bus will leave the center at 9:45 a.m.

Commission on AgingThe Commission on Aging will

meet Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 9:30 a.m. All interested persons are welcome to attend.

Christmas luncheonThe senior center’s Christmas

party will be Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 11:30 a.m. The cost is $10 per person. Entertainment will be by Willie Nininger. The menu will be a chef’s carving of roast beef, baked potato with sour cream, vegetable, tossed salad, multi-grain roll and cake. Please make your reservations no later than Friday, Dec. 12.

Holiday closingsThe senior center will be

closed Thursday, Dec. 25, for the Christmas Day holiday and Thursday, Jan. 1, for the New Year’s Day holiday.

Energy Assistance Program

The Middlebury Social Ser-vices office is taking applications for the 2014 Energy Assistance

program. Please bring with you all proofs of income, bank state-ments and copies of your energy bill, along with the number of people in your household and their income, social security numbers and dates of birth. For more information, call 203-577-4166, ext 707.

Tax-Aide volunteer training

Volunteer for the nation’s larg-est FREE tax preparation and assistance service offered by AARP. Volunteer opportunities range from Tax-Aide counselors to greeters as well as communi-cations and technology coordi-nators.

Tax-Aide volunteer counselors interact with clients by preparing tax returns on a one-to-one basis. Even if you don’t have account-ing or tax preparation experi-ence, becoming a counselor may be right for you. Tax-Aide pro-vides training in tax law proce-dures, the preparation of tax forms and the use of tax prepa-ration software.

If you prefer to work with peo-ple, become a tax aide greeter. This is the first person clients meet when they enter a tax coun-seling facility. Greeters make sure the taxpayer has all the nec-essary paperwork before meet-ing with a volunteer counselor, and they manage the flow of clients being served.

Have a knack for computers and technology? Technology co-ordinators manage computer equipment, work to ensure tax-payer data is secure, and provide technical assistance for volun-teers at multiple sites on tech-nology issues

Good at managing people and programs? Leadership positions manage volunteers, synchronize plans with other volunteer lead-ers, and assure smooth program operation.

For additional information, visit www.aarp.org/taxaide. Tax- Aide is a program of the AARP Foundation, offered in conjunc-tion with the IRS.

Trips

Holiday lights fantasiaThe Middlebury Senior Center

minibus will take passengers to see the Christmas lights at Hol-iday Light Fantasia in Goodwin Park in Hartford Monday, Dec. 8. We will drive through an en-chanting land of spectacular, sparkling light displays during this festive and magical holiday season, delighting viewers with more than 60 enchanting images on display. Drive through the whimsical, larger-than-life dis-plays. There are one million glowing bulbs … shining bright to help thousands of area chil-dren. All proceeds go to Easter Seals.

To reserve your seat, call 203-577-4166. The cost will be $12 per person and includes admis-sion and transportation. The rain/snow date will be Monday, Dec. 15.

Painted Pony restaurant

As part of the Senior Dine lunch program, the minibus will go to the Painted Pony restaurant in Bethlehem Friday, Dec.19. This trip normally is on the fourth Friday each month, but is a week earlier this month due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

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.


The Iwo Jima Memorial Historical Foun-dation will host two special events in De-cember at the National Iwo Jima Memorial. On Pearl Harbor Day, Sunday, Dec. 7, at 12:30 p.m., they will hold a national Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony. On Saturday, Dec. 13, at 12 p.m., they will par-ticipate in the Wreaths Across America wreath-laying ceremony.

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day recalls Dec. 7, 1941, the day America’s Naval Base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was attacked. The attack marked America’s entrance into World War II. More than 3,500 Americans were killed or injured. The Foundation will observe the 73nd anniversary of the attack and pay tribute to the American servicemen and women whose lives were lost and those who were injured.

Foundation volunteers will be on hand at the memorial from 11:30 a.m. and after the ceremony to speak with visitors. Historical displays about the Pearl Harbor attack will be on hand for viewing. A ceremony will take place at 12:30 p.m.

All are invited to gather together to honor veterans during the holiday season as part of the annual Wreaths Across America Day Dec. 13. Specially designated wreaths for the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard,

Merchant Marine, and POW/MIA will be placed at the memorial during a ceremony that will be coordinated simultaneously at over 750 participating locations all across the country.

The Wreaths Across AmericaTM story be-gan over 20 years ago when the Worcester Wreath Company from Harrington, Maine initiated a tradition of donating and placing wreaths on the headstones of our nation’s fallen heroes at Arlington National Ceme-tery. The Wreaths Across America’s mission is to remember the fallen; honor those who serve, including their families who sacrifice; and teach our children the cost of the free-

doms we enjoy each day. Wreaths Across America is a national nonprofit organization. If you’d like more information about this organization, visit www.WreathsAcrossA-merica.org

Information about either of these cere-monies can be obtained by calling Gary Roy at 860-291-9666.

The National Iwo Jima Memorial Monu-ment is on the northeast side of the Central Connecticut State University campus at the intersection of Ella Grasso Boulevard and Route 9 (exit 29) at the Newington-New Brit-ain town line.

You’ve likely heard that our Social Security increase for 2015 will be 1.7 percent. Last year, the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) was 1.5 percent, so it’s a small improvement. But here is how that translates into real money: The average monthly increase will be $20.

Here are a few items from the Bureau of Labor Statistics chart:

During 2014, food went up 3 percent. (Of that, beef has gone up 17.8 percent since January. Dairy has gone up 10 times in the past 11 months. All meats, poul-try, fish and eggs have increased 9.4 percent this year.) Utilities went up 3.5 percent. Medical care commodities went up 2.9 percent. Medical care services went up 1.7 percent.

The net loss of those dollars is in our current buying power. The loss will be made worse down the road because of compound-ing. Dollars we don’t get now can’t be compounded in years to come. Seniors League has a

calculator to determine the long-lasting impact of this low COLA. Go to seniorsleague.org and enter your figures. It will show you the dollar loss over time.

COLA became mandatory in 1975. The yearly increase or de-crease is based on the Consumer Price Index, which includes food, shelter, doctors and dentists, drugs, and other day-to-day goods and services, with figures collected every month in 87 ur-ban areas. Since 2010, the in-crease has averaged 1.4 percent per year. In two recent years it didn’t increase at all.

If this low COLA for 2015 keeps you from being able to quit work, remember you can earn $15,720 before Social Security

starts taking $1 out of your ben-efits for every $2 you earn. If you will turn 66 next year, that earn-ing limit will be $41,880 before it takes $1 for every $3 you earn.

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].


social security coLA Increase: 1.7 percent

Middlebury Road (Opposite the Shell Station)Open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily

Anthony Calabrese 203-758-2765

Local eggs. Fresh daily. $3.50 per dozenDeer Corn • Livestock & Poultry Feed

Bird Seed Headquarters

Kissing Balls • Pots of holiday decorated greenery

Black Oil, Premium Mix, Sunflower Hearts, Niger Seed (thistle for finches)

Christmas Trees - Cut or PottedWreaths • Roping

PoinsettiasCemetery Boxes

Gift Certificates Available

Dec. 1 to 31, 2014

Friday, Dec. 5, Full Day Teacher In- Service - No School

Winter Recess: Wednesday, Dec. 24, through Friday, Jan. 2, 2015

Middlebury Elementary SchoolWednesday, Dec. 3 .............. Parent Technology Night ................... 6:30 p.m.Tuesday, Dec. 9 ................... Band/Orchestra Demo ......................... 7 p.m.Thursday, Dec. 11 ................ Fancy Day!Wednesday, Dec. 17 ............ Snow Date Band/Orchestra .................. 7 p.m.Friday, Dec. 19 .................... Spirit/Wear Blue/Do SomethingFriday, Dec. 19 ....................Movie - “Frozen” .......................6:30 to 8 p.m.

Long Meadow Elementary SchoolWednesday, Dec. 3 .............. Band/Orchestra Demo ......................... 7 p.m.Wednesday, Dec. 10 ............ Snow Date Band/Orchestra .................. 7 p.m.Thursday, Dec. 18 ................ Preschool Screening ...........................By Appt.

Gainfield Elementary SchoolMonday, Dec. 1 ................... Band/Orchestra Demo ......................... 7 p.m.Monday, Dec. 8 ................... Snow Date Band/Orchestra .................. 7 p.m.Thursday, Dec. 11 ................ Holiday FairThursday, Dec. 18 ................McDonald’s Fundraiser

Pomperaug Elementary SchoolFriday, Dec. 5 ...................... PTO Holiday Fair.................................... 6 p.m.Tuesday, Dec. 9 ................... PTO ................................................. 9:30 a.m.Thursday, Dec. 11 ................ Storytime with Mr. S. ............................. 7 p.m.Thursday, Dec. 11 ................ Band/Orchestra Demo ......................... 7 p.m.Friday, Dec. 12 .................... Snow Date Band/Orchestra .................. 7 p.m.

Memorial Middle SchoolFriday, Dec. 19 .................... Grade 6 Social ....................2:45 to 4:15 p.m.

Rochambeau Middle SchoolMonday, Dec. 1 ................... PTO ...................................................... 7 p.m.Tuesday, Dec. 9 ................... Grades 7 and 8 Winter Concert........ 6:15 p.m.Wednesday, Dec. 10 ............ Snow Date for Winter Concert .......... 6:15 p.m.

Pomperaug High SchoolMonday, Dec. 1 ................... Financial Aid Night .....................6:30 - 8 p.m.Friday, Dec. 12 .................... Symphonic Band/Orchestra.................. 7 p.m.Monday, Dec. 15 ................. Symph. Band/Orchestra Snow Date ...... 7 p.m.Thursday, Dec. 18 ................ Student of the Month Breakfast ....... 6:45 a.m.Friday, Dec. 19 .................... Jazz Band/Chamber Singers ................. 7 p.m.Monday, Dec. 22 ................. Jazz Band/Chamber Singers ................. 7 p.m.

region 15 school Calendar

Community CalendarSunday, Nov. 30, to Saturday, Dec. 6

Monday, Dec. 1Board of Selectmen6 p.m. .................................................Town Hall Conference Room

Tuesday, Dec. 2Water Commission7 p.m. ............................................................ Shepardson, Room 26

Wednesday, Dec. 3Land Preservation & Open Space6 p.m. .............................................................. Shepardson, Room 7

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

Thursday, Dec. 4Planning and Zoning7:30 p.m. ....................................................Shepardson Auditorium

Sunday, Dec. 7, to Saturday, Dec. 13

Monday, Dec. 8Police Commission6 p.m. .................................................Town Hall Conference Room

Tuesday, Dec. 9Library 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, Dec. 10Board of Finance7 p.m. ............................................................ Shepardson, Room 26

Thursday, Dec. 11Retirement Plan Committee1 p.m. .................................................Town Hall Conference Room

Parks and Recreation7 p.m. .............................................................. Shepardson, Room 1

Sunday, Dec. 14, to Saturday, Dec. 20

Monday, Dec. 15Board of Selectmen6 p.m. .................................................Town Hall Conference Room

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

Tuesday, Dec. 16Commission on Aging9:30 a.m. ....................................................... Shepardson, Room 26

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

Sunday, Dec. 21 to Saturday, Dec. 27

Monday, Dec. 22Ethics Commission5:30 p.m. ...........................................Town Hall Conference Room

Tuesday, Dec. 23Economic and Industrial Development Commission6:30 p.m. ............................................Town Hall Conference Room

Thursday, Dec. 25Christmas Day Holiday - Town offices, library and transfer sta-tion are closed

Sunday, Dec. 28 to Saturday, Jan. 3

Tuesday, Dec. 30Conservation Commission does not meet in December

Thursday, Jan. 1New Year’s Day Holiday - Town offices, library and transfer station are closed

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].

By MARY cONsEUR

Southbury resident Martha Hinrichsen, an owner/share-holder in the world-renowned music publishing company C.F. Peters, has good reason to be proud. In October, she returned to her family roots in Leipzig, Germany, to give a speech at the re-opening ceremony of her fam-ily’s company, which had been confiscated by the Nazis 76 years ago.

Martha’s story is one of tri-umph and tragedy, of affluence and financial ruin, of persever-ance and despair. The C.F. Peters Corp. and the building at Tal-strasse 10 in Leipzig in which it is housed, date from the 19th century. The Hinrichsen family acquired the business in 1863 and ran it successfully until Nov. 9, 1938, “Krystallnacht,” when the Nazis confiscated it and de-stroyed much of the sheet music and many musical instruments. The Nazis then executed a forced

sale of some 40 works in the Hin-richsens’ art collection; only eight of them have been resti-tuted since then.

The Hinrichsens were well-known in Leipzig, not only for their business acumen, but also for their philanthropy. They funded the first college for women in Leipzig. They donated to their city a collection of some 2,600 musical instruments. They opened the first music library that contained original manu-scripts from famous composers. And they financially supported many composers, including the Norwegian Edvard Grieg, who kept a room in their apartment, located on the second and third floors of Talstrasse 10.

In 1936, Martha’s father, Henri Hinrichsen, immigrated to the U.S. to escape the Nazis. In New York, he opened the American branch of C.F. Peters. Henri’s brother Max immigrated to Lon-don, where he opened another branch of C.F. Peters. The young-

est child in the family, Robert, was sent to England in the hope he would find safe haven there.

The members of the Hinrich-sen family who chose to remain in mainland Europe did not fare as well. Martha’s grandfather and her uncle Paul were gassed at Auschwitz. Her uncle Hans died of typhoid fever in a concentration camp in France. Her aunt Char-lotte was sent to a concentration camp, but was mercifully rescued by a Christian organization. Mar-tha’s grandmother died of diabe-tes because the Nazis refused her medical treatment. Martha’s aunt Ilse, though interned in five dif-ferent concentration camps, somehow managed to survive and rebuild her life.

“I had no idea what happened to my father’s relatives until I was 15 years old,” Martha said. “My friends at school finally told me the truth. I didn’t even know my father was Jewish. I had been brought up in the Presbyterian Church because my mother was

Presbyterian. I just knew that I was not allowed to talk about World War II or ask any questions about my father’s relatives.”

Following the Nazi takeover in 1938, C.F. Peters was again confiscated after World War II, this time by the Communists (Leipzig is located in what be-came East Germany.) The Hin-richsens’ building at Talstrasse 10 in Leipzig fell into disrepair and suffered severe water dam-age. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, a physician pur-chased the building and spent the next 10 years meticulously restoring it to its original gran-deur.

Today C.F. Peters Corp. in Ger-many is once again owned by the Hinrichsen family and housed in its original building at Tal-strasse 10 in Leipzig. “My journey has often been long, and some-times tedious, emotionally pain-ful, and expensive,” said Martha, “but I am proud and privileged to be a part of this legacy.”

southbury woman breathes new life into 200-year-old company

Riefenhauser of Smith & Com-pany said only 30 of 34 homes in Phase 1 had been built. Commis-sioners also agreed to waive the requirement for a traffic report and use a report from 2007.

A site plan modification for Quassy Amusement Park to add a snack bar, candy store, two wa-ter slides and a new maintenance building was unanimously ap-proved. Attorney Michael Mc-Verry said the new steel mainte-nance building would sit on the east property line shared with the Middlebury Recreation Area and be similar to but smaller than the maintenance building already there. A new snack bar with an observation deck above it would offer wine and beer and serve people enjoying the lake, a candy shop would replace the deterio-rating redemption center on the west side of the park, and new

water slides would consist of a kiddie slide and a larger slide.

McVerry brought letters of ap-proval from the police and fire departments and the Conserva-tion and Economic Development Commissions. He said the snack bar and candy shop would follow the old-fashioned train station architecture used in the recently built ticket booth. That natural wood design theme produced by Andrew Peklo III of Woodbury also was used in bathroom ren-ovations and will be used for the upcoming train terminal.

A decision on changes to Sec-tion 22.7 of the zoning regula-tions for calculating the resale of affordable housing in the Brookside development was con-tinued until Dec. 4 to allow sur-rounding towns to comment. D’Angelo said the regulations were originally worded for the Steeplechase subdivision and later applied to Brookside. Mc-Verry told commissioners it took about eight months to sell such

a house last year because the for-mula in the Brookside property declaration was not part of the regulations. D’Angelo said her proposed change would clean up the wording and tie it to Con-necticut State Statutes. The change also would broaden the definition of moderate income from the Waterbury Metropolitan Statistical Area to the more gen-eral Litchfield and New Haven County statistics.

A change in use of the former Golden Age of Trucking Museum at 1067 Southford Road to ware-house and retail space was unan-imously approved. Dr. Dean Yimoyines, d/b/a JSD Partners LLC, told commissioners the ma-jority of the building would be used as warehouse space to pro-cess shipping and receiving, with some sales made out of the front of the building. Retail will be 10,000 square feet and the ware-house 22,000. Yimoyines was told to apply for a special exception for a 4-by-8-foot sign he said was

needed to guide people to the building.

In procedural matters, mem-bers voted to keep the regular meeting date the first Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m.

In other matters, attorney Ste-phen Savarese told commission-ers Oxford P&Z had written a letter in support of the CPV Towantic Energy Center on the border of Oxford and Middle-bury. Savarese said First Select-man Edward B. St. John had al-ready written a letter to the Con-necticut Siting Council in oppo-sition to the project. He said Middlebury had already suffered enough from the airport expan-sion, noting the Triangle Boule-vard homes buyout, and asked for a P&Z letter in opposition. Chairman Smith agreed to sub-mit a letter on behalf of the Mid-dlebury P&Z for the record.

The next regular P&Z meeting will be Thursday, Dec. 4, at 7:30 p.m. at Shepardson Community Center.

p&Z -Continued from page 1

Remember pearl Harbor Day; honor veterans


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

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family create a meaningful funeral, please contact us.

www.nfda.org

Bee IntellIgencerin•tel•li•gencer: n. One who conveys news or information

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed.

Issued by:The Middlebury Bee-Intelligencer Society LLC

Bee-Intelligencer Staff:Editor-In-Chief/Publisher: Marjorie Needham

Contributing Writers: Mary Conseur, Terrence S. McAuliffeArt & Production: Mario J. Recupido

- Submit press releases in person, by mail or email -

The Bee-Intelligencer welcomes news, press releases and advertising from all surrounding communities

Editorial Office:2030 Straits Turnpike, Suite 1, Middlebury, CT 06762

Direct mail to P.O. Box 10.Telephone: 203-577-6800 • Email: [email protected]

Advertising Information:Telephone: 203-577-6800 • Email: [email protected]

Copyright © 2014 by The Middlebury Bee-Intelligencer Society, LLC.

All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

Deadlines:Display Advertising: 5 p.m.

Friday preceding publicationClassified Advertising: 5 p.m.

Monday preceding publicationEditorial/Press Releases: Noon Monday preceding publication

In Brief

Letters to the editor

Gift-wrapping serviceDo you have arthritis, dexterity

issues or just don’t like wrapping gifts? Stop by the Southbury Pub-lic Library with your gifts Thurs-day, Dec. 4, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and the Junior Friends of the Southbury Public Library will wrap them for you. This is a free service, but donations are gra-ciously accepted.

The Junior Friends also will be selling baked goods, so stop by for a sweet holiday treat.

Woodbury tree lightingThe Town of Woodbury’s an-

nual tree lighting at the North Green will take place Saturday, Dec. 6, at 4 p.m. All are invited to greet Santa as he arrives to turn on the tree lights. Region 14 school bands and chorus will perform holiday songs and will lead everyone in a sing-a-long. For information, go to www.woodburyparksandrec.org.

Middlebury actress in Lifetime movie

Lexi White of Middlebury was cast as Geraldine in the movie “Wishin’ and Hopin’” based on the New York Times best-selling novel by Wally Lamb. The film is a coming-of-age story set at Christmas time 1964 in Connecti-cut. It stars Molly Ringwald, Chevy Chase and Meatloaf. “Wishin’ and Hopin’” will air Sat-urday, Dec. 6, at 8 p.m. on the Lifetime channel.

Gingerbread Village and Holiday Bazaar

St. George’s Episcopal Church on Tucker Hill Road in Middle-bury is wrapping up the final touches on over 60 houses, snow-men, trees, fences, reindeer and more for the 47th annual Ginger-bread Village and holiday bazaar. The event opens to the public

Saturday, Dec. 7, at 10 a.m. and runs throughout the week, clos-ing on Saturday, Dec. 13.

The village offers the public a chance to view all the houses, as well as decorate their own gin-gerbread cookie, visit the craft room for a holiday gift, enjoy lunch on either Saturday between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., and just get in the spirit of Christmas. For more information, visit www.gin-gerbreadvillagect.com.

Brass City BalletThe Brass City Ballet’s annual

performance of “The Nutcracker” will be Saturday, Dec. 13, at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 14, at 2 p.m. at the Rotella Arts Magnet School at 440 Pierpont Road in Waterbury (off I-84 at Exit 25). Tickets are $20 for adults; $15 for seniors and children under 12. Buy tickets at Tututix.com or 1-855-222-2TIX.

Small works art show and sale

For the unusual, but special, holiday gift, come to the SCAN Small Works Art Show and Sale, one day only, Saturday, Dec. 13, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the lower level of the Meeting House in Newtown. The artists of SCAN will feature small, original art-work, all under 11 inches by 14 inches, for purchase at very rea-sonable prices. Additional port-folio selections will be available. Do your holiday shopping for that one-of-a-kind creative gift that will be a delight to someone for a long time. The Meeting House is across from the flagpole at 31 Main St. (Rte. 25) in Newtown.

Annual cookie walkThe Middlebury Volunteer Fire

Department Ladies Auxiliary will again sell homemade holiday cookies by the pound at their an-nual cookie walk Saturday, Dec. 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Middlebury Fire House at 65 Tucker Hill Road. Cookies will be $6.50 a pound. You are invited to come in and pack your own box with tons of different varieties. There will be thousands of cook-ies to choose from. Let the ladies do your baking for the holidays while you just get to share the sweetness. For more information email [email protected].

Quilts that CareQuilts that Care, an organiza-

tion that makes quilts for people who undergo cancer treatment, will meet Mondays, Dec. 1 and 15, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at The Harold

Leever Regional Cancer Center at 1075 Chase Parkway in Water-bury. It also will meet Tuesday, Dec. 2, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Bristol Public Library at 5 High St. in Bristol.

For more information, call Deb at 860-945-0184, email [email protected] or visit www.quiltsthatcare.org.

Love and KnishesThe Wednesday, Dec. 3, Love

and Knishes will feature Jeff Wie-selberg performing an impressive repertoire on piano and vocals that includes the Great American Song-book, Frank Sinatra, Buddy Holly, the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Elton John, Billy Joel, Elvis Presley, Fats Waller, Bobby Darin, James Taylor, the Everly Brothers and Fats Domino.

The Wednesday, Dec. 10 pro-gram will feature Mark Levy of San Francisco in a Chanukah concert. Catered by Bonnie Douglas of Cre-ative Events by Bonnie, the three-course kosher lunch at 12 p.m. in the social hall at the Jewish Fed-eration of Western Connecticut at 444 Main St. North in Southbury is followed by a concert at 1 p.m.

Levy’s show will be a mixture of Chanukah songs from the Old World and New, spiced with hu-mor and festive spirit, sung in Yiddish, Ladino, Hebrew, English, and Russian. Whether an old Yid-dish lullaby or his own new tune, Levy delivers songs with such feel-ing that audiences are mesmer-ized.

Lunch reservations should be made by noon Monday for that week’s program. All programs are open to the public, and there is a suggested lunch donation of $7.50 for adults age 60 and older. To RSVP, call 203-267-3177.

Robotics fundraiserThe Panther Project, the FIRST

Robotics Team at Pomperaug High School, will be holding a “Fun Day” fundraiser at Friendly’s at 519 Heritage Road in South-bury, Tuesday, Dec. 9. On that day, 20 percent of all proceeds will be donated to the Robotics Team. Until Dec. 9, team mem-bers are handing out vouchers to anyone who wants one. Use the vouchers at Friendly’s Dec. 9 so they will get credit. To get a voucher, see a Robotics Team member at Pomperaug High School. For more information, visit http://frc2064.com/.

Alzheimer’s, related dementias support

groupThe monthly support group for

friends and family of people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias will meet Thursday, Dec. 11, at 10:30 a.m. at the Jew-ish Federation of Western Con-necticut at 444 Main St. N. in Southbury. There is no charge for this open and ongoing group, whose purpose is to provide emo-tional, educational and social support for caregivers through regularly scheduled meetings.

The group helps participants develop methods and skills to solve problems. It also encourage caregivers to maintain their own personal, physical and emotional health, as well as optimally care for the person with dementia.

Patty Gibbs, a volunteer with the Alzheimer’s Association, facili-tates the group. For more infor-mation, call Debby Horowitz, Brownstein Jewish Family Service director, at 203-267-3177, ext. 310.

Coping with illness Torah discussion

La-Bree-ut is a Hebrew excla-mation meaning “To your health!” It will be the focus of a Torah study exploring themes of well-ness and healing with Rabbi Dana Z. Bogatz, chaplain for Brown-stein Jewish Family Service. The next class, “From Darkness to Light” will meet Thursday, Dec. 11, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Jewish Federation of Western Connecticut at 444 Main St. N. in Southbury.

Participants are asked to bring a Tanakh (complete Hebrew Bi-ble) if they have one. Copies also will be available. The cost is $10 for the class. Participants of all ages and stages are welcome to come, but seating is limited and advance registration is required. To make a reservation, call 203-267-3177.

Five Wishes program The public is invited to a Five

Wishes program Tuesday, Dec. 9, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. with Joyce Buselli, RN, of VITAS Healthcare. Five Wishes is the first living will that talks about your personal, emotional and spiritual needs as well as your medical wishes. It lets you choose the person you want to make health-care deci-sions for you if you are not able to make them for yourself. This document gives you a way to con-trol something very important – how you are treated if you get seriously ill.

The free program is for anyone age 18 or older. It will meet at the Jewish Federation of Western Connecticut at 444 Main St. N. in Southbury. Seating is limited and reservations are requested by calling 203-267-3177.

Death Café Rabbi Dana Z. Bogatz, the

chaplain for Brownstein Jewish Family Service, will be the coor-dinator/facilitator for two meet-

ings of the Death Café, one on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 1 p.m. and another on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at 6:30 p.m. at the Jewish Federa-tion of Western Connecticut at 444 Main St. N. in Southbury. Death Café does not promote any religion, value system or product.

This is not a bereavement group. The Death Café provides a safe, nurturing place and com-munity in which to discuss people’s interest, questions and concerns surrounding death. Its goal is to increase awareness of death with a view to helping peo-ple make the most of their (finite) lives. Light refreshments will be served.

There is no charge for this pro-gram and it is open to all adults, but seating is very limited, and participants must preregister, even if they have come to a pre-vious Death Café. Registration is first-come, first-served. To make a reservation, leave a message for Rabbi Bogatz at 203-267-3177, ext. 334. Participation is limited to 10 people in order to keep the conversation open.

Lions’ luminariesThe Middlebury Lions Club is

selling holiday luminaries again this year as a fundraiser to sup-port local scholarship and com-munity assistance funds. Lumi-naries are customarily placed along driveways and walkways at dusk on Christmas Eve and can also be a fun addition to your New Year’s Eve celebration. The white glowing bags are simple to set up by placing approximately 1 inch of sand (available at the transfer station) in the bottom of the bag, centering the candle in the sand and lighting them at dusk. For $6, you receive 12 white bags and 12 10-hour candles.

Luminaries went on sale Nov. 28 at Sullivan’s Jewelers, Larry’s Wine and Spirits, Vaszauskas Farm and at the Town Park and Rec department. The Lions also will be selling them Saturday, Dec. 13, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the transfer station and around town. Please support the Lions along and their local business partners.

Lexi White

Enjoy seeing more than 60 gingerbread houses like this one at the St. George’s Episcopal Church Gingerbread Village. (Submitted photo)

Harassed womenTo the Editor:

When I was the chief griev-ance officer for the faculty and staff of the 12 Connecticut state community colleges. I repre-sented many women in harass-ment cases. In fact such cases were my specialty.

When I saw an article in the newspaper concerning the March 18, 2014, meeting of the Finance Board in Middlebury I FOI’d a recording of said meet-ing. What I heard was Chairman Mike McCormack doing his “bully” routine relative to a fe-male town employee.

He yelled, rather than spoke, to the woman, speaking loudly over her statements while accus-ing her of offenses including not following directions or not pro-viding proper information. He did these things not in a remedial manner, i.e. to guide her, but

rather in a loud punitive, “bully-ing” way. It was very reminiscent of how he treated the Middlebury police chief at a Finance Board hearing I once attended.

Over a 28-year time frame, I represented more than 200 peo-ple in grievance matters and I don’t remember ever hearing a man speak to a female employee as did McCormack on that tape. He should take his own advice and follow through with some-thing he starts and never fin-ishes. For example, how many

times has he pulled out as a first selectman candidate after col-lecting the needed amount of signatures?

In the meanwhile, McCor-mack should cease treating town employees as if they are serfs and he is a 19th-century Russian landowner. Mr. McCormack should heed the advice colum-nist Mike Lupica gave to Gov. Christie of New Jersey, “Pick on somebody your own size.”

Pat de Angelis

Letters to the EditorLetters to the editor may be mailed to the Bee-Intelligencer, P.O.

Box 10, Middlebury, CT 06762 or emailed to [email protected].

Letters will be run as space permits. Please limit letters to 500 words, avoid personal attacks, and understand letters will be edited. For verification purposes, please include your name, street address and daytime telephone number.


Obituaries

Trust & Dignity

obituaries are posted free at

www.bee-news.com

Mary Antoinette cappello

Loving wife, mother, grandmother and

great-grandmother

Mrs. Mary Antoi-nette (SantaLucia) Cappello, 94, of Southbury, formerly of Waterbury, died Tuesday, Oct. 28, at the Lutheran Home

of Southbury. She was the widow of Anthony D. “Tony” Cappello.

Mary was born in Waterbury June 13, 1920, the daughter of the late Julius and Anna (DiGiovanni) SantaLucia. She graduated from Waterbury Catholic High, and in 1941 she earned her degree as a registered nurse at St. Mary’s School of Nursing. She married Tony Cappello Sept. 13, 1946. They were blessed with four children and together they shared a devoted faith. Mary was a talented pianist, playing any song she heard by ear. She always had a warm smile and kind words for family and friends. Loving and tender, she was a mother to those who had none. She was kind and gracious no mat-ter the circumstance. She is the core of her children’s goodness, who are thankful for the lessons she taught them, and is now rest-ing in the palm of God’s hand.

Mary is survived by her chil-dren, Charles Cappello of Hebron; Joseph Cappello and his wife, Nancy, of Woodbury; Maryann Lizzi and her husband, Damon, of Boynton Beach, Fla.; and Linda Cappello and her fiancé, James Arcangelo of Middlebury; six grandchildren, five great-grand-children and six nieces and neph-ews; and a brother, Joseph Santa-Lucia, and his wife, Carmela, of Boynton Beach, Fla. She also leaves her sister-in-law, Emma SantaLucia of Southbury, and her long-time friend and sister-in-law, Eleanor Cappello of Middlebury. She was predeceased by her brother, Eugene SantaLucia, and her daughter-in-law, Susan Cap-pello.

The funeral on Friday, Oct. 31, was followed by burial at Calvary Cemetery.

Contributions can be made in her memory to Are You Dense Inc., 96 Rowley Road, Woodbury, CT 06798. For more information or to send e-condolences, visit www.chaseparkwaymemorial.com.

James E. EricsonVeteran and Watertown

firefighter

James E. Ericson, 78, of Oakville died Monday, Nov. 17, 2014, at Waterbury Hospital after a brief illness. He was the hus-band of Edith (Barton) Ericson.

Jim was born in Stonington, May 30, 1936, the son of the late Vincent and Celine (Racenet) Ericson. A graduate of Oliver Wolcott Technical School, he served in the U.S. Air Force dur-ing the Korean Conflict. Prior to his retirement, he was an elec-tronics technician for the Sears Roebuck Co. He was a member of the American Legion Post 195 and a veteran member of the Watertown Fire Department.

Besides his wife of 53 years, he leaves three sons: Edward Eric-son of Wisconsin, Richard Eric-son of Middlebury and Mark Ericson of Illinois; a daughter, Judy White, of Watertown; nine grandchildren: Kristina, Kim-berly, Alicia, Marissa, J.J., Taylor, Michael, Shaye and Tyler; a great-granddaughter, Evelyn; and several nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his sister, Sandra Keeler.

The funeral services were Fri-day, Nov. 21, with burial with military honors following in Ev-ergreen Cemetery in Watertown.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Watertown Fire Department, 935 Main St., Watertown, CT 06795. For additional informa-tion or to leave an online mes-sage of condolence, visit www.hickcoxfuneralhome.com.

Elias PapoutsisLoving husband and father

Mr. Elias Papoutsis, 83, of Middlebury, passed away peace-fully at Waterbury Hospital Monday, Nov. 17, 2014, sur-rounded by his lov-

ing family and friends. He was the husband of Nora (Pap-adopoulos) Papoutsis.

Elias was born in Vatousa, Greece, on Dec. 2, 1930, a son of the late Yianni and Merope (Ka-loniatou) Papoutsis. He was an electrician in Greece, and in Au-gust 1968, he immigrated with his family to the United States. He worked for Scovill Manufac-turing, Century Brass and the Fosdick Corporation until his retirement in 1995.

He devoted his life to his be-loved Holy Trinity Greek Ortho-dox Church in Waterbury as chantor, Greek School teacher, a volunteer at their annual Greek Festival and so much more. He was honored by the Greek com-munity as “Greek Mayor of the Day” and “Father of the Year,” an honor which he established at the church, and was also a Sons of Pericles Hall of Fame honoree. He was one of the founding members of PAIDEIA, a non-profit organization dedicated to

educating students of all ages about the Hellenic language and culture.

Besides his wife, Nora, of 55 years, Elias leaves his daughter, Myrsini Papoutsis of Middlebury; a sister, Victoria Mihalakelli of Greece; brother-in-laws, Michael Papadopoulos and his wife, Mar-itsa, and Dr. George Papadopou-los and his wife, Chrysoula, all of Greece; his sister-in-law, Avra Mihaelaras, and her husband, Peter, of Clearwater, Fla.; and many nieces and nephews and great-nieces and -nephews. He was predeceased by his brother, Ignatios Papoutsis, and sister-in-law, Milothea Papoutsis.

The funeral was Thursday, Nov. 20, at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church with burial following at New Pine Grove Cemetery.

The family would like to thank all the doctors, nurses, aides and staff at Waterbury Hospital, St. Mary’s Hospital, Glendale Health Center and the Cheshire House for the excellent care provided to Elias.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to either Holy Trinity Greek Ortho-dox Church, 937 Chase Parkway, Waterbury, CT 06708 or National Brain Tumor Society, 55 Chapel St., Suite 200, Newtown, MA 02458. For more information or to send e-condolences, visit www.chaseparkwaymemorial.com.

Ruth (charbonneau) Rooney

Middlebury’s first police woman

Ruth (Charbon-neau) Rooney, 89, of Woodbury passed away with her fam-ily by her side Wednesday, Nov. 5, at Waterbury Hos-

pital after a brief illness. She was preceded in death by her hus-band, Richard Rooney. Ruth was born July 2, 1925.

Ruth was the first official po-lice woman as well as a police and fire dispatcher in Middle-bury. She worked for the post office for over 30 years. Ruth drove a school bus, worked at Kmart, and volunteered for the Red Cross and American Heart Association. Ruth was a mem-ber/veteran of the Middlebury Fire Department Ladies Auxil-iary.

Ruth is survived by five chil-dren, Jean Dawes and her hus-band, Robert, of Middlebury; Robert Charbonneau and his wife, Cathy, of Hurley, Wisc.; Donn Charbonneau and his wife, Judy, of Washington; Linda Carl-

son and her husband, Paul, of Woodbury; and Karen Titcomb and her husband, Brooks, of Woodbury. She also leaves a sis-ter, Elsie Mellette; her brother, Howard (Skip) Northrop of Mid-dlebury; and sister Nancy North-rop of Arizona.

Ruth had 19 grandchildren: Robert Charbonneau and his wife, Patti; Mark Charbonneau and his wife, June; Brian Char-bonneau; Michael Charbonneau and his wife, Katie; Kevin Dawes and his wife, Jennie; Tammy Rapp and her husband, Adam; Kristine Boisits and her husband, Michael; Becky Ziminsky and her husband, Eric; Carissa Charbon-neau; Tiffany Hill and her hus-band, Matt; Troy Bertagnoli and his wife, Sarah; Lindsey Ericson and her husband, Kevin; Dawn Corbo and her husband,Colin; Ashley Carlson and her compan-ion, Ryan; Eric Carlson and his companion, Kate; Bobby Freer and his wife, Robin; Billy Freer and his wife, Andria; Dawn Em-manuel and her husband, Mi-chael; and Shawn Titcomb and his wife, Jennifer. She also had 23 great-grandchildren.

A memorial service Nov. 8 was followed by burial at New North Cemetery in Woodbury. In lieu of flowers, memorial contribu-tions can be made to Cystic Fi-brosis Foundation, 5055 E. Wash-ington St., Suite 130, Phoenix, AZ 85034 or the Woodbury Ambu-lance Association, P.O. Box 581, Woodbury, CT 06798. The Wood-bury Funeral Home of Mun-son-Lovetere handled arrange-ments. For online condolences, visit www.munsonloveterefu-neral.com.

Joan M. woosterFormer president Church

of the Infinite Spirit

Joan M. (Chesnav-ich) (Cassidy) Wooster, 78, of Wol-cott passed away peacefully Tues-day, Nov. 11, 2014, at the Vitas Innova-

tion Hospice Care Unit at Saint Mary’s Hospital. She was the widow of Homer P. Wooster Jr.

Joan was born in Waterbury Jan. 1, 1936, the daughter of Wal-ter Anthony and Margaret (Rik-teraitis) Chesnavich, and lived most of her life in Oakville and Waterbury. She graduated from South School in Oakville in 1949 as valedictorian and Watertown High School in 1953 as one of the top five highest-ranking students in the class. Later in life she at-tended Tunxis Community Col-lege in Farmington, where she studied graphic arts and design.

She worked as a secretary for many years and, after studying

It Happened in Middlebury

By DR. ROBERT L. RAFFORD

There is no shortage of heroes in Middlebury’s past and pres-ent. Of our women and men who have answered the call to duty and served and continue to serve our nation in its times of greatest need – our educators, research-ers, pioneers, inventors, scien-tists and those who also stand and wait – we always will be proud. Raymond F. Tyler was one of our Middlebury heroes.

While scanning in pages from Ruth Hickcox Benson’s scrap-books, I was captivated by a story jumping off the pages from 77 years ago. In volume 3, page 45, there was an original photograph of the German airship LZ 129 Hindenburg as it flew over Mid-dlebury on Oct. 9, 1936, on what would be its last round trip to Frankfort, Germany. A passenger on the ship was Middlebury na-tive Raymond F. Tyler (1894-1965). The photograph probably was taken by Ernest Benson, Ruth’s husband and partner in her series of eight scrapbook al-bums owned by the Middlebury Historical Society.

Sure enough, 16 pages later, newspaper accounts of the Hin-denburg’s dramatic destruction were carefully pasted into Ruth’s book. A few articles and photo-graphs told the airship’s tragic story of exploding and burning in just 32 seconds at its landing site at the Naval Air Station at Lakehurst, N.J., May 6, 1937. The attached Waterbury American news articles reported the Hin-denburg was the largest and most luxurious of the 150 or so Zeppelins built in the 36 years since Count Ferdinand von Zep-

pelin flew the first historical flight. It was 803 feet long, carried a crew of 40 and 50 passengers and had a payload of 15 tons; it was powered by four huge 1,000-horsepower diesel engines and had a maximum airspeed of 84 miles per hour.

Commanding the ground crew at Lakehurst that fateful day was none other than Lieut. Ray-mond Farrington Tyler who had flown on the Hindenburg just seven months earlier. A Middle-

bury native, he was born in 1894, the son of William Pierce Tyler (1862-1932) and his wife Ada Wyckoff (1859-1925). Raymond and his wife, Margaret, had two children, Owen and Louise, both born in New Jersey. They were teenagers when their father faced one of the most intense chal-lenges of his life.

Among the fatalities that day were 13 of the 36 passengers, 22 of the 61 crewmen, and one ground crewman. Lieut. Tyler gal-

vanized his crew of 200 into im-mediate action at the explosion, and they were responsible for saving many lives. Miraculously, two-thirds, 62, survived.

Lieut. Tyler had a remarkable career as an expert on lighter-than-air craft. He had com-manded blimps (non-rigid struc-tures) and was on the crew of many more. He was a member of the crew of the USS Shenandoah, built in 1923 at Lakehurst and de-stroyed in a storm in Ohio in 1925.

He piloted a navy balloon to fourth place in an annual national balloon race and was on the crew of a dirigible (both lighter-than-air craft) that blew away from its mooring in Newfoundland during the night and was never found. He made a number of flights over Middlebury during his career so townspeople could look up and see his ship as he flew over. On one trip he dropped a note from his craft addressed to Raymond J. Fanning, managing editor of the

Waterbury American newspaper, expressing his disappointment at not being able to visit with him for a chat.

In addition, Lieut. Tyler was an expert in helium. If the Hinden-burg had filled with non-inflam-mable helium, the disaster could have been avoided, he said. While the disaster greatly curbed the en-thusiasm for airships, this Middle-bury hero remained a stalwart proponent for the use of dirigibles, even after the Hindenburg tragedy.

Lieut. Tyler’s later career was described thus: “Lieutenant Com-mander Tyler was assigned com-mand of Lighter-Than-Air Squad-ron Five on 16 December 1941. He was promoted to commander on 20 August 1942 and assumed command of Airship Group One in January 1943. He was promoted to captain on 20 June 1943 and was in command of Airship Wing One when World War II ended. Captain Tyler was placed on the retired list on 2 January 1947.” (Historical Manuscripts, Navy Department Library, Naval His-tory and Heritage Command, Washington, D.C., Raymond C. Tyler Collection.)

Ruth Benson chronicled much of Middlebury’s history through most of the early to mid-1900s. We are scanning her books to make them available online and could use one or two interested volunteers to complete the work. Please call if you can help.

Bob Rafford is the Middlebury Historical Society president and Middlebury’s municipal historian. To join or contact the society, visit MiddleburyHistoricalSociety.org or call Bob at 203-206-4717. Your membership would be a valuable addition.

middlebury has Hindenburg connection

The German airship Hindenburg floats over Middlebury in 1936. The airship exploded and burned seven months later.(Middlebury Historical Society photo)

graphic arts, she worked at sev-eral printing companies doing computer typesetting and design layout. She also was the office manager for her husband’s busi-ness, H.W. Transmissions, for seven years before he retired. She was the secretary of Deerwood Hills Condominium Association of Waterbury from 2005 through 2010.

She was an active member of The Church of The Infinite Spirit in Newington, serving on the board, as trustee, secretary and also past president for a total of 15 years. She also was a trustee on the board of the Connecticut State Spiritualist Association for 10 years. She enjoyed dancing, ceramics, drawing, art, decorat-ing and working with computers. She and her husband also en-joyed traveling to various U.S. states and cruising to Bermuda, the Caribbean Islands, Alaska and Hawaii.

Joan leaves her son, Brian Cas-sidy and his wife, Tracey, of Mid-dlebury; her daughter, Sandra

(Cassidy) Calder and her hus-band, Jake, of Naugatuck; four grandchildren: Erin Calder, Nikolas and Tyler Cassidy, and Kevin Olson; three stepdaugh-ters: Janice Hannis and her hus-band, Al, of N.C.; Nancy Flaherty and her husband, Kevin, of Tor-rington; and Laurie Allen and her husband, Chris, of South-bury; and their children and grandchildren. She was prede-ceased by a son, Scott Patrick Cassidy, and her brother, Walter J. Chesnavich, Ph.D.

The family would like to thank the staff at Vitas Innovative Hos-pice Care for all their kindness and wonderful care. Also a spe-cial thanks to her friends Arlene, Angie, Mary and Janet for all your love and support. She will be deeply missed by her family and friends.

The funeral service was Nov. 15. Burial followed at New Pine Grove Cemetery in Waterbury. For more information or to send e-condolences, visit www.chaseparkwaymemorial.com.

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While it can be helpful to peri-odically examine our past actions and experiences to learn from our mistakes and draw inspiration, confidence and strength from our victories, it can be unproductive if we overdo it. Thinking exces-sively about the past can rob us of valuable time to focus on what is truly important, namely what we need to be doing in the present.

The same is true with regard to thinking about the future. We cer-tainly should have our goals clearly in mind as we go through each day, do our best to anticipate future obstacles and challenges, and approach the future with a sense of purpose and positive ex-pectancy, but thinking too much about what we could do or what might happen can detract from what we should be doing right now.

It’s important to recognize that the more time and energy we spend thinking about the past and future, the less we have available to focus on making the right deci-sions and implementing the ap-propriate behaviors to deal with the critically important here and now. Furthermore, we usually can’t change or duplicate what happened yesterday, and rarely can we accurately predict or in-fluence what will happen tomor-row. The only things we really have control over are those that are happening in our lives in the pres-ent.

Focusing too much on the past or future can be especially unpro-ductive if our thoughts are nega-tive. People who hash over past mistakes, failures and disappoint-ments can bring a great deal of negative energy to the present, which can diminish self-confi-dence and significantly under-mine their current efforts toward success and happiness. Similarly, those who worry excessively about the future not only often worry unnecessarily, they also can fail to recognize opportunities to ap-preciate the value and joy of their current moments.

It is natural to be drawn to thoughts about our past and fu-ture, but life is lived in the present, one moment at a time. We need to continually try to stay focused on the now of our life – what we can do now, what we can say now, how we are feeling now, what we believe now and what we want to happen now. Yesterday is gone forever, and tomorrow will be here soon enough.

Now is the time to capture the moment to hug that child, com-pliment a coworker, apologize for

something we are sincerely sorry for or take advantage of an oppor-tunity. After all, the past is only a memory and the future is just a possibility. They are simply illu-sions. Neither really exists.

If there are changes we’d like to make in life, we need to accept life as it is and recognize that now is the time to take action. If we’re living in the past, we can’t do any-thing about it; it’s gone. If we’re worrying about the future, we’re living somewhere that hasn’t hap-pened yet. If we want to make changes in our lives, the only time is the present.

Today is the present of your life and mine. Today is when our to-morrows are born and our yester-days are buried. Today is when our future outcomes and our memo-ries of them are created. Let’s ap-preciate and take full advantage of today, for we will not be expe-riencing it again.

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past or worry about the future, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” – Buddha

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

Trying to save on a limited in-come can be tough, but it’s not impossible. What’s required is the determination to succeed at sav-ing. Here are some ideas for get-ting started.• Make holiday gift giving for the

kids only this year. Let the adults in your circle of family and friends know you’ll be lim-iting the gifts you buy. Chances are they will be relieved.

• Stick to your list at the grocery store. No extras, even if you find a bargain. There will be new bargains next week.

• Use your tax refund next year to buy savings bonds, up to a limit of $5,000 per year. The Series I bonds can be pur-chased with some or all of your refund. You’ll need to file a Form 8888, Allocation of Re-

fund (Including Bond Pur-chases). This needs to be done in $50 increments. Years down the road when you cash in your bonds, you’ll need to pay taxes on the interest. The term of ownership is a minimum of one year, so be sure your emergency fund is in place before you com-mit all of your refund. If you redeem the bonds before five years, you forfeit the three most recent months of interest. The benefit of having money tucked away in savings bonds is that you can’t access it on a whim.

• Ask for reductions in costs for cable, auto insurance and other payments. Chances are they’d rather work with you than lose you as a customer. Put the extra money into savings.

• Buy second-hand where you can. Careful shopping can get you nearly new clothing and small appliances at Salvation Army or Goodwill stores. Put the extra money into savings.

• Consider taking a temporary part-time job. Retail (especially during the holiday season) is a good place to start.

• Don’t let yourself get hungry. Sounds odd, but the truth is that if you’re away from home,

you’re more likely to cave in and venture into a restaurant. The same goes for grocery shopping: Eat before you go to keep from succumbing to the temptations on every aisle.

• If you have extra room in your house, consider using AirBnB as a way to rent out space to visitors for a few days. Price your space lower than local ho-tels and save the money.David Uffington regrets he can-

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


start saving while on limited budget

Winning WaysBy PAT IANNUZZI

Insights for Constructive Living

Living life in the present

check events on the community calendar at

www.bee-news.com

Pomperaug High school Varsity Games

It is now December and, along with holiday shopping and family gatherings, you should add year-end tax planning to your list of things to do before the New Year. Here are a few ideas to think about.1. Consider making certain tax-

deductible payments in De-cember rather than January to get the tax benefit on this year’s tax return rather than a year from now. Examples are your real estate tax payment that is due Jan. 1, fourth-quarter esti-mated state (but not federal) tax payments and medical ex-penses (if you are going to have sufficient expenses in this cat-egory to get a tax benefit — 7.5 to 10 percent of your income). Also, if you are going to owe taxes on your state tax return come April 15, you might want to pay that before Dec. 31.

2. If you are contemplating mak-ing donations to charity early

next year, consider making them before year end instead. This includes non-cash dona-tions such as used clothing and household effects. (Make sure you get receipts and are pre-pared to show the IRS how you arrived at the amount you wish to claim for tax purposes.)

3. Bunch deductions – You are allowed to take a standard de-duction of $6,200 if single ($12,400 if married) or actual itemized deductions, which-ever is higher. If your actual deductions are close to the standard amount but not quite there, consider bunching de-ductions every other year. For example, pay your Jan. 1 real estate tax bill in January and

then later that same year pay the next Jan. 1 bill in Decem-ber, thus making three pay-ments in the one calendar year (including the July 1 payment). This might be sufficient to en-able you to exceed the stan-dard deduction.

4. If you have a cash method business, consider prepaying certain expenses in December and deferring income into 2015 if possible. Similarly if you are planning on acquiring business assets early next year, consider doing that in 2014 to accelerate the depreciation on those assets.

5. Take advantage of tax-deduct-ible contributions into tradi-tional IRAs and other IRS-ap-proved retirement accounts.

6. If you are over 59-½ and are in a low tax bracket, consider taking extra distributions out of your IRA account, which could get those funds out tax

free or at very small tax cost.7. Capital losses – If you have

unused capital losses carried over from prior years from sell-ing investments, or have gen-erated such losses earlier in 2014, consider selling other investments where you have gains. This could make those gains effectively tax free.The above ideas are very

general and may not apply to all people. Factors that need to be considered are whether or not you are subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax or AMT (a topic in itself ), whether you take the standard deduction or itemize, and also if you expect to be in a different tax bracket this year versus next year. Make sure you consult with your tax adviser.

Mark A. Burns, M.B.A. is a C.P.A. with Diversified Financial Solutions PC in Southbury. He can be reached at 203-264-3131 or [email protected].

Diversified Tax Tidbits

By MARK A. BURNs

Year-end tax planning

Date Time Address/Incident10-27 13:59 49 Yale Ave. Lawn tractor fire. Extinguished

by PD3 with fire extinguisher and home-owner’s garden hose. Murray riding tractor.

10-29 16:09 500 Woodside Ave. Fire alarm activated. Caused by microwave popcorn. Alarm reset.

10-31 00:37 705 Breakneck Hill Road. Carbon monox-ide alarm activation. Zero readings. Home-owner advised to change batteries in detec-tors.

11-01 16:31 253 Three Mile Hill Road. Fully involved ve-hicle fire.

11-02 12:56 Route 188. Tree fell on wires. Blocking road. CL&P and Conn. Dept. of Transportation contacted.

11-02 14:44 Hop Brook Park. Small fire in barbecue pit.11-04 17:05 Route 64. Two-car motor vehicle accident.

No injuries. Campion took two refusals.11-06 09:37 459 Straits Turnpike. Furnace malfunction.

Everything found to be normal. Alarm reset.11-06 13:11 I-84 West. Three-car motor vehicle accident.

Four occupants. Three were transported by Campion Ambulance.

11-07 08:53 Straits Turnpike at Park Road. Two-car mo-tor vehicle accident. Minor injuries. One pa-tient transported by Campion.

11-07 17:56 I-84 West. Vehicle fire. Left rear tire. Fire ex-tinguished. Vehicle removed from roadway.

11-09 14:31 I-84 West. Motor vehicle accident. No inju-ries.

11-11 10:54 I-84 West. Motor vehicle accident in Water-bury.

11-11 16:02 Steeplechase Drive. One-car motor vehicle accident. Patient transported to hospital.

11-11 17:11 Straits Turnpike. Four-car motor vehicle ac-cident. One patient transported.

11-11 20:20 North Benson Road. Motor vehicle acci-dent. No injuries.

11-12 07:21 11 Nutmeg Road. Activated fire alarm set off by cook. Reset alarm.

11-18 20:51 930 Straits Turnpike. Mild smoke in the building with odor. Nothing found. Possible HVAC start-up smell.

11-21 15:35 I-84 East. Two-car motor vehicle accident. One patient transported by MVFD. Two pa-tients transported by Southbury.

11-22 05:59 431 Three Mile Hill Road. Furnace malfunc-tion set off alarm.

middlebury volunteer Fire Department call Log

Dec. 1 to 31, 2014Boys’ BasketballWednesday, Dec. 17 ............ New Milford (A) .................................... 7 p.m.Monday, Dec. 22 ................. Joel Barlow (H) ..................................... 7 p.m.Saturday, Dec. 27 ................ Northwestern (H) .................................. 7 p.m.Tuesday, Dec. 30 .................Middletown (H)7 .................................. 7 p.m.

Girls’ BasketballWednesday, Dec. 10 ............ Norwich Free Academy (A) ............... 5:15 p.m.Friday, Dec. 12 ....................Masuk Tip-off Tournament (A) ................... TBAFriday, Dec. 19 .................... Newtown Tournament (A) ...................... 5 p.m.Saturday, Dec. 20 ................ Newtown Tournament (A) .......................... TBATuesday, Dec. 23 ................. Kolbe Cathedral (H) .............................. 7 p.m.Saturday, Dec. 27 ................ Plainville Holiday Tournament (A) .......... 3 p.m.Monday, Dec. 29 ................. Plainville Holiday Tournament (A) .............. TBA

Ice HockeyWednesday, Dec. 10 ............ Shepaug Jamboree (A) .................... 7:15 p.m.Saturday, Dec. 13 ................ Shelton Jamboree (A) ........................... 6 p.m.Wednesday, Dec. 17 ............ Trumbull (H) ......................................... 8 p.m.Saturday, Dec. 20 ................Wilton (A) ........................................ 8:50 p.m.Monday, Dec. 22 ................. Fermi/Enfield/E. Granby/Stafford (H) ... 6 p.m.Saturday, Dec. 27 ................ Trinity Catholic (H) ........................... 7:30 p.m.Monday, Dec. 29 ................. Stamford (A) ............................................ TBA

Boys Indoor TrackFriday, Dec. 19 .................... New Haven Invitational (A) ........................ TBASaturday, Dec. 27 ................Wesleyan Invitational (A) .......................... TBA

Girls Indoor TrackFriday, Dec. 19 .................... New Haven Invitational (A) ........................ TBASaturday, Dec. 27 ................Wesleyan Invitational (A) .......................... TBA

Boys’ Swimming and DivingTuesday, Dec. 23 ................. Joel Barlow (A) ..................................... 4 p.m.

WrestlingWednesday, Dec. 17 ............Masuk (H) ............................................ 7 p.m.Saturday, Dec. 20 ................ Pomperaug Holiday Invitational (H) ....... 9 a.m.Saturday, Dec. 27 ................ Frank Chaves Invitational (A) ................9 a.ml.

(H) Home (A) Away

The Middlebury Lions’ Club 2014 holiday ornament features the nostalgia of The Middlebury Store, a Middlebury institution for over 100 years. First known as The Bissell Store, the building was moved from its original site at Westover School about 1908. In 1940, it was rebuilt after it was destroyed by fire.

Over the years it operated un-der several names including The Middlebury Store and Ferrante and Delaney. This building also housed the post office and for many years overlooked the Judd’s Corner Trolley Stop. The structure, though modified, be-came Perrotti’s Pizza and exists today as Pies and Pints at the

intersection of West Street and Store Avenue.

Proceeds from ornament sales support the many local as well as national Lions Club causes. Ornaments are provided with a ribbon for hanging at $20 each or $25 with a stand for placement on a table or mantel. They are available the first week in De-cember at Sullivan’s Jewelers, Larry’s Package Store, the Mid-dlebury tax collector’s office at Town Hall and at the Parks and Recreation Department at Shep-ardson Community Center.

They were produced by Hestia Creations of Marblehead, Mass. in hand-painted acrylic.

middlebury store on Lions’ holiday

ornament

This year’s Middlebury Lions Club ornament. (Submitted photo)


1. It was 1988 the last time the Dodgers won the World Se-ries.

2. Roger Clemens (1997, ‘98) and Pedro Martinez (1999).

3. Pittsburgh’s Tony Dorsett (1973-76).

4. It was 1996.5. Jacques Demers, in the 1989-

90 season.6. Costa Rica, in 1990.7. Marco Pantani, in 1998.


1. Entering 2014, when was the last time the Los Angeles Dodgers won an N.L. pennant?

2. Three times in the 1990s, a pitcher led the American League in wins, strikeouts and ERA in the same season. Name either of the pitchers to do it.

3. In 1999, Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne became the fourth run-ning back to rush for 1,000-plus yards each of four consecutive seasons. Name the first to do it.

4. Gregg Popovich currently is the longest-tenured coach in the NBA. What year did he take over the San Antonio Spurs?

5. The Detroit Red Wings have made 23 consecutive NHL playoff appearances. Who was their coach the last time they didn’t reach the playoffs?

6. Name the first Central Ameri-can men’s soccer team to win a World Cup game.

7. Who was the last Italian cyclist before Vincenzo Nibali in 2014 to win the Tour de France?

Answers:

Internationally known for his expertise in orthopaedic surgery, Dr. Keggi played an instrumental role in building Waterbury Hospital’s world-class orthopaedic surgery program. Dr. Keggi pioneered the anterior approach to total hip arthoplasty, a muscle-sparing, minimally invasive approach, and is currently working with colleagues on a book about this method.

For more than 50 years, Dr. Keggi has been teaching and training orthopaedic surgeons at the Yale University School of Medicine, but his devotion to medicine and orthopaedics spans the globe. Through the Keggi Orthopaedic Foundation, founded by Dr. Keggi, hundreds of surgeons and other medical professionals from 12 different countries have been granted fellowships so they could learn and be trained in more modern surgical techniques—with Waterbury Hospital as their training site.

Beyond his outstanding contributions to the field of orthopaedics and training generations of surgeons, Dr. Keggi is known as a mentor, friend, colleague, and “Renaissance man.” As one colleague described him, “Dr. Keggi exemplifies all that a member of the human race should do.”

The 2014 Humanitarian Award was presented to Dr. Keggi at Waterbury Hospital’s 15th Annual Gala on Saturday, November 15, 2014 at La Bella Vista in Waterbury.

Waterbury Hospital’s

2014Humanitarian

Yearof the

World-Renowned Pioneer in Orthopaedic Surgery

www.waterburyhospital.org

Orthopaedic Surgeon and Elihu Professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at Yale University School of Medicine

Kristaps Keggi, MD, Dr. Med. (h.c.)

Congratulations and thank you, Dr. Keggi, for your visionary leadership.

By T.J. OsTRANDER

The Panthers’ Nov. 14 home game against the Joel Barlow Fal-cons couldn’t have been scripted any better. Before the game, the Panthers seniors were honored; during the game they dominated. The Panthers snapped their three-game losing streak, beating Barlow 27-14.

The Pomperaug defense made tremendous strides in previous weeks and kept it rolling Friday by turning in one of their best defen-sive performances of the season. The Falcons immediately tried to establish the run game on the Pan-thers during their first drive. How-ever, from the first play, the Pan-thers were ready to set the tone for the evening. The Falcons found themselves punting after three consecutive run plays were stone-walled by Pomperaug. The punt was muffed by the Panthers and the Falcons fell on top of it, setting themselves up with excellent field position.

“Our team was extremely phys-ical, more physical than I think we’ve been all season long,” Coach James Reed said about his defen-sive unit.

The team’s physicality showed just two plays after they turned the ball over to Joel Barlow. The Fal-cons ran the ball yet again, and the ball popped out as the Pan-thers swarmed. Spencer Pope, who had fumbled the ball on the punt return, redeemed himself only two plays later as he recov-ered the loose ball for the Pan-thers.

Despite the defensive success, the Panthers offense had been struggling mightily coming into Friday night’s game. Last week, the team could muster only 13 points in their loss at Masuk. Fri-day, they clearly were a different team. Quarterback Wade Prajer used his legs early as he slashed the Falcon defense and pushed the ball downfield. Then he con-nected with Troy Sullivan on a crucial third down play to keep the Panther drive alive. Eventually, Prajer found old reliable Jimmy Christiano for a 37-yard touch-down pass. The Panthers had

drawn first blood, leading 7-0 with 6:02 left in the first quarter.

The Falcons, however, showed they were not willing to go down easily. After a great kick return brought them onto the Pomper-aug side of the field, their running game finally found a hole in the Panthers’ defense. Quarterback Bryan Gallaer ran 28 yards for a Falcon touchdown, tying the game at 7-7 with 3:17 to go in the open-ing quarter.

Prajer continued to assert his dominance early into the second quarter. Joel Barlow had forced Pomperaug into a tough fourth-down situation deep on their side of the field. Reed elected to go for it instead of taking a field goal try, and the decision paid off. Prajer found Mike Curcio wide open for a touchdown, giving the lead back to Pomperaug. It was now 14-7 with 10:20 left in the second quar-ter.

The relentless Pomperaug de-fense kept at it, as Barlow fumbled and the Panthers’ Kevin Nadler recovered. The Panthers were in a position they hadn’t really been

in all season – they had a chance to take a two-score lead. Pomper-aug gave Prajer’s arm a break on the drive; using their running at-tack, the Panthers put the ball in for another score. This time it was Dean Guerrera taking it across the goal-line for Pomperaug. The Pan-thers lead was extended to 21-7 with 5 minutes left in the first half.

Spencer Pope recovered his second fumble of the day on the ensuing kickoff. The Falcon de-fense, however, buckled down in the second quarter, and neither team scored again before halftime. The Panthers took a 21-7 lead to the locker room.

The Panthers came out in the second half ready to play. Having lost three consecutive games, they were ready to make sure this one didn’t get away from them. Using their ground attack, the Panthers ran the ball down the Falcons’ throat. Jake Hardwell had some key runs, and Prajer took a 1-yard quarterback sneak across the goal line. The Panthers upped their lead to 27-7 with 9 minutes left in the third quarter.

Joel Barlow was not ready to give in quite yet though. It took the Falcons only 1:50 to drive the length of the field for a touch-down, capped off by a 50-yard dash. The Falcons were back in the game trailing 27-14 with 7:20 left in the third.

Penalties threw the Panther offense out of whack for the rest of the game, and they did not score again. The Panther defense rose to the occasion, protecting the team’s 13-point lead. The game moved into the fourth quarter with the score still 27-14.

With the offense still sputtering, the Panther defense held off the Falcons in the fourth quarter. Key sacks of the quarterback by Tom Satkowski, Sullivan and Christiano led the way. The Falcons were never able to move the ball past midfield in the fourth quarter, and time ran out on them. Pomperaug had snapped their losing streak with a 27-14 win.

Senior Wade Prajer led the way for the Panthers. He threw two touchdowns and ran for one as well. Not to be overlooked was the

effective defensive and special teams play. Prajer delivered some bone-crushing tackles and also did an excellent job punting for the team.

“Wade is a guy who is such a great athlete, the more he’s in-volved the better he plays,” Reed said of his star quarterback.

The Panthers move to 4-6 on their season, while Joel Barlow falls to 4-6. Pomperaug’s last game of the season was to be Nov. 26, the night before Thanksgiving, when they played Notre Dame-Fairfield (ND) at 7 p.m. Going into the game the Panthers were ex-pected to see one of their best offensive performances of the season as ND had allowed the op-position at least a 27-point lead in every game this season and their record stood at 0-9 after they lost to Brookfield 52-14 Nov. 15.

Editor’s note: Due to the holi-day, the newspaper was printed before the latest game results were available. See results at www.bee-news.com.

Pomperaug High School’s offensive line gets set to square off with the Joel Barlow Falcons’ defense on a goal-line play in the second quarter of their Nov. 14 game. The Panthers worked hard to earn a 27-14 win over the Falcons. (T.J. Ostrander photo)

panthers seniors own night

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By MARJORIE NEEDHAM

Viso Bello Day Spa in Middle-bury is celebrating its 25th birth-day this December with a “sparty” Wednesday, Dec. 10, from 3 to 9 p.m. at the spa at 900 Straits Turn-pike in Middlebury. The event will include a 5:45 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Greater Water-bury Chamber of Commerce, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, prizes and gift card promotions. If you plan to attend, please RSVP by Dec. 1 to [email protected].

Co-owner Dan Settani Jr. said of the business, “I really like this business. I like what we do. We offer a time away from life. People come here just to get away from the rigors of daily life.”

He didn’t always work at the spa. When he was younger, “Go West, young man” was calling to him and he moved to California, where he worked for Paramount Pictures. In 2006, he gave up his West Coast living, returned to his Connecticut roots and became Viso Bello’s spa director. “I kind of came home and never looked back,” Dan said. He does return to California once a year to visit friends he made while living there.

After his mother retired in 2012, Dan Jr. bought the spa along with his best friend since fourth grade, Andrew O’Hazo. Dan Jr. said O’Hazo is the spa’s chief financial officer and mainly works behind the scenes.

Dan Jr. attributes the spa’s suc-cess to five things that set it apart from other spas:• Affordable memberships for

monthly massages and facials• Complimentary LED multi-light

therapy after facials • Having the aestheticians stay in

the room with clients through-out their appointment, provid-ing services such as arm, foot and lower leg massages.

• Complimentary makeup touch-ups following facials

• Eminence organic skin care products for peels, toner and serums.Dan Jr. initiated the monthly

massage membership program in 2008. Members pay $64 a month for one 60-minute massage (nor-mally $100). If they want a second or third massage in the same month, the cost is $50 each. There also is a membership program for those who prefer a 90-minute massage.

The most recent membership program is the skin-care mem-bership, or facial membership. Instead of paying $115, members pay $83 a month for a facial, which is followed by a compli-mentary LED multi-light therapy and a complimentary makeup touch-up.

When Grace Medical Aesthet-ics opened, Dan Jr. entered into a collaboration with them to pro-vide laser hair removal to his cli-ents. Viso Bello also offers Versa spray tanning. A tanning mem-bership is $45 a month. Addi-tional services can be found on-line at visobello.com, where you also can purchase gift certificates, book an appointment or take ad-vantage of one of the daily spe-cials.

Viso Bello was owned by Patri-cia and Dan Settani Sr. when it opened its doors Dec. 15, 1989, as Beaux Visages. The first tenant in a brand new building, it offered facials and makeup. Manicures and pedicures were added later.

The original spa space was 3,400 square feet. In 2009, the spa expanded into an additional 1,963 square feet, and in 2012, it ex-panded into another 2,225 square feet, part of which is occupied by Grace Medical Aesthetics. An-other 2,060 square feet is taken up by offices, a laundry and a break room for employees. All told, Dan Jr said, the spa now fills about 9,800 square feet.

He said, “We did this (the ex-pansion) when everything was falling apart. And we were able to continue hiring.” The business has grown to 30 employees in 2014 from the 12 employees it had

when Dan Jr. became the spa di-rector in 2006.

The business also has under-gone cosmetic changes. “I like keeping everything fresh and new,” Dan Jr. said. “We changed the whole front area in 2013 to 2014. Now we’ll work on the wait-ing area in 2015.”

Viso Bello can be reached at 203-598-7525 or [email protected]. The spa is open Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Mon-day and Tuesday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Wednesday 12 to 9 p.m., Thurs-day 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

DEAR PAW’S CORNER: It seems like everyone is hopping on the gluten-free bandwagon these days, including my friend, who has put her entire family on a gluten-free diet – including her two dogs! Is such a strict diet healthy for pets? – Clara in San DiegoDEAR CLARA: For dogs, as long as their nutritional needs are being met – getting enough calories to maintain a healthy weight, along with enough protein and vital nutrients – a gluten-free diet should not be harmful at all.

In fact, some premium dog foods (dry and wet) are being marketed as gluten-free. As to whether all of them are truly gluten-free, I can’t say – there is little or no regulation in how pet foods are labeled.

Is gluten-free truly helpful for dogs and cats? Again, no one can say for certain. But I’ve heard plenty of anecdotes from fellow pet owners – their pets have increased energy, or their fur coats are shinier, and many even say that certain behavior problems have gone away on this type of diet.

I’ve also heard the same from proponents of the raw food diet,

the all-organic diet and brewer’s yeast supplements.

Regardless of the type of diet, it’s always beneficial to pets when their owners take a deep interest in what they eat and where their food comes from. They monitor their pets more closely, and that attention can help reveal other causes of behavior or health issues beyond a dietary cause. They also tend to be in closer contact with their pets’ veterinarians, meaning their pets get routine care, vaccinations and other health checks on schedule. That’s great for pets’ health overall.

So, don’t worry about your neighbors’ dogs. If they look healthy and happy and well-cared-for, the type of food they eat is not a problem.Send your questions or comments to [email protected].


gluten-free pets?

Diesel is a rescue kitty who was saved. When he was 3 weeks old, someone put him in a plastic bag they knotted and threw away. He’s now 6 months old and has four other rescue siblings.

PET OF THE MONTH

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Your pet could be featured as “Pet of the Month” on this page. 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.

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Viso Bello Day Spa co-owner Dan Settani Jr. will host a 25th birth-day party for the business Dec. 10. The spa was founded in 1989 by his parents.

viso Bello celebrates 25 years

One of three couples massage rooms at Viso Bello Day Spa lets couples share their massage experi-ence. (Submitted photos)


This publication does not know-ingly accept advertising which is deceptive, fraudulent, or which might otherwise violate the law or accepted standards of taste. However, this publication does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of any advertisement, nor the quality of the goods or services advertised. Readers are cautioned to thoroughly investigate all claims made in any advertisements, and to use good judgment and reasonable care, particularly when dealing with persons unknown to you who ask for money in advance of delivery of the goods or ser-vices advertised.

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GUITAR LESSONS: The Childbloom Guitar Program has come to Middlebury, Conn. Middlebury Academy of Guitar In Connecticut (M.A.G.I.C.) has opened in The Middlebury Hamlet at 1255 Middlebury Rd. on the second floor of The Brass City Ballet. Now accepting students from 5-13. First class free with assessment and placement into class. Classes of no more than four students. Check out the webpage at middlebury.childbloom.com. Contact Di-rector Mort Melman at [email protected] or call 203-490-4661.

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Monthly SUDOKU

About 100 residents of Oxford, Middlebury, Southbury and Naugatuck gathered at the Con-necticut Siting Council in New Britain Nov. 13 to protest an ap-plication by Massachu-setts-based Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) to build a power plant near the Oxford Airport off Woodruff Hill Road. Approval from the council is necessary for CPV’s request to expand to 805 megawatts the permits issued in 1999 for a 512-megawatt plant. The council decided to reopen the docket and schedule a series of public hearings on conditions that have changed since the orig-inal approvals.

Nearly 15 years ago, the Town of Middlebury and some of its citizens loudly, and in some cases with legal action, protested the building of a large power plant within 500 feet of the Mid-dlebury town line and very close to Middlebury homes in the Washington Drive area. Although the plant was approved, con-struction never started. Now CPV proposes to begin construction of the plant.

Oxford First Selectman George Temple has spoken in favor of the plant because of its construc-tion jobs and tax benefits, but Middlebury First Selectman Ed-ward B. St. John spoke against it at the Aug. 4, 2014, Board of Se-lectmen meeting, saying, “We will fight the fight. We fought it before and we will fight it again.” The selectmen appointed Ray Pietrorazio as liaison to the air-port and the power plant project. Pietrorazio and attorney Steve Savarese attended the Nov. 13 meeting as intervenors repre-senting the interests of the town.

Now a broad coalition of Ox-ford residents operating under the name “Stop Towantic Power,” has responded to the proposed Towantic Power Plant at Oxford Airport by issuing a press release saying natural gas (and oil) power plants add dangerous pol-lutants to the air that seriously impact the health of people within a 10-mile radius. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has linked air pol-lutants with cancer, heart dis-ease, chronic obstructive pulmo-nary disease, asthma, respiratory symptoms, reproductive issues and birth defects. The following statements are attributable to Stop Towantic Power.

The plant also will create wa-ter problems, both in sourcing and disposal. When operating on natural gas, it will consume 40,000 gallons per day; in oil mode, it will use 750,000 gallons

per day. Stop Towantic Power believes that consuming such a large amount of water could dis-rupt our aquifer and cause water shortages. That water, which is used to scrub the two 150-foot stacks, will ultimately be dis-charged into the Naugatuck River, contaminating it and harming fish, plants and wildlife.

Connecticut has signed a De-partment of Energy pledge to the 20/20 program: 20 percent of its energy coming from renewable sources by the year 2020. We are currently at 3 percent. The con-struction of the Towantic Power Plant would render that goal un-achievable. It is also out of step with the federal government’s recommendation of building micro-energy plants as opposed to macro-energy producers.

National research studies have

shown property values will de-cline, offsetting any increase in tax revenue; air traffic will expe-rience additional risks from the extremely hot plume being emit-ted from the smokestacks; and a safety risk will be introduced into populated areas.

Stop Towantic Power urges concerned citizens to write to the Connecticut Siting Council (Ten Franklin Square, New Britain, CT 06051), their state and federal legislative representatives, local media and especially to Oxford town officials to express their displeasure and disapproval.

The group is encouraging peo-ple to attend a Thursday, Dec. 11, rally in New Britain at the Connecticut Siting Council. De-tails will be published on their web site, stoptowanticpower.com.

power plant opposition grows

A crowd stands in the lobby at the Nov. 13 Connecticut Siting Council hearing on the CPV Power Plant. They were not able to get into the conference room due to space limitations.

State Sen. Joan Hartley, left, talks to attorney Steve Savarese out-side the Connecticut Siting Council in New Britain Nov. 13.

(Terrence S. McAuliffe photos)


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My mother’s house has wooden louver shutters that have stayed open on either

side of the windows outside the house for years and years. Many of them are in disrepair. Are they worth saving, or should I replace them? – Jim H., Gardner, Mass.

The decision to repair or replace the shutters is ultimately yours. But

here are some factors you can consider as you make that deci-sion. • How many shutters are on the

house? You would likely need to replace all of them if you’re refreshing the exterior. Shutter replacement can cost between $35 and $55 per shutter.

• Are the current shutters of good quality or unique design? You may not be able to find a match.

• Would the time and effort in-volved in repairing the shutters be more than the cost of re-placement?

• Consider what it will take to remove each shutter, the amount of repair needed, the hours it will take to accomplish the repair and the cost of the supplies needed to fix them.If you decide to replace the

shutters, count how many you’ll need. To save money, you might consider replacing just the most heavily damaged with matching or near-matching shutters and

then finish replacing the rest when it’s more convenient. The risk you run, of course, is not be-ing able to purchase the same shutters later.

Find the manufacturer name and details about the shutter (like dimensions), if possible. In newer shutters, the information may be found on a sticker or tag on the inside frame edge. If there is no information, measure the height and width of the shutter. You also should measure the shutters on the second floor and any addi-tional floors or attic windows, if the house has them, as the dimen-sions may vary. Then order the shutters you’ll need along with new hardware.

If you decide to repair the shut-ters, determine which are the most damaged, which need no repair, and which need some repair or just touchups or repainting. Schedule a few hours each day or weekend to remove one set of shutters at a time and repair them.

Here’s the link to a video that details how to repair damaged exterior wooden shutters: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0,,1632408,00.html.

As the video points out, often the joints of the shutters separate, causing the louvers to slip out of place. Here’s another video that shows how a decorative shutter with minor wood rot is repaired in place: http://www.today-s h o m e o w n e r. c o m / v i d e o /how-to-repair-exterior-wood- shutters/.

If louvers are badly damaged or rotted, you should be able to find replacements in the same dimensions at your home-im-provement store.Send your questions or home tips to [email protected].


By sAMANTHA MAZZOTTA

Winterizing: shutter repairQ:

A:

Exterior shutters need little mainte-nance if they’re in good shape. Brush

away debris and dirt when needed, and keep shrubs and other plants trimmed back.

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By MELINDA MYERs

Liven up your holiday decor with lights, a bit of glitz and some colorful blossoms this season. Start by gathering greenery from your landscape. Use needled ev-ergreens like pines and firs; broadleaf evergreens like box-wood, holly and evergreen mag-nolia; as well as junipers and arborvitaes to create wreaths, swags, centerpieces and garland. And don’t forget to include cones, holly berries, crabapples and the bluish-colored fruit of junipers.

Be selective as you prune your trees and shrubs when collecting these materials. Use sharp bypass pruners that have two sharp blades and will make a clean cut that closes more quickly. Make your cuts above a healthy bud, where the branches join another branch, or back to the main trunk. Take only a few branches from each tree or shrub to maintain the plants’ beauty.

Place freshly cut greens in a cool location away from heaters, fireplaces and open flames. Set them on colorful fabric or paper to catch the sap and avoid dam-aging your woodwork and fur-nishings.

Check your greenery for fresh-ness every few days. The needles, leaves and stems should bend, but not break. Replace dried greens with fresh materials.

Then brighten up the display with some cool-burning LED lights. Create a mantle display or centerpiece with the help of LED pillar lights. Or add a string of LEDs to your garland. Look for something unusual like pine-cone string lights (gardeners.com) to add sparkle and charm to your display.

If you have artificial greens that could use a facelift, add fresh ber-ries, cones and seedpods for a more natural look. Increase the glitz with the help of silver and gold metallic paint or glitter. Paint milkweed, lotus and other pods

and then tuck them into the greens. Painting allium seed heads white will add the appear-ance of flowery snowflakes in your indoor arrangements and outdoor container gardens.

And don’t forget the fresh flow-ers and flowering plants. Poinset-tias are a long-time favorite, but you may want to change things up with amaryllis, spring-flower-ing bulbs and lily of the valley. Look for unusual varieties or combinations to increase your enjoyment. Combine large-flow-ered amaryllis with small-flow-ering bulbs like star of Bethlehem. Or go for a unique size, shape or flower color like that of the Hon-eybee amaryllis with its beautiful yellow flowers that are sure to brighten your days.

Add a few flowers to your greenery and houseplants for some instant color. Stick your

greenery and flowers in damp-ened floral foam to create a long-lasting holiday centerpiece. Or place cut flowers in floral picks and set them in dish gardens and houseplants to brighten things up. Then swap out the flowers as they fade.

And consider making a few extra planters or centerpieces to give as holiday and hostess gifts this year.

Now is the time to put on your gardening shoes, grab the pruners and get started decorating for the holiday season ahead.

Gardening expert, TV/radio host, author and columnist Me-linda Myers has more than 30 years of horticulture experience and has written more than 20 gar-dening books. Her website, www.melindamyers.com, offers garden-ing videos, podcasts and tips.

Greenery combined with decorative LED lights can brighten up hol-iday centerpieces and mantle displays. (Melinda Myers LLC photo)

Add sparkle to your holiday decor

middlebury bee december 2014

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