12-24-2010TownTimes

By Mark DionneSpecial to Town Times

The Board of Education(BOE) began its Dec. 15 meet-ing by acknowledging threelocal award winners. Super-intendent Sue Viccaro intro-duced Coginchaug RegionalHigh School (CRHS) seniorsErin Holden and Tyler Sib-ley, winners of the Superin-tendent’s Award, to ap-plause from the board andother meeting attendees.

The Superintendent’sAward is given to studentswho have distinguishedthemselves in service andacademic areas. Viccaro de-scribed Erin’s “tremendouscommitment and work eth-ic” as a volunteer in schools,

at church and as a choreog-rapher for youth theater pro-ductions. Viccaro elaborat-ed on the challenges faced byEagle Scout Tyler in creat-ing the Middlefield DogPark, such as raising fundsand acquiring official per-mission.

The board also recognizedPhil Moriarty, a

Volume 17, Issue 37 Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall Friday, December 24, 2010

For the community,from the community

This year’s Community Round-Up was a huge success, thanks to the help ofDurham and Middlefield residents who donated food items, grocery gift cards,volunteered at the high school or in teams around town. On Friday, Dec. 17,checks were handed to Jan Muraca, human services coordinator of Durham, and

Antoinette Astle, senior and social services director in Middlefield, totaling$1,580 and $155 in gift cards to help each town’s residents in need. Top, BethGalligan, director of guidance at Coginchaug High School, Kathy Bottini, Cogin-chaug social worker; and students Wolfgang Wallach and Sean Rogers presentthe check to Muraca. Bottom, check presented to Astle. Photos by Stephanie Wilcox

BOE recognizes awardwinners, prepares forbudget season

In this issue ...Calendar............................4Durham Briefs................13Middlefield Briefs...........12Sports..........................22-23Obituaries.......................24

Benjamin Pitruzzello, Will Dalles and Jessica Parkin-son take a breather after running laps at the JingleBell Run at John Lyman School. See more photosfrom the event on page 16. Photo by Stephanie Wilcox

See BOE, page 20

Town Times Community Briefs Friday, December 24, 20102

Index of AdvertisersTo advertise in the Town Times,

call Joy Boone at 860-349-8026

243 Main St.Durham, Rt. 17Corner Main & Maiden

Experienced DoctorsSmall Town Service

Eyecare • Glasses • Contacts860-349-2323

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Allan’s Tree Service ..................20APEC Electric............................21Avenue Enterprises...................19Batters Box................................10Be Free Solar ............................18Berardino Company Realtors......3Binge, Bruce..............................19Black Dog ....................................7Boylin, William, Dr. ......................7Brenda’s Main Street Feed .........6Cahill & Sons.............................21Carmine’s Restaurant .................3Centurion Exterminating............22Conroy, John, DMD...................12CT Electrical Services ...............20CT Fitness Coach .....................21Cyclone Home Systems............10Daricek Landscaping.................22Dean Autoworks........................13Durham Dental ............................6Durham Family Eyecare .............2Durham Fitness...........................6Durham/Middlefield Local............5Easter Seals Goodwill .................3Family Tree Care ......................19Fine Work Home Improvement.....22Fosdick, Gordon, Md.................15Fuel & Service .............................3Fugge, David M.........................21Ganged Ads ..............................24Glazer Dental Associates..........10Golschneider Painting...............18Home Works..............................20Ianniello Plumbing.....................19Independent Day School...........10

Kleeman, Carol-Berardino ........23Lema, William J., DMD..............13Lino’s Market ...............................7Masonicare-Makiaris .................14Master Carpentry ......................22Micheli Unisex Styling Salon.....13Middlesex Community College ....11Mim’s Oil....................................10Movado Farm ............................19Neil Jones Home Improvements....17New England Dental Health......16Northern Middlesex YMCA .......15Paint Spot..................................12Parker, Rebecca .......................20Petruzelo Agency Insurance.....17Raney, Jason, DMD..................15Realty Associates......................23RLI Electric ................................22Roblee Plumbing.......................20Rockfall Co ................................19RSDL Home Improvements......20RSK Pool Service........................5Sea Breeze Hauling ..................22Singles Alternatives...................10Sisters Cleaning Service...........18Split Enz ....................................21Sweet Surrounding....................18T-N-T Home & Lawncare..........18Torrison Stone & Garden ..........17Town Of Durham.......................12VMB Custom Builders...............17Whitehouse Construction..........21Wildwood Lawn Care ................18Windows Plus............................15

CorrectionsWe strive to bring you

the most accurate informa-tion available each week,but if you see something inTown Times that isn’t quiteright, give us a call at 860-349-8000, and we’ll do ourbest to make things right.

CommunityMLK event

On Thursday, Jan. 13, 2011at 6:30 p.m. the Durham andMiddlefield community is in-vited to a gathering in cele-bration of Martin LutherKing Jr. Day at Coginchaug.

In the coming weeks youwill likely come across collec-tion boxes around Durhamand Middlefield where youcan write an act of kindnessthat someone has done foryou, you have done or youhave witnessed onto a piece ofpaper that will become onelink in the chain. Volunteershope to display loops uponloops of paper chains made bythe community at this event.

We hope to have interviewswith people who have memo-ries from the 1960s. We are stilllooking for people with inter-esting memories to share.There will also be artwork ondisplay representing thethemes of kindness, respect

and peace. If you or a commu-nity or volunteer group you arepart of, would like to take partin this event, either by makingyour own paper chain, beinginterviewed, or displaying art-work reflecting those themes,contact JLPA president MarkDionne at [email protected] 349-3783.

DMIAABholiday hours

The transfer station will beclosed Saturday, Dec. 25, andSaturday, Jan. 1.

Classes foradults 50 +

MILE, Middlesex Institutefor Lifelong Education, a non-profit, all volunteer organiza-tion, announces the scheduleof winter programs for adults50+. These daytime eventswill be held at MxCC, Middle-sex Community College, 100Training Hill Rd. in Middle-

town from Jan. 10 to Feb. 11,2011. During the week of Jan.10 to 14, there will be a com-puter class. On Thursdays thepopular Great Decisions dis-cussion group will continue tomeet. Additional programs ona variety of topics, such asSeparation of Church andState: A Constitutional Prin-ciple or a Political Statement,Days and Knights of theRound Table, Basic Finances,Saudi Arabia Global Leader-ship Conference and manyothers will be presented.

All interested adults are in-vited to an orientation meet-ing on Jan. 3, 2011, at 12:45p.m. in Chapman Hall on theMxCC campus. Snow date forthis meeting is Jan. 5. At thattime, brief overviews of thevarious programs will be pre-sented, and light refresh-ments will be served prior tothe meeting.

For more info or to receivea brochure, call 860-343-5863 orvisit www.mileonline.org.

Kindergartenvisitations andregistrations

Parents of children living inDurham and Middlefield whowill be five years old on or be-fore Jan. 1, 2012 must register

them to attend kindergarten inSeptember 2011 or apply for awaiver of attendance. InRSD13, children may attendkindergarten in either the Con-temporary Program or the In-tegrated Day Program. Parentsneed to choose the appropriateprogram for their child prior tokindergarten registration.

The Contemporary Pro-gram serves children ingrades K-4 and is housed atBrewster School for grades K-2 and at Korn School forgrades 3 and 4. The IntegratedDay program serves studentsin grades K-4 at John LymanSchool. While the two pro-grams share many similari-ties, they also have some dis-tinctive differences that mustbe considered when decidinga program for your child.

The best way to under-stand the differences betweenthe programs is to visit both.Prospective parents areurged to visit all three schoolsand to view at least one class-room at every grade level.

Parents may visit theschools from Jan. 6 through31 to observe classes and todiscuss any specific ques-tions or concerns. Visits,which are designed foradults, should be scheduledahead of time to allow for op-timum opportunities to ob-serve the programs. Appoint-ments to visit can be made bycalling the individualschools. Parents may call Ly-man School at 860-349-7240 tovisit the Integrated Day Pro-gram. To visit the Contempo-rary Program, call BrewsterSchool at 860-349-7227 andKorn School at 860-349-7210.

Once parents have visitedboth programs, they will needto make a decision by Feb. 1

about the program for whichthey will be registering theirchild.. Any child not regis-tered in a specific program bythat date may not be able toattend the program. Schedul-ing an appointment forkindergarten registrationconfirms program choice.

Kindergarten registrationfor the 2011-2012 school yearwill take place Feb. 1-4, 2011.Appointments will be avail-able between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.daily with hours extended to6 p.m. on one evening. Par-ents wishing to register theirchild for the ContemporaryProgram should call Brew-ster School for an appoint-ment for parent and child. Toregister a child for the Inte-grated Day Program, pleasecall John Lyman School foran appointment. Once theregistration appointment hasbeen made, the school willsend a registration informa-tion packet. This informationwill include a residency formand questionnaire, a studentinformation/emergencyform, a school entry healthquestionnaire and a parentquestionnaire, which shouldbe completed and brought toregistration, along with acopy of the child’s birth cer-tificate. Please make surethat the residency form iscomplete and notarized. If thefamily has a child already indistrict, the residency form isnot required. The childshould attend the appoint-ment with the parent.

Any parent of an eligiblekindergarten child who wish-es to hold his/her child out ofschool for another year mustsign a form at the Superinten-dent’s office.

Friday, December 24, 2010 Town Times 3

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Levi Coe Library’s new director is happy in MiddlefieldBy Cheri Kelley

Town Times

There is a new director intown, at Middlefield’s LeviCoe Library, that is. LorenWebber officially started asthe library’s director on Dec.6. Webber was an assistant di-rector at the Prospect PublicLibrary before she came towork in Middlefield. She be-lieves that the populationhere is a bit less than inProspect, but the actual phys-ical size of the library build-ing is about the same, so it issomewhat similar in that re-spect.

When asked how she likesworking in town so far, Web-ber said, “I love it! I’ve lovedevery minute, and I antici-pate loving every future mo-ment of it!” Webber’s favoritething about working in a li-brary is that she loves know-ing she is providing such agreat resource to people,

whether it is through a book,database or even a movie. Shesays, “There is something foreveryone at every age and in-terest in a library.

Webber has a Library andInformation Science Degreefrom Simmons College, some-thing that she returned toschool for after practicinglaw for 10 years. Webber ex-plained, “Prior to this (her li-brary experience), I practicedlaw. After 10 years I said,‘That’s it, I’m going to dowhat I always wanted to do,’and I went back to libraryschool.”

She believes that peopleuse their skills in whateverposition they currently have,and she feels that her skill settransferred well. “Speakingwith such a broad public, itworks well in this job. Withthe transferred skills, I amalso very comfortable withpublic speaking.” In factwhile in her position as assis-

tant director, Webberworked with students inthe middle school in a re-search and public speak-ing program called “Ora-tions.” In this programshe coached the kidsabout the different pointsof public speaking.

Of course, as a directorof the library, the readersof Town Times need toknow what her favoritebook is. It was hard for herto narrow it down, but shedecided that for a classicfavorite she would pick BelCanto by Ann Patchett,and for a current favorite,it would have to be TheHelp by Kathryn Stockett.Webber also stated thatshe always loves the chil-dren’s Nutmeg books. Thelibrary carries five copiesof each, one hard cover

and four paperback copies, soas many children as are inter-ested in reading them canwithout waiting very long.

Webber and the whole staffat the library are in theprocess of scheduling new pro-grams. One program she men-tioned is that they are sellingcoffee and biscotti for people toenjoy, and with the proceedsthey were able to purchasenew museum passes. Two newpasses that just came in are forThe Wadsworth Atheneumand the Mystic Aquarium.

Webber is really excitedabout her new position andsaid, “I really look forward tomaking people aware of whatwe have to offer here. I encour-age then to come in and seewhat is available; we have a re-ally friendly staff that is al-ways happy to help.”

Loren Webber feels at home asthe new director of Levi CoeLibrary in Middlefield.Photo by Cheri Kelley

Cub Scouts visit Town Times

On Monday, Dec. 20, Middlefield Pack 33, Den 4 Tiger Scouts visited TownTimes to talk about communication. After interviewing each other for stories onChristmas, they helped assemble their very own newspaper. Thanks for show-ing interest in how we put together our community’s news! We welcome guestsany time. In photo, left to right, Josh Lesniak, Sylas Kelly, Anthony Toth andBen Rowe. Photo by Stephanie Wilcox

Town Times & Places Friday, December 24, 2010 4

SATURDAY

December 25Merry Christmas!

WEDNESDAY

December 29TOPS

Durham TOPS Club meetsevery Wednesday at 6 p.m. onthe third floor of the DurhamTown Hall. For information,call Naomi Klotsko at 860-349-9558 or Bonnie Olesen at 860-349-9433.

FRIDAY

December 31Business Networking

The local chapter of Busi-ness Networking Internation-al will meet in the UnitedMethodist Church, 24 OldChurch St. in Middletown, at7:30 a.m. Contact CindiSanders at 860-638-0084 formore information.

Tot TimeTot Time is an open age

playgroup held at the Middle-field Community Center. Thisprogram is open to all Durhamand Middlefield residents andtheir children. Join the funevery Friday from 10:30 a.m. to12 p.m.

SATURDAY

January 1Happy New Year

Carriage Rides and String Band

The 12th annual New Year’sDay Open House at theWadsworth Mansion will fea-ture horse-drawn carriagerides provided by AllegraFarms and music by LostAcres String Band. Lost AcresString Band will play from 1:30to 2:30 p.m. Visitors will be ableto ride on a horse-drawn car-riage from 1 to 4 p.m. Weatherpermitting, there will be guid-ed walks on the grounds of the1908 estate. The Open House isfrom 1 to 4 p.m. at WadsworthMansion, 421 Wadsworth St.,Middletown.

WEDNESDAY

January 12District 13

Budget Meeting

A public forum on the 2011-2012 District 13 budget will weheld during the first hour ofthe Board of Education meet-ing at 7:30 p.m. Come join theboard at their meeting at KornSchool, share your concernsand let your ideas be heard!

THURSDAY

January 13MLK Honored

There will be a communityMartin Luther King celebra-tion at 6:30 p.m. at CoginchaugHigh School.

FRIDAY

January 14CRHS Drama Play

The senior class drama willbe performed at CoginchaugHigh School at 7 p.m.

SATURDAY

January 15Hot Shot Contest

The Durham Basketball As-sociation will host a local HotShot shooting contest atStrong School from 1 to 4 p.m.The contest is open to resi-dents of Durham and Middle-field, ages 9 to 15. Ribbons willbe awarded to all contestants,and medals to the highest scor-ers in each division. For moredetails and registration infor-mation, visit www.dbact.org,or e-mail Dan Davis [email protected].

TUESDAY

January 18Band Concert

The strong School band willperform at CRHS at 7 p.m.

Clean Energy ForumThe Durham Clean Energy

Task Force is hosting a CleanEnergy Forum for town resi-dents and businesses at 7 p.m.in the Durham Library. Avail-able for discussion and Q & Awill be residents and business-es that have implementedsome kind of clean energy sys-tems in their homes and busi-nesses. Among presenters willbe residents who have had so-lar electric and solar thermalsystems installed, businesseswho have chosen clean energypurchases and builders withgeothermal integrated intotheir construction projects.

The Super Reader Super Hero visited theJohn Lyman School book fair on Tuesday,Nov 30. This year’s book fair theme was“Reading Saves the Day.” Our Super Reader,a.k.a. Mrs. Mary Johnson, greeted studentsas they got off the bus and generated excite-ment for our fair. All proceeds from the bookfair benefit John Lyman School. Thanks toeveryone who helped make this year’s fair abig success! Photo submitted by Carlye Kohs

A super reader visits John Lyman book fair

Reading and writing around town...


1185827

At the holidayseason, our thoughtsturn gratefully to thosewho have made ourprogress possible.

Thank you andwarmest wishes forthe holiday seasonand the new year.

RSK Inc.Pool Service

Roger & CarolKleeman

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Community Round-UpFood Drive

Sponsored by: District #13 and the Durham/Middlefield Local Wellness and Preservation Council

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!





We collected ...

$13,874 non-perishable items

$3,583.25 in cash and gift cards

USPS 021-924Published weekly by

Record-Journal PublishingCo., d/b/a Town Times,P.O. Box 265, Middlefield,CT 06455.Periodicals Postage Paid

at Middlefield, CT and atadditional mailing offices.

P O S T M A S T E R: Sendaddress changes to TownTimes, P.O. Box 265,Middlefield, CT 06455.

1142953

Selectmen approve short term financing for Powder RidgeBy Stephanie Wilcox

Town Times

A special Board of Select-men’s meeting was held onDec. 21, to adopt a motion toapprove the issuance of a nine-month note to refinance theoutstanding debt on PowderRidge ski area that comes duein late January.

First Selectman JonBrayshaw said, “We are goingto refinance the note for up tonine months at a very low in-terest rate — about three per-cent — the going rate for shortterm debt. Our bond counseladvised the town to go withshort term.”

Brayshaw explained that fi-

nance director Joe Geruchwent through the numbersand agreed it was in the town’sbest interest.

“With this three percent in-terest rate, we stand to save$48,000 in 2011,” saidBrayshaw. “There is a savingsto be had for the taxpayers bygoing with short term.”

However, selectwomanMary Beth Johnson votedagainst the motion. Johnsonopted to permanently financePowder Ridge.

“If we’re taking out streetlights to save a few hundredbucks here and there, yet wehave an opportunity to savethis much and don’t take ad-vantage of it, there’s an awfulprice you would pay,” saidBrayshaw.

In the end, Brayshaw andselectmen Ed Bailey voted toapprove borrowing the moneyfor nine months while John-son voted against it.

Johnson claims that lastOctober, paperwork had to be

done for short term financing,and Joe Fasi, the town’s bondcounsel, refused to sign off onthe nine-month term.

“Now that we’re facing theJanuary deadline,” said John-son, “we don’t have manychoices, and now we’re forcedto pay an additional interestpayment and other fees.” Shecontinued, “I’ve been urgingJon Brayshaw for over a yearto get the town into long termfinancing. It’s a lot of money tobe dangling in the wind, and

it’s an artificially low shortterm rate.”

In January there will be atown meeting to transferfunds to pay the monies thatwill become due for PowderRidge. Johnson stated, “Hope-fully there’s enough in ourcontingencies. I just don’t feelwe’ve been good stewards oftaxpayers’ dollars, we shouldhave been locked into financ-ing a while ago.”

Town Times Friday, December 24, 2010 6

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Middlesex ReStore: a recycling, reusing,reducing and rebuilding source

By Cheri KelleyTown Times

After a long awaited ar-rival, the Middlesex ReStoreis open for business.

What is the ReStore, youask? ReStore is a retail en-deavor owned by the Middle-sex Habitat for Humanity.Jack Doyle , a VISTA volun-teer (Volunteers In Service ToAmerica) said, “New or gentlyused quality items are donat-ed. The public can come inand buy these items at 50 to 70percent below cost.” Theyhave a variety of building ma-terials, like windows, doorsand light fixtures. Otheritems they have available aremajor appliances and furni-ture.

The store was initiallyscheduled to open in Middle-town, but due to some changes,ReStore is located in Cromwell

where they are happily serv-ing customers from through-out Middlesex County.

The entire staff of ReStoreis made up of volunteers,aside from Hector Aquilar,ReStore manager, and Doyle,who coordinates the volun-teers. Based volunteer help,they are only able to be openfor shortened hours. As morevolunteers become available,ReStore’s hours will becomemore expansive. Currently,hours of operation are Thurs-day through Saturday from 10a.m. to 6 p.m. “We are startingwith only three days to builda relationship with the volun-teer corps and community,”Aquilar stated. “We are look-ing for more volunteers.”

“I am fostering relation-

Inside Middlesex ReStore. Photo by Cheri Kelley

John Szew-czyk, center,and BillyMalcolmstandingoutsideCoginchaugMarket inMiddlefieldcollectingsignatures.

Just before press time onWednesday afternoon, TownTimes learned that the stateBond Commission, recon-vened by Governor Jodi Rellbecause of several negativeand inconclusive votes at ameeting last Friday, voted yeson the $500,000 bond for im-provement of Powder Ridgeinfrastructure in Middlefield.

That vote was in doubt afterthe Dec. 18 meeting when itwas discovered that the proj-ect had fallen one vote short ofthe six needed for passage.This failure mobilized

Durham Selectman JohnSzewczyk, who organized a pe-tition drive and delivered thepetition to the commissionersat their Dec. 22, meeting.

“The selectmen in Middle-field, past and present, haveworked to ensure that PowderRidge Ski Area will return toits former prosperous days. Athriving Powder Ridge willnot only benefit Middlefieldwith increased tax revenuebut also benefit surroundingtowns with jobs and in-creased economic activity. Iknew that on Dec. 22, there

ships with local contractorsand businesses and am show-ing them another alternativeto dispose of their materials,”Aquilar continued. Instead ofpaying for waste disposalwhen doing a renovation,people can call ReStore, andthey will come and take awaycarefully removed items, likekitchen cabinetry, for free.What one person may feel theneed to replace may still be ingreat condition and have agreat use to others.

Doyle stated, “Every dollarsold at ReStore keeps 1.3pounds out of the wastestream.” Staples donated a 24-foot truck to ReStore so theywould be able to pick upbulky donated items. One cansimply call or e-mail to deter-mine a pick-up time, and Re-Store will set it up. Theirpick-ups are every Tuesday.Donators will receive a dona-tion slip for tax purposes.

Money from sales at Re-Store will be used to acquireproperty for families waitingfor a Habitat home, like theone that was recently dedicat-ed to a family on Ballfall Roadin Middlefield. “The goal is toreduce substandard housingin Middlesex County onehome at a time,” stated Doyle.Middlesex Habitatmaintainsa list of over 200 people whoapplied for homes. To be eligi-ble there is an income require-ment, and the families mustbe able to pay back a mortgageto the Middlesex County Habi-tat. Doyle stated that the Habi-tat home goes to the familythat needs it the most.

To learn more about Re-Store or to volunteer, visitwww.habitatmiddlesex.orgor call 860-788-6483.

would be one more chance toget the funds so I reached outto the commissioners whovoted no, asking them to re-consider, stressing the im-portance of Powder Ridgeand the funds for our localeconomy. Fortunately, wewere able to convince one ofthe commissioners who pre-viously voted no to changeher vote,” said Szewczyk.

Sue VanDerzee

Powder Ridge bond funds approved


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A distillery in our own backyardBy Cheri Kelley

Town Times

A distillery in Durham? Anew and unique business,Elm City Distillery, has beenopen and producing prod-ucts in Durham for a littleless than a month. Eric Ko-towski, owner of Elm CityDistillery, said, “I got the in-spiration to open a distilleryafter reading an article onanother micro-distillery. Iwas interested in how quick-ly they could make spiritsand thought Connecticutdoesn’t have a distillery, andso I thought that theyshould.” Kotowski grew upin Old Saybrook, but cur-rently resides in New Haven.New Haven’s nickname“Elm City” is where thename of his company origi-nates. Kotowski’s local con-nection with the area isthrough his grandfather,who lived in Middlefield.

Kotowski tries to have areal sense of a hand made lo-cal product. He said, “Manymicro-distilleries’ smallbatches consist of about 2,000bottles; ours is about 100 bot-tles. Each bottle is handpoured and labeled.” Aftertaking a look at the elegantlabel, one can see the batchbottle and date is written byhand on each bottle.

Kotowski currently usesorganic grain; he is lookingto switch to a local source forthe grain and feels that it isimportant to keep every-thing as local as possible.The bottles that are used forhis products are only madein a few places; however, theonly place that makes thesebottles in the United Statesmakes a larger bottle. It does-n’t work for the small batchsizes that he produces, so hepurchases the bottles from acompany in France and hasthem shipped to Durham,where the spirits are madeand bottled.

Kotowski explained theprocess briefly. He useswhole rye flour and fills amash tank with water. Thiscombination is then heated.Once it is at the right temper-ature, the yeast is added andit is transferred to a ferment-ing tank. It only takes fourdays to ferment. This concoc-tion is then transferred to the

still, whichseparates themash fromthe alcohol.K o t o w s k iuses a cus-t o m - b u i l tG e r m a nsteam-pow-ered still.The steamheats up andthen goes upthrough the

plates and through the con-denser. Kotowski says theplates provide copper con-tact, which takes out impuri-ties. The product is around 89percent alcohol by volume.The middle run, or the“hearts,” is the main prod-uct, but Kotowski said the“tails” are also used onceenough are collected. Wateris added to the “tails”, andthen it is redistilled.

Currently Elm City Dis-tillery is producing Veloci-pede Vodka. In the futurethey will be producing an un-aged rye whiskey as well asan aged rye whiskey. Thepublic can now purchaseproducts of Elm City Dis-tillery at Durham Wine andSpirits on Main Street inDurham, as well as GelvaniWine and Liquor in EastHaven and Bob’s Center-brook Package Store in Es-sex. For those who wouldlike to try it while dining out,Luigi’s Restaurant in OldSaybrook has VelocipedeVodka available straight upor with mixed drinks.

For more info. about ElmCity Distillery, visitwww.elmcitydistillery.comor come for a tasting on Fri-day, Dec. 24, from 1 p.m. to 3p.m. at Durham Wine andSpirits.

Eric Ko-towski

stands bythe

steam-powered

still at hisDurham

distillery.

boosted the holiday mood ofour customers as they enterour building. We have re-ceived hundreds of compli-ments on the decorations.The residents of Middlefieldshould be very proud of howbeautiful the club has madeyour town look for the holi-days!

Tad Sattler, PostmasterMiddlefield Post Office

More Alexis newsSo I’m asking myself how

many times I can milk thisname, and I decided that aslong as it works, why notkeep going with it. This timethough, I’m selling my newband, “Moving Kevin.” Wehave our debut at The Cy-press on Saturday, Feb. 12,just in time for Valentine’sDay weekend. Joining me onbass is keyboard guru andDurham resident Greg John-son of “The Happening” and“Whiskey River Band.” Onguitar, we have Mike “Doc”Vijda of Middletown. Ourmulti-talented singer, DaveJoslin, from East Hamptonalso plays killer sax, flute andharmonica. Rounding out therhythm section is Art “Traps”

Kurpaska from Bristol.Though you may not

know all of these guys, restassured they know how toplay. We are doing a goodmix of older stuff and newstyles to really mix it up. Thesax and keys combine tomake one heck of a horn sec-tion, while Mike’s guitarcuts through like a scalpel.And you know that I willbring thundering bottomwhile Art drives it all home.

Our list covers Van Morri-son to Shine Down, andmuch in between, such asTom Petty, R.E.M., Jet,Green Day, Stones, Goo GooDolls just to name a few.

In other REAL “Alexis”news: Ed and Gordy havebeen playing in “The Big 6”and have been doing verywell. They are at the Cypressfor New Year’s Eve this yearfor what should be a must-see show. But enough aboutthem… Come see “MovingKevin” at The Cypress thisValentine’s Day with yourspecial one for a specialnight. You know I will bringa show that has energy; ex-pect a super night. Tell your(our) friends so we can all en-joy this show together.

Doug Mentlick, DurhamSee one more letter on

page 10

Letters policyThe Town Times intends to present a forum for the live-

ly exchange of ideas and issues. To facilitate the publica-tion of your contributions, several guidelines should be fol-lowed. Letters to the editor must be signed, with a phonenumber included. The writer will be called to confirm au-thorship. No anonymous letters will be printed. Contribu-tions by any individual or group will not be published morefrequently than once a month. Every effort will be made toprint all letters received. However, the selection and date ofpublication will be at the discretion of the editor. Finally,the opinions expressed by our letter writers are not neces-sarily those of this newspaper. Deadline: Tuesday noon forFriday publication.

Town Times Opinion Friday, December 24, 2010 8

Town Times488 Main St., P.O. Box 265, Middlefield, CT 06455

http://www.towntimes.com

News (860) 349-8000 [email protected] (860) 349-8026 [email protected] (860) 349-8027Marketplace (877) 238-1953 (toll-free)

Town Times is published every Friday by the Record-JournalPublishing Co. and is delivered to all homes and businesses inDurham, Middlefield and Rockfall.

Stephanie Wilcox, EditorCheri Kelley, Reporter

Joy Boone, Advertising SalesDee Wilcox, Office Manager

Contributors: Chuck Corley, Diana Carr, Trish Dynia, Elisabeth Kennedy, Karen Kean, Judy Moeckel, Kathy Meyering,

Tori Piscatelli and Sue VanDerzee.

Letters to the Editor

Walking buddiesTo “My Durham and Mid-

dlefield walking buddies anddogs:”

Whatever is beautiful ismeaningful, whateverbrings you happiness…

May peace and happinessbe yours at this holiday timeand throughout the comingyear. Keep on walking andrunning. Merry Christmasand Happy New Year!

Art DeNicholas, DurhamMusic Executive

Grateful forsupport

The Middlefield LionsClub would like to thank allthe generous people of Mid-dlefield, Rockfall andDurham who supported usduring the past year. Yourdonations to our recent cam-paign Sight First II fundrais-er have put us within sight ofour goal for this programthat helps people all over theworld. Your patronage of ourfood booth at the DurhamFair makes it possible for usto donate to local charitieslike the Eastern Connecticut

Low Vision Center, the Mid-dlefield Community Ser-vices Council, many EagleScout projects around thetown, college scholarshipsand other worthy causes.

Enjoy the holidays;thanks again for your con-tinued support, and we lookforward to seeing you in thespring for our annual Easteregg hunt at Peckham Park.

Bob VeeleyPresident, Mfld. Lions Club

Our stockingswere stuffed...

The Middlefield Post Of-fice would like to thank theMiddlefield Garden Club forits fantastic job of festivelydecorating the Post Officebuilding and grounds for theholiday season. They alsodecorated many other busi-nesses near the center oftown. The decorations have

I’ve been known to ask for some interest-ing Christmas gifts, so I really enjoyed read-ing this week’s responses to the InquiringPhotographer’s question “What was yourbest Christmas or best Christmas presentwithout it being a toy?” (page 11).

One year, when my age was still in thesingle digits, I wrote to Santa requestingreal angel wings for Christmas. I was goingthrough a phase where I wanted to fly likean elegant angel. Imagine my shock when Iactually received what was as close to realangel wings as one could find! Santa hassince told me that those wings were one ofthe most unique requests ever received, andone of the hardest to locate — it’s very hardto find a store that sells angel wings. Know-ing the extra work that went into that gift, itremains one of the most special Christmassurprises to this day.

There was another year (poor Santa) thatI asked for reindeer bells. Prancer was andstill is my favorite Christmas movie. Un-wrapping a box that had a small, leatherstrap with authentic bells that jingled loud-ly was priceless. I still pull those bells outeach holiday season and hang them from mybedroom shelf.

I’ll throw an occasional whopper in when-ever people ask me for a Christmas list

these days. I don’t expect I’ll get a horse, butit’s on my list.

One of my most memorable Christmaseswas the year I had just turned seven and oneof my front teeth was very loose. So loose,that my uncle thought it would be fun topull it out on Christmas Day. He’d been talk-ing about it since it caught his eye, mention-ing how his brothers used to tie a stringaround his wiggly teeth and the other endon a door knob, then slam the door shut.Hearing this, I was frightened all through-out the meal, dessert and gift exchanging.That year, I did not smile out of fear itwould remind him, but before Christmasday was over, my tooth was out!

The older I get (prepare yourself...this isgoing to sound cliché), the more I am reallytrying to get to the true meaning of Christ-mas. What does this mean? Spending lesstime shopping for the best gifts and moretime enjoying the sights, sounds and smellsaround me. The holiday season is filled withso much for the senses, it’s crazy to think wecan be so consumed with all the commercialthings that we don’t even notice that ourneighbors have put out Christmas lights forour enjoyment. A meaningful Christmas tome is vowing to be as happy all year long aswe are on this day, and keeping the tradi-

All I want for Christmas

tions alive. I’m so looking forward to Christmas Eve at ourhouse, where we enjoy our spread of Polish foods and tradi-tions. On Christmas Day, it’s a bit quieter when we head tomy grandparents’ house. I never want the day to end, be-cause there is something magical about this holiday. It’s awonderful time of year. I hope yours is filled with happi-ness. Merry Christmas! Stephanie Wilcox, editor

Friday, December 24, 2010 Town Times Columns 9

So what’s in the state’sgeneral fund anyway?

This season, the 100thDistrict has been fortu-nate to receive state fund-ing for a number of im-portant projects.

In Durham, the Churchof the Epiphany receiveda $28,000 grant from theCommission on Cultureand Tourism.

In Middlefield, StateSenator Tom Gaffey and Iwere successful in help-ing obtain a $500,000grant to upgrade infra-structure at the PowderRidge ski site.

When I held officehours in Durham andMiddlefield last week, Iwas flooded with questions aboutstate spending.

We all know how much we pay intaxes, but where does all that moneygo?

This is particularly important at atime when a new governor and legis-lature are preparing a new two-yearbudget to overhaul spending and bal-ance a large deficit.

It might be helpful to provide aquick overview of the state’s generalfund. This does not include trans-portation spending, which is paid forand budgeted separately.

Believe it or not, just seven itemsaccount for nearly 80 percent of thestate’s general fund.

The largest single line item is theDepartment of Social Services (DSS)at $5.5 billion which alone is nearlyone-third of the state budget. DSS op-erates many programs, but thelargest portion of this money goes tofund nursing homes for seniors. Asour state’s population ages and babyboomers near retirement, our nurs-ing home costs are soaring. Pro-grams that support seniors in theirhomes can help control these costs.

The next biggest expense is K-12education — $2.6 billion. Most of thismoney consists of Education CostSharing (ECS) grants, which helpfund local school districts like Re-gional School District #13.

The third largest expense is forfringe benefits for state employees,

about $1.9 billion. Gover-nor Rell negotiated $750million in pay and bene-fits concessions in 2009,and Governor-elect Mal-loy will almost certainlyhave to negotiate furtherconcessions. The fourthlargest line item is debtservice, $1.6 billion. In the1990s and the early part ofthis decade, Connecticutwent on a massive publicspending spree, and weare now paying for it.

The Department of De-velopmental Services(DDS), which costs $993million, provides supportservices for people with

disabilities. DDS resources in partic-ular are being strained by a risingnumber of children diagnosed withautism.

The Department of Children andFamilies (DCF), plagued by misman-agement, operates the state’s fosterparent program and Riverview Hos-pital in Middletown, among otherprograms. DCF costs $827 million.

The Department of Correctionsoperates the state’s prison systemand is budgeted at $684 million.

Together, these seven items ac-count for 77.3 percent of the $18 bil-lion general fund.

What about the other 22.7 percent?It covers everything else: mental

health services, UConn, communitycolleges and the Connecticut StateUniversity system, vocational-tech-nical schools like Vinal Tech, theteachers’ retirement fund, the StatePolice, the departments of Environ-mental Protection, Labor, ConsumerProtection, Motor Vehicles, PublicHealth and Veterans’ Affairs, the At-torney General, the Secretary of theState, the legislature and governor’soffices, the Commission on Cultureand Tourism, the Department ofAgriculture, the Department of Eco-nomic and Community Develop-ment and many more.

I wish everyone in Durham, Mid-dlefield and Rockfall safe and happyholidays this year. See you in 2011!

State Rep. Matt Lesser

From TheState

Capitol

What to do if you lose your jobThere’s no doubt

about it: losing a jobcan be stressful. Thethought of startingover can be unnerv-ing, particularly ifyou’ve worked for the same companyfor a while.Get the facts

First, make an appointment withyour company’s Human ResourcesDepartment and get answers to theseimportant questions:

·Can you negotiate a later depar-ture date? This could give you more

time to look for anoth-er job.

·Are you entitled toseverance? If so, howmuch?

·Will you receivepayment for unused vacation days?If not, you should schedule them assoon as possible.

·How long will you be entitled tohealth coverage? And at what cost?

·Likewise, can you maintain yourinsurance policy? If so, at what rate?

Peter Cascini

Finance 101

Web update...This week we asked a poll question on our website: “What greeting do

you use this time of year?” Thirty-eight people responded by press time.Sixty-three percent say “Merry Christmas” followed by 32 percent who say“Happy Holidays.” “Happy Hanukkah” and “Other” were tied at three per-cent. Visit next week’s online poll at www.towntimes.com to answer ourquestion about New Year’s resolutions.

A Haven for Afghan childrenKABUL , Afghanistan -

Service membersfrom the New KabulCompound weregreeted with smilingfaces and wide eyeswhen they arrived at Sitara III, theall boys’ teenage orphanage in Kab-ul, on Dec. 5.

Drivers from NKC MOVECONhave been traveling to Kabul orphan-ages and delivering packages filledwith clothes, toys and hygiene prod-ucts, and with the abundance of holi-day shipments, the visits have be-come more frequent.

“It’s a pretty enlightening and eye-opening experience,” said Chief Pet-ty Officer Chuck Shattuck, a MOVE-CON driver who took the lead on thisproject two months ago. “We try tovisit with the kids at least once amonth, but with the holiday season,we will be going more often.”

The visits vary between the fiveorphanages in Kabul; however, thereare also orphanages in Herat, Jalal-abad and Pakistan. All orphanagesare part of the Afghan Child Educa-tion and Care Organization, a non-profit organization that relies onsponsors for the upkeep of facilities,supplies for the children, and materi-als for their continuing education.

Jamshid, a volunteer who hasbeen working with AFCECO since itsinception in 2004, oversees the or-phanages in Afghanistan, oftentimesdriving the great distances betweenKabul, Herat and Jalalabad to deliv-er supplies to the children.

“We have to make sure the chil-dren are secure. Our main mission isto provide a healthy and safe envi-ronment where the children grow upto be productive members of a civicsociety,” explained Jamshid as he de-scribed the various orphanages inKabul.

Sitara III has approximately 30boys varying from age 14 to 18, whoall live under one roof where they

grow and learn to-gether. The teenagegirls also have an or-phanage, and thisyear the first threeare graduating from

the program, whereupon they willcontinue their education at a localuniversity. Three more orphanages,each home to approximately 80younger children, provide the solidbase for further development.

Each child takes part in academicsand sports while at the orphanages,which are run solely by volunteerswho give up their own time to assistthe children. Many teachers in theprogram come from local universi-ties and teach a curriculum of Eng-lish, music, mathematics, art, chem-istry and a plethora of other subjects.With the variety of programs beingtaught, one goal is to have the childrengrow up as confident individuals.

Angela Nibler, a volunteer teacherin the program since August, decid-ed to travel from Idaho to Kabul towork with and make an impact onthe children.

“This is the generation that canmake a difference. These orphanagesare much more than a safe haven forthese children; they are the start of anew life,” said Nibler.

Service members and their fami-lies from around the world have theopportunity to sponsor these chil-dren individually or make donationsto the program as a whole. For moreinformation on AFCECO visitwww.afceco.org.

This article was written by Mau-reen Dooley, 2nd Lt. in the USMC anda resident of Durham. It was original-ly published on Defense Video and Im-agery Distribution System, a state-of-the-art, 24/7 operation that provides atimely, accurate and reliable connec-tion between the media around theworld and the military serving in Iraq,Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar andBahrain.

2nd Lt. Maureen Dooley

Guest Column

See Finance, page 10

Town Times Opinion Friday, December 24, 2010 10

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·What’s involved in transfer-ring, borrowing or withdraw-ing your 401(k) funds?

·Are you entitled to unem-ployment compensation? Ifso, what documentation doyou need?Leave on good terms

When your last day comes,handling yourself with pro-fessionalism and maturitywill serve you better in theend. Although these are diffi-cult circumstances, focus onwhat you’ve accomplishedfor the company and theskills you’ll take with you.Take any awards you mayhave earned, as well as non-privileged work samples —they’ll be of interest toprospective employers.Take constructive actions

In your search for a new

job:

·Notify your references,including past employers,that you’re job hunting.

·Update your resume,quantifying your accom-plishments whenever possi-ble (e.g. exceeded sales goalsby eight percent).

·Register with employ-ment agencies and/or searchfirms. (Ask in advance ifthey charge for their servic-es).

·Say “yes” to every inter-view, even if it isn’t the jobyou want. It’s good practice.

·Familiarize yourself withcompanies you’re interview-ing with. Being prepared willgo a long way with prospec-tive employers.

·Follow up on your inter-views with a thank-you e-mail or note.

Although it is difficult, los-ing your job doesn’t have tobe an end. Indeed, it couldgive you a fresh start!

This educational article isbeing provided as a courtesyby Peter Pierino Cascini,agent for New York Life In-surance Company. Finance101 is a new financial columnfor the purpose of educatingreaders. If you have a specificfinancial question, email it [email protected].

Finance(Continued from page 9)

One more letter...

Yes, there is aSanta Claus

I just received a call froman elderly neighbor, Mrs.Walter Michalke. When I an-swered the phone, she wascrying, so I thought some-thing might be wrong. Shewent on to explain about aknock on her door. She toldme that when the Communi-ty Round Up was going on alittle boy came to the doorand her husband, who hadbeen laying down, went tothe door. He was wearing hisoxygen and couldn’t help outright then. Thinking nothing

more of it they went abouttheir daily lives.

Well, this little boy,Christopher Sokol knockedon her door again tonightwith his mother. Mom ex-plained how Christophercouldn’t stop thinking abouthim since, and he wanted tomake sure the man was o.k.He was willing to forgo allhis Christmas gifts for them.Christopher brought a box ofhomemade cookies to these

people and made theirChristmas. Both Walter and

Eda said they have been giv-en back Christmas by thiswonderful gift.

Many elderly people theyfeel that they are forgotten,and Christopher made surethat these people were notonly o.k. but had a little giftand that was the gift ofChristmas. It is obviousthat, yes, there is a Santaand he comes in manyshapes and sizes.

Christopher’s mom anddad have a lot to be proud of.I want to thank you from thebottom of my heart for mak-ing my friends know thatpeople care. Christopher, Ihope you have a MerryChristmas and a very HappyNew Year. It is the randomacts of kindness and the in-nocence of children thatmake this holiday season.

Lori Helmedach,

Middlefield


Inquiring photographer asked: “What was your best Christmasor best Christmas present without it being a toy?” by Karen Kean

Michael Brady: “I didn’twant to go away from

home for Christmas vaca-tion and leave my kitty,but I had to. When I gotup Christmas morning

and opened my presents,the first one was my kittyjumping out of the box. A

wonderful surprise!”

Ashley Mason: “The bestChristmas was when myGrandmother’s doctorcalled and told her shewas free of cancer. My

whole family wassoooooo HAPPY.”

Carson Aitken: “My Momand Dad rescued twodogs. One was from

Arkansas and the otherfrom Tennessee. We gotto keep them. It was the

BEST.”

Amy Arcari: “My sisterand brother and I wantedthe Wii for Christmas. Mybrother went looking allover the house before

Christmas. All of a sud-den, we heard him

scream, ‘Come herequick.’ He found the Wiiin the dryer. We were so

happy.”

Eric Solomon: “Last year my Mom and Dad surprised mysisters, brothers and me with a wonderful cruise to the Ba-hamas. We all gathered in the living room after school. Myparents told us we were packed and leaving immediately,

driving to Florida to board the ship. It was the BEST!”

Devin Rodrigue: “Mostly Iget clothes ‘cause I’m grow-

ing sooooo fast. But lastyear I got an iPod and

iTunes cards. It was great.”

Jordan Olivieri: “Thebest Christmas present Ihave ever gotten was last

year. My Mom and Dadand I went to New Jersey

to pick up two girl lla-mas, Crystal and Trea-

sure. They are beautiful.”

Middlefield Town Briefs Friday, December 24, 2010 12

1185047

Notice is hereby given to the taxpayers of Durham thatthe second half of Real Estate and Personal Propertytaxes and the total Supplemental Motor Vehicle tax on

the Grand List of 2009 are due and payable to theTown of Durham on January 1, 2011. No bill is sent

for the 2nd installment of Real Estate.If not paid by February 1, 2011 these taxes will be

considered delinquent and interest will be charged atthe rate of 1.5% per month from the due date, with aminimum interest charge of $2.00. Note: Feb. 2nd

payment will be charged a 3% penalty. (Jan. & Feb.)Payments may be mailed to:

Town of Durham, P.O. Box 428, Durham, CT 06422.Hours for the Tax Collector’s office are Monday,

Wednesday, and Thursday 8:30-4:30 pm, Tuesday8:30-7:00 pm and Friday 8:30-3:00 pm. Additional

hours for this collection period will be Saturday,January 29, 10:00 am-12:00 pm.

Martin French, CCMCTax Collector - Town of Durham, CT

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Middlefield Government Calendar(Unless otherwise indicated, all meetings are held in

the Community Center.)Tuesday, December 28

7 p.m. — Zoning Board of AppealsThursday, December 30Town Hall closing at 7 p.m.

Monday, January 37 p.m. — Board of Selectmen

Tuesday, January 47:30 p.m. — Midstate Regional Planning Agency

(held at 100 DeKoven Dr. in Middletown)

Movies for Sale

The Middlefield Histori-cal Society is selling twomovies during the holidayseason. 300 years of Middle-field History covers 1700-1970 and VOICES is histo-ry and interviews withMiddlefield residents from1900-2000. Both films areavailable in DVD or VHS.They make great holidaygifts for only $15 each! Toorder a video, or for moreinfo, call Lynette or An-nette at 860-349-0665 or 860-349-9497.

The Cadettes of Girl ScoutTroop 62336 created beau-tiful holiday arrangementsfor Sugar Loaf Terrace res-idents in Middlefield. Thegirls painted and decorat-ed recycled cans for con-tainers. They used localgreens and holly to makethe arrangements. Thecenterpieces were enjoyedby the residents during theholiday party.Photo submitted by Shirlon Smigel

Levi Coe LibraryHours: The library is open

from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondaythrough Thursday and 10 a.m.to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Visitwww.leviecoe.com or call thelibrary at 860-349-3857 for in-formation or to register forany program. You can also re-new, reserve and check yourlibrary record on the website.

Holiday Hours: The li-brary will be closed Saturday,Dec. 25, and Saturday, Jan. 1for the holidays.

Children’s Room Story-time: Storytime will resumeWednesday, Jan. 5, at 10:30a.m. To register, please callthe Children’s Room at 860-349-3857 ext.2.

Storytime Picnic: Mon-day, Dec. 27, at 11:30 a.m.,bring your blanket and yourlunch to the Lucia K. GinterChildren’s Room and listen toMiss Vicki read her favoriteGiving Tree books.

We Scrap: Tuesday, Dec.28, at 2 p.m., create holidayscrapbook pages. Bring yourholiday photos and yourscrapbooking supplies (or useours).

Movie matinee: Wednes-day, Dec. 29 at 2 p.m., watchthis new DVD with yourfriends. Popcorn provided.

Lego Day: Thursday, Dec.30 at 2 p.m., enjoy Legos andDuplos in the Lucia K. GinterChildren’s Room and legos inthe Children’s Annex.

Man charged inRockfall burglary

On Dec. 13, Richard Gul-lage, 29, of Meridan, wascharged with third-degreeburglary, criminal mischiefand fifth-degree larceny. Theincident occured in Rockfall.He was to appear in Middle-town Supior Court on Dec.14.

Man not guiltyin Middlefieldhome invasion

Antoine Paris Davis, 21was charged in 2008 withhome invasion, burglary,robbery, larceny, assault, ac-cessory to kidnapping with afirearm and conspiracy for ahome invasion committed inMiddlefield. Five peoplewere arrested for the crime,Davis being the last arrest-ed.

Davis was found by a juryto be not guilty on allcharges. If he was convictedhe could have ended up witha 145-year sentence with a 22year minimum charge.Davis’ attorney, stated in anarticle, “Antoine has main-tained his innocence allalong, and is happy that theresponsible parties can nowbe held accountable for theiractions.”

Quamane Cherry, TonyStrother , Devon Jackson,and Brenda Milardo wherethe other four accused of thecrime. Cherry and Milardoreceived smaller sentencesin exchange for testimonyagainst Davis. Jackson re-ceived seven years in jail af-ter pleading guilty to thecrime on June 22.

Friday, December 24, 2010 Durham Town Briefs 13

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Durham Government Calendar(All meetings will be held at the Durham Library unless

otherwise noted. Check the town Web page at www.townof-durhamct.org for updates.)Tuesday, December 28

Town Clerks Office closing at 7 p.m.7 p.m. — Ethics Commission

Thursday, December 30Town Hall is only open for a half-day

Friday, December 31Town Hall is closed

Wednesday, January 127:30 p.m. — Board of Education at Korn

P&Z discussesregulationchanges

The Planning and ZoningCommission (P&Z) met onDec. 15, at which time theydiscussed updatingDurham’s zoning regula-tions. A number of sectionswere removed because townplanner, Geoff Colegrove,thought they were redundantor unnecessary. This includ-ed transitional regulationsdealing with the change froma minimum of one-acre zon-ing to two-acre zoning, aswell as a section on the mini-mum floor area required forevery resident in a house.Colegrove crossed out thelast section as it contradicteda court ruling against thetown of East Hampton thatprevents the floor area fromfactoring into the number ofoccupants in a home.

P&Z member Steve De-Martino also asked whetherit would be appropriate to adda section in the preamble thatspoke out in support of low tomid-sized businesses. Mem-ber Dick Eriksen replied thatthat was the responsibility ofthe Economic DevelopmentCommission, not Planningand Zoning, while Colegroveadded that the Plan of Conser-vation and Development al-ready covered the town’s sup-port of business.

Greenland Realty alsobriefly came up. While thecommission plans on dis-cussing the business more indepth when its representative,attorney Joan Molloy, is ableto attend one of their meet-ings, member Joseph Pasqualehad one item to discuss.Pasquale reported that a trail-er was parked on the site in aspot where vehicles are notsupposed to park. He statedthat he’s seen a vehicle parkedthere on two occasions.

Another matter broughtup came from Colegrove, whoreported that there is a junk-yard on Wilcox Drive. This isthe third time that the prop-erty has received complaints,and Colegrove plans to send aletter to the property ownerto mention the problem be-fore the commission takesany further action.

Finally, member ChrisFlanagan told the commis-sion that the school may use

advertising on its score-board once installed. He not-ed that they may want to con-sider what constitutes ascoreboard or a sign, due tothe more restrictive regula-tions for signs in town. (In at-tendance/Chuck Corley)

Durham LibraryHours: Regular library

hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.Mondays through Thursdaysand 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridaysand Saturdays. Visitwww.durhamlibrary.org tosearch the catalog, reviewyour account, register for aprogram or renew your mate-rials online. For informationor to register for a program byphone, call 860-349-9544.

Holiday Hours: The li-brary will be closed Dec. 24, 25and 31 and Jan. 1.

Facebook: Receive dailyupdates on library news andevents by becoming a fanFacebook. Click on the Face-book link on the library’swebsite.

JobNow! On demand ac-

cess to expert career coachesis yours with a click on theJobNow! icon on the librarywebsite.

Destination Durham: Thefirst two Destination DurhamCable Shows are now on DVDand are available to borrowfrom the library. Show #1Farmers’ Market and Go Far,Show #2 Mock Crash and In-ternet Safety.

Storytime 2011 Registra-tion: All Storytimes beginJan. 3 and end April 13. TheStorytimes are: MotherGoose (18-30 months), Mon-days at 10:15 or 11 a.m.; Timefor Tots (2.5-3.5 years),Wednesdays at 10:15 or 11a.m.; and Preschool (3.5-5years), Tuesdays at 10:15 or 11a.m. To register for Storytimecall 860-349-9544 or visit the li-brary.

Book Lovers Circle:Come to the library onWednesday, Jan. 5, at 7:30p.m. for a discussion of Aztecby Gary Jennings. All arewelcome to participate in anevening of stimulating con-versation. Copies of the book

are available at the library.

Mystery Book Discus-sion: The mystery book clubwill meet on Tuesday, Jan. 18,at 7:30, when Mistress of theArt of Death by ArianaFranklin will be discussed.All are welcome. Copies of thebook are available at the li-brary. There will be no bookdiscussion in December.

New Arrivals: Licence toDream by Anna Jacobs, Se-crets of the Grave by Tami

Hoag, Comfort to the Enemy byElmore Leonard, EighteenAcres by Nicolle Wallace, If theAllies Had Fallen: Sixty Alter-nate Scenarios of WWII editedby Dennis E. Showalter, The 4-Hour Body by Timothy Fer-riss, Cooking for Geeks by JeffPotter, All the Devils are Here:The Hidden History of the Fi-nancial Crisis by BethanyMcLean, Great Food, All DayLong by Maya Angelou andDead or Alive by Tom Clancy.

Music in Town Times Friday, December 24, 2010 14

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Tiger Robison, music teacher at Brewsterand Korn schools, is running after-schoolmusic programs this semester, including Mr.Robison's Kindergarten Music Club, JuniorMusic Club and The Prelude Children's Cho-rus. All programs start in January and aresponsored by Durham Recreation. Mr.Robinson is also working on music appreci-ation programs for adults.“The job of the first music teacher is to makelearning fun,” he said. “Community play, es-pecially play involving music, is less of apresence in kids’ lives today. One of the aimsof the music clubs is to get people playingmusic games again. The research tells usthat early participation in music is important

to brain development. No one said itcouldn’t be fun at the same time.” Clockwise, from top left, R.J. Albanese; Leah and Jill

Branciforte practice some Capoeira (a Brazilian danceand martial art mix); below, the Junior Music Club per-forms; Mr. Robison and his “sergeant of arms”; centerphoto: Amalia DeMartino who said “Mr. Robison is fun-ny.” For more information on his classes, email [email protected]. Submitted photos

“It’s a really good time,”said fourth-grader Duncan Batesof The Prelude Children’s Chorus.

“Music clubis a lot of fun,”

added first-graderPiper Forbush.

Friday, December 24, 2010 Town Times at Astro 15

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to appear on the feet or other partsof the body. To either prevent theseelevated blemishes on the skin’ssurface from spreading or simplyfor cosmetic reasons, manyindividuals opt to have the wartsremoved. Typically, warts are firsttreated with medicines and thenundergo an acid treatment. If thesenon-surgical methods do not havea satisfactory result, surgery isthen considered. The simplesurgical procedure is typicallydone with local anesthesia in thepodiatrist’s office or outpatientcenter. It causes a minimum ofpain and very little scarring. Aftersurgery, the foot must be kept dryfor several weeks due to the highrisk of infection. Wart removal isusually covered by insurance.

Warts! Nobody wants them and,luckily, there are several effectivemethods available today thatpodiatrists can use to get rid ofthem. But since they are aninfection caused by a virus, wartsalmost never go away on their ownand you’d be smart to have yourpodiatrist get rid of yours once youdiscover one on your foot. Forexperienced, compassionate carefor foot problems of all kinds, wewelcome your cal l a tAFFILIATED FOOT CARECENTER, LLC. Office hours inMiddlefield are Mon. 9-5, Wed. 3-7, and Fri. 9-5; Tues. & Thurs 9-5in Wallingford.

The kids enjoyed playing while hav-ing a nice afternoon snack and hang-ing out with friends.

Photos by Cheri Kelley

On Dec. 15, the Durham PALS presented a newWii gaming system to the ASTRO Club, whichwill be known as the Wii Fun and Fitness Pro-gram in January. The kids were very excited andset up the system themselves, with only a smallamount of assistance needed. They were liningup to play the games that were projected ontothe wall of one of the library’s lower level activi-ty rooms.

Jingle Bell Run in Town Times Friday, December 24, 2010 16

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Left, Christo-pher Milano-Conroy andSam St. Johnrace acrossthe crunchyground.

Below center,Santa withPeter Schul-ten.

John Lyman School had ablast at Jingle Bell Run on Fri-day, Dec. 17. During recess,students ran laps as part ofthe Go Far program that en-courages physical activity.But this day was extra specialas Santa Claus ran alongsidethe students, holiday musicplayed over speakers and jin-gle bells —— rather than pop-sicle sticks — were given outafter laps were completed.Jen Schulten, who created GoFar, thanks Sandie Dalles forthe hours helping out inpreparation for the event.

Photos by Stephanie Wilcox

Above, a group ofgirls dances to

the holiday musicplaying on the

field. Right, KyliePoggio dashes

across the snowygrass. Below,

Santa with kinder-garteners.

Bottom photo, SpencerRicci smiles for the cam-era.

Thody and Surowaniec to WedAmanda Thody of Creamery Road

in Durham and Pawel Surowaniec ofAshwell Drive in Southington an-nounce their engagement.

Parents of the bride-to-be are Ronaldand Lori Thody of Durham.

Parents of the groom-to-be are Jozefand Maria Surowaniec of Southington.

Amanda earned a BS from CentralConnecticut State University in Mar-keting and is currently completing herMasters Degree in Elementary Educa-tion a the University of Hartford.

Amanda works at Derynoski Ele-mentary School.

Pawel works as the Sales Managerof Harte Motors in Meriden. He is alsothe owner of J&P Manufacturing inPlainville.

The wedding is planned for June2012.

Friday, December 24, 2010 Town Times Spotlight 17

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Town Times Service Directory

Jack Robert Frederick,born Friday, Nov. 12, 2010,to Tim and Amy (Gawlak)Frederick of Middletown.

Paternal grandparentsJohn and Sandy Frederick

of Middlefield. Paternalgreat-grandmother Made-line Frederick of Meriden.

Maternal grandparentsRobert and Jeanne Gawlak

of Middlefield. Maternalgreat-grandmother AliceGawlak of Middletown.

Grayson Eric Collins, left,born June 21, 2010, to Ste-fanie and Dave Collins ofPortland. Grandparents

Donna and Rich Golub ofMiddlefield and Sue andBrad Collins of Durham.Great-grandmother Ce-

celia Stannard of Durham.

Town Times Welcomes New Citizens

Renowned American com-poser Gwyneth Walker pre-miered a new work at theService of Lessons and Car-ols at First CongregationalChurch in Cheshire on Dec.19. The piece, “Alpha andOmega,” featured three fa-miliar Christmas carolsarranged for brass quintet,percussion, and chorus.

Middlefield residentsAdam Perrin and Jan Kre-itler both sang in the eventas part of the Greater Middle-town contingent.

On Nov. 20, MiddlesexD a n c eCenter’sd a n c e rSavannahN g o ,a l o n gwith di-r e c t o rT o n i -L y n nM i l e s ,attendeda Rock-

ette dance class in New YorkCity. The class was taught byfive-time Rockette JoannaRichardson. The grouplearned about various kicksthat the kickline performs aswell as part of the famous“Parade of the Wooden Sol-diers” dance. Savannah hasbeen studying at MDC inMiddlefield for five years.She takes lessons in jazz, tap,ballet and lyrical. Picturedafter class is Savannah withRockette Joanna.

Photo submitted by Toni-Lynn Miles

Jerry and Nancy Turner,of Durham,announcedthat theirgranddaugh-ter, ReginaTurner, wasnamed MissConnecticutUSA for 2011.She will goon to com-pete in theMiss USAcontest inLos Angelosnext spring. Regina is 21years old and plans to be adentist. Her parents are Jeffand Joyce Turner of Portland.

More names from firstsemester Honor Rolls:

Coginchaug Regional HighSchool

Seniors with High Honors:Tresa Roberts

Seniors receiving Honors:Nicole Jubelirer and TylerSibley

Juniors receiving Honors:Melanie Badin, Sarah DiSilve-stro

Xavier High SchoolFreshmen receiving Honors:

Robert Cocchiola and JoshEtheridge

Vinal High SchoolSeniors with High Honors:

Richard ParkerJuniors with High Honors:

Brianna GasiorSophomores with High Honors:

Thomas D’Orvilliers, William

Mazo, Samantha Misenti,Stephen Wyskiel, Lisa Bradleyand Shane Phenicie.

Freshmen with High Honors:John Amendola

Seniors receiving Honors:Katherine Farrall and Rebec-ca Farrall.

Juniors receiving Honors:Robert Carle, Mitchell Foleyand Nicholas Siwinski

Sophomores receiving Honors:Brittany Gervais, Steven Ko-erber and Noah Ludecke

Freshmen receiving Honors:Brandon Kwolek, Jonathan Keu-rajian and Christopher Quick

Town Times Friday, December 24, 201018

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Tiny tots and gingerbread houses; Christmas is in the air...Left and below, The BASREP children are keeping warm with a plethora of fun holiday and winter activities!A crowd favorite was the creation of Snowman Krispies, a fun and edible project! Left, Brenden Kane andSierra Astle show off their ccreations Submitted photos

Below, pre-schoolers and kindergarteners celebrate this holiday season bysinging to their families and friends at Brewster School’s Winter Celebrationheld on Dec. 16. Photo submitted by Patti Checko

Maura Caramanello’s firstgrade class made ginger-bread houses to cele-brate the holidays.

Photos submitted by Patti Checko


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Local kids spreading holiday cheer throughout townLeft, The Faith Formation students at Notre Dame Church in Durhamcollaborated with St. Vincent De Paul in Middletown to provide spe-cial items for the needy as part of their Gift Giving Program for Christ-mas. The items were delivered to St. Vincent De Paul last weekend.Thank you to all who participated for your kindness and generosity.

Submitted by Tim McIntyre

Below right, young kids played their parts at Middlefield FederatedChurch’s Christmas pageant this past weekend.

Photos submitted by Pat Bandzes

Above, Members of theMiddlefield FederatedChurch Youth Group posewith some of the toys col-lected for the children ofHaiti. Shown from right toleft are Maddy Wooding,Wendy Smith, WilliamStaddon, Jacob Burt, Vic-toria Koch, Spencer Mc-Coy, Marissa Berry,Samantha Michaud,Roslyn Helmedach, BeccaKalber, Larissa Cade, An-gela Priest, Patrick Hold-en Jennette Hummel andKristofer Copeland. Thetoys will be distributed byHELO, an organization co-founded by ElisabethKennedy, when she trav-els there later this month.Photo submitted by Marilyn Keurajian

Above, another MFCpageant picture.


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1185947Rebecca ParkerPrivate Guitar TeacherAges 6-18, all stylesTeach out of Joe Riffs Music,440 Main Street, Middletown

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third/fourth grade teacherat John Lyman ElementarySchool, for winning theTeacher of the Year Award.Moriarty “personifies whatgood teaching is all about,”according to Viccaro, whoalso noted Moriarty’s ap-proval among peers and par-ents and recognized his “al-most weekly” guitar playingat John Lyman assemblies.The board then took a “re-cess” to enjoy a congratula-tory cake.School day scheduling is-sues

Scheduling issues cameup when the board resumedbusiness. The board consid-ered letters of complaintfrom parents regarding de-layed openings for profes-sional development. Whileacknowledging the difficultymultiple delayed openings

can cause parents, Viccarostated that professional de-velopment days had to bespread out and not con-densed into two days.

A state legislative act re-quiring schools to offer twoparent conferences per yearmay also cause schedulingdifficulty. Two conferencesalready occur at the elemen-tary level but must be fit infor the older grades. Viccarohas initiated a conversationwith the teachers’ unionpresident. “Input from theteachers is critical in figur-ing out how best to do this,”she said. The law requiresthe option of a second confer-ence, which would likely co-incide with marking periods.

Budget discussion plans

Budget season starts withthe next board meeting andwas referred to severaltimes. Chairman Tom Hen-nick invited the public to thenext meeting, Jan. 12, whichwill open with time for pub-

lic comment. “The idea is tohave people come and giveus ideas,” Hennick stated.State Representative MattLesser and State Senator EdMeyer have been invited tothe second January meeting,on the 26, to discuss thebudget.

During committee re-ports, member Kerrie Flana-gan noted that the LongRange Planning Committeehas been tracking potentialsavings from lower interestrates on debt and potentialexpenses from the Brewsterwell situation. These items,Flanagan said, would be con-sidered when preparing forthe budget.Community event updates

Two recent communityevents were reported as suc-cesses to the board. MemberMary Jane Parsons said she“couldn’t believe how manycarts there were rollingaround” at the CommunityRound-Up, which collected

almost 15,000 food items and$3,500 in donations. Viccarosaid that the increased dona-tions in tough economictimes “speaks volumesabout the generosity of ourcommunity.”

Member Nancy Boyle re-ported on the sports banquetsponsored by the Bench-warmers. This was the firsttime the football and cheer-leading programs were com-bined at the banquet. Boylereported the highest ever at-tendance.Project updates and otherbusiness

Business manager RonMelnik discussed changes tothe board’s bank account, in-cluding remote deposit forconvenience and a confirmedlog of acceptable checks forsecurity. Melnik also said heis working with the town ofDurham about the flooding atPickett Lane. The solar pan-els at John Lyman andMemorial schools are “prob-

ably weeks away from get-ting done,” Melnik said.

In other constructionnews, member Bill Currlindiscussed the completion ofthe parking lot fencing andlights at the high schooltrack. Signs have been postedto keep people off the trackand field. The black “soft sur-face” will stay in place “untilthe weather is right” in Aprilor May, Currlin said. He alsoreferred to an effort to sched-ule track meets for later inthe calendar.

CRHS social studiesteacher Julie Selberg attend-ed the meeting to requestpermission for a field trip.Selberg asked to take theModel U.N. Club to Yale Uni-versity. The trip was ap-proved unanimously.

There are two BOE meet-ings in January. The first ison Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m. atKorn. The second is on Jan.26 at 7:30 p.m. at Memorial.

BOE(Continued from page 1)

CRHS at TeenLife conference

Over 300 students fromarea high schools, includingCoginchaug Regional HighSchool, attended the 28th an-nual Teen Life Conference onDec. 13-14, at Wesleyan Uni-versity’s Exley Science Cen-ter. The conference gave par-ticipants an opportunity to at-tend workshops conducted byprofessionals from health andsocial agencies on subjectsthat may be of interest toteens but not usually found intraditional school curriculum

This year’s workshop top-ics were: “Good Nutrition,”“Healthy Relationships,”“Teen Parenting,” “StressManagement,” “Exercise andFitness,” “Body Art,” “Bully-ing” and “Substance AbusePrevention.”

In addition, high schoolparticipants attended a pres-entation of “A Journeythrough Addiction.”

The conference was spon-sored by the MiddletownHealth Department in cooper-ation with Wesleyan Univer-sity and participatingschools. Middlesex Hospitaland the Middletown Sub-stance Abuse PreventionCouncil (MSAPC) made finan-cial donations to the event.

The usual holiday crowdspacked the Coginchaug audito-rium for the annual holiday con-cert last Sunday. At right, boysin the chorus sing out; below,the always-affecting candlelightchoral procession; bottom, mu-sic director Dean Coutsouridisin frontof theconcertb a n d .Right, atrumpetfanfare.

Friday, December 24, 2010 Town Times Obituaries 21

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Thomas GibbonsThomas Gibbons, 63, of

Great Hill Pond Rd., Portland,husband of the late Lauren(Corvo) Gibbons, died Fridayas his home following a brief ill-ness. He was born April 4, 1947,in Scranton, Pa., son of the lateJohn and Helen (Kachinski)Gibbons. He was employed byColumbia Mfg. Co.

He was a Vietnam veteranserving with the U.S. MarineCorp. He was a member of theAmerican Legion.

He is survived by two sons,Shawn Gibbons and his wifeJulie of Durham and DarrenGibbons of Portland; a brother,Jerry Gibbons of Fla.; a sister,Anne Marie Thibideau of NewHampshire; two grandchildren,Connor Thomas Gibbons andDarren Louis Gibbons Jr.

A celebration of his life willbe held Friday at 2 p.m. at theD’Angelo Funeral Home, 22South Main Street in Middle-town. Relatives and friendsmay call Friday from 1 p.m.until the time of the service.Donations in his memory maybe made to the AmericanHeart Association or to WestHaven VA Hospital. Burialwill be private and at the con-venience of the family.

David LavineDavid Lavine, formerly of

New York City and Durham,died on Monday, Dec. 13, 2010

in Provi-d e n c e ,Rhode Is-land. He wasthe belovedhusband ofGladys, fa-ther ofR a c h e l ,Adam andR e b e c c a ,

grandfather of Shingo, Ayano,Jacob and Ari, and brother ofNancy Roberts. Born on No-vember 11, 1928, son of JoanBragman and A. LincolnLavine, David taught in theNew York City public schoolsand published several booksfor young readers on govern-ment, as well as “Under theCity,” an underground look atNew York. He went on to serve18 years in the ConnecticutGeneral Assembly, eventuallyserving as chair of the Energyand Public Utilities Commit-tee, Assistant Majority Leaderand Deputy Speaker, cappinghis political career as the Di-rector of Energy for the Stateof Connecticut. During histenure in the Connecticut leg-

islature, Lavine authored anumber of groundbreaking en-ergy regulations and conserva-tion laws that were used asmodels in other states, includ-ing the Connecticut InlandWetlands Act. David was ac-tive for many years with theNational Conference of StateLegislatures, serving on its Ex-ecutive Committee. David willbe remembered for his tremen-dous life force, his engagingconversation, his unbeatablechess game and his good cook-ing, which he served to friendsand foes alike. He remained cu-rious and concerned about thestate of the world to the end ofhis life (serving most recentlyas the chair of the MiddletownRhode Island DemocraticTown Committee) and will begreatly missed not only by hisfamily, but by his many friendsand colleagues. Gravesideservices were held Dec. 16, 2010at Island Cemetery in Newport,RI. In lieu of flowers, donationscan be made to Partners InHealth, www.pih.org. Arrange-ments by Sugarman-SinaiMemorial Chapel.

CRHS holiday concert held Dec. 19

Photos by Sue VanDerzee

Town Times Sports Friday, December 24, 201022

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Durham Dunkers meet Geno Auriemma

The fifth grade travel basketball team “Durham Dunkers” had the opportunityto meet Geno Auriemma and the UCONN girls. Pictured, from left, ShannonCarey, Virginia Benbow, Alyssa Richardson, Hannah Clark, Taylor Christiana,Geno Auriemma, Isabella Santoro, Kaitlin Gossart, Meghan Deville, Cary Lane,and Mattie Montz. What an incredible opportunity for the girls! They had somuch fun. Photo submitted by Michele Santoro

DurhamBasketball Assoc.to host local HotShot Shootingcontest

On Saturday, Jan. 15,2011, the Durham Basket-ball Association will hosta local Hot Shot Shootingcontest at Strong Schoolfrom 1 to 4 p.m. open toresidents of Durham andMiddlefield, ages 9 to 15 asof December 31, 2010. Rib-bons will be awarded to allcontestants, and medals tothe highest scorers ineach division. Winnerswill advance to compete ata Connecticut RegionalHot Shot contest in Febru-ary or March 2011. Win-ners of the Regional Con-test will advance to a StateChampionship contest tobe held April 2nd. Formore details and registra-tion information, visitwww.dbact.org, or e-mailDan Davis [email protected].

Coginchaug girls rollover Rams

By Alan PeaseSpecial to the Town Times

On Tuesday, Dec. 14, theCoginchaug girls visited theLady Rams of Old Saybrookfor a Shoreline Conferencegame. The Blue Devils didnot play a complete fourquarters but dominated thegame from the opening tip,leading 16–5 after the first pe-riod, 26–10 at the half, 32–11entering the final period, andfinishing with a 41–16 win,never allowing more thanfive points in a period, andonly one point in the thirdquarter.

Amanda Boyle and Mor-gan Kuehnle held Old Say-brook’s 6’2” center to onepoint and three reboundsand kept her from being afactor in the game. The BlueDevil guards did not allowOld Saybrook’s guards to get

comfortable or even set uptheir offense.

A balanced scoring attackwas led by Audrey Biesakwith 13, while Lauren Espos-ito had 12, Sam Mancinelliscored six, Morgan Kuehnleand Jessica Solomon eachnotched four points, and KimRomanoff chipped in withtwo. Mancinelli dished outeight assists, and AmandaBoyle and Kuehnle eachblocked two shots.

The Blue Devils dominat-ed the backboards, out-re-bounding the Rams 43-19,with Mancinelli leading theway with 12 rebounds, whileKuehnle pulled down nineand Boyle had six.

Defensively the Blue Dev-il’s pressured the Rams intomany mistakes, Sam withseven steals, Jessica withthree, Lauren with three andAudrey with two. Defenseand rebounding won thisone!

Thanks to Coach RettMancinelli for the excellentgame notes on this.

Friday, Decembet 24, 2010 Town Times Sports 231179951Experience makes the difference.

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1144298

Xavier wins Class LL State Title and ranks as No. 1 high school football team in the state

By Rich MurphySpecial to the Town Times

The Xavier High Schoolfootball team was too big, toostrong, too fast, too deter-mined and just too talented.That’s a big reason why thisteam is the Class LL highschool football state champi-ons. Ever since a season end-ing state playoff semi-finalloss to Staples last Decem-ber, the Xavier Falcons havebeen on a mission to win astate championship. Sincethe start of the season, thisteam has been focused andrelentless in achieving thegoal they set out to accom-plish after that bitter coldnight last year.

The top-seeded Xavier Fal-cons had to overcome manytough competitors through-out the season to accomplishtheir goal. There were verytough wins beginning withNotre Dame of West Haven,the defending Class L statechampions and number oneranked team in the state atthe time, which put Xavierin the top spot for the re-mainder of the year.

There were other majorchallenges against teamsfrom the SCC, which is ar-guably the best and most tal-ented conference in thestate. They had wins againstSCC foes from Cheshire,Shelton, Hillhouse (thisyear’s Class M state champi-on), Foran, Amity, FairfieldPrep, Hamden and WestHaven (twice). They enteredthe playoffs with a perfect 10-0 record after a big winagainst city rival Middle-town where they won theirsecond consecutive citychampionship on Thanks-giving morning in front of acrowd of more than 5,000.From that win, Xaviermoved onto the Class LLstate playoff tournament,where Xavier was ranked asthe top-seeded team.

They began their state ti-tle quest with a great winagainst West Haven atPalmer Field, 28-7. Xavierthen traveled down to South-ern Connecticut State Uni-versity to play the best teamfrom the CCC conference.However, Glastonbury was

no match for Xavier. Theycould not handle the Xavierdefensive attack or the offen-sive explosion. The end re-sult: Xavier 24-13 and ontothe state title game. Topseeded Xavier made a con-vincing case to finish as thestate’s No. 1 ranked team af-ter they beat third-seededTrumbull 24-13 in front of5,000 at Rentschler Field.The win gave Xavier its sec-ond state championship infive years and catapultedthem to their recent No. 1state ranking in the finalpolls.

This team brought forth a“go to work,” lunch pail atti-tude all year long. They havearguably one of the best highschool football defensiveunits ever, and they have acore unit of Durham/Mid-dlefield players who havebeen playing together for along time. These players in-clude starters Graham Stew-art, Eric Mischke, WalterAuger, Tom Linden, NateTobias, Ryan Murphy, MikeMastroianni and Tim Boyle.

Other key players fromDurham/Middlefield in-clude Josh Etheridge, MattDekoeyer, Lawrence Hilland Nate Gonzalez. Most ofthese boys have been playingfootball together since theywere seven and eight yearsold. Some have even wonyouth football champi-onships together. That iswhy this state championshipis very special for this coregroup of young men. Theyhave been dreaming of thissince they strapped on a hel-met and began playing foot-ball at the tender age of sev-en.

This state championshipand No. 1 ranking is a truetestament of this team’s hardwork, determination and tal-ent. There has been a lot ofdebate throughout the yearas to how good this team re-ally is. I think the debate isfinally over. Who could ar-gue with perfection — a 13-0record for the 2010 XavierFalcons? This is a truly agreat team!

Above, Tim Boyle, Mike Mastroianni and Ryan Murphyafter winning the Class LL high school football statechampionship this year. Below, the same three play-ers after winning a youth football championship to-gether in 2006. Photos submitted by Rich Murphy

Above, Durham/Middlefield players after theThanksgiving City Championship game.


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Holiday Potpourri at the Hartford SymphonyLarry Kellum

Special to Town Times

‘Twas the night beforeChristmas and all thru theopera house, all the musi-cians were stirring, except

perhaps the mouse.So it was on Dec.18 when

the Hartford Symphony Or-chestra presented its annual“Holiday POPS!” concert atthe Bushnell. The festiveevent was much more than

just a concert — it was an ac-tual show, as all the ele-ments of the human artisticspirit came together on thebig stage — oratorio, ballet,classical and traditionalChristmas music, vocal and

instrumental. Even a touchof theater with a surprisevisit from Santa Claus be-fore launching his world-wide tour of gift-giving.

If one (like this reviewer)favors the serious (and not

commercial) side of Christ-mas, then one would agreethat the highlight of theshow was the HartfordChorale’s spectacularsinging of the two main cho-ruses from Handel’s “Messi-ah.” The unusually strongsoprano section in particu-lar generated momentarycatharsis as they soared glo-riously thru the high tessitu-ra of the famous “Hallelu-jah.” Also impressive wasthe appearance of Tessa Ro-mano, a recent graduate ofFarmington High School,whose small, but pearlyvoice beautifully intoned“Ave Maria” and “O HolyNight.” There were two soloballerinas dancing the pre-dictable excerpts fromTchaikovsky’s “Nutcrack-er,” and an old St. Nick whoturned out to be a young lo-cal baritone named DiegoMatamoros, whose career isbeginning to really blossomin several of the major operahouses in Italy and the U.S.

Of course, all of theseforces were strategicallyheld together and richly ac-companied by the HartfordSymphony under the sea-soned baton of Edward Cum-ming. More than a maestro,Cumming is always a realshowman, and his cheerfulcommentaries helped makethe evening an entertaining,as well as musical, experi-ence. He will be sorelymissed when he steps downfrom the podium next year.

For the remainder of its67th season, one can obtaintickets and info by visitingwww.hartfordsymphony.org or calling 860-244-2999.Happy New Year!

Firewood Delivery

Firewood for sale. Most-ly Oak that is cut 16-18.”The cost is $200 per cord(4x4x8) or $100 per half-cord (2x2x4.) Will deliverto your home. Call 860-613-2117 to stay warm thisWinter.

12-24-2010TownTimes

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