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Volume 35, Number 28 Published by The Glastonbury Citizen October 8, 2010

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See Baseball Page 2

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

See Hearing Page 2

Former Colchester resident Ron Wotus has been bench coach for the San FranciscoGiants since 1999. His team is currently taking on the Atlanta Braves in the firstround of the National League playoffs.

O’Keefe, Reimondo Speak Out at Hearing

From Bacon to Baseball’sPostseason

by Katy NallyWhile many New Englanders bicker and

squabble over Yankees or Red Sox, Colchesterresidents might want to consider switching theirallegiance entirely, and start rooting for the SanFrancisco Giants, as one team member’s rootshit closer to home than New York or Boston.

Although you won’t see him at bat, or poisedfor a grounder at shortstop, former Colchesterresident Ron Wotus will be in the dugout dur-ing the playoffs, as the Giants’ bench coach.He’s held the position since 1999 and has beenwith the Giants’ organization for 25 years.

The Giants took on the Atlanta BravesThursday, after press time, in the first of fivegames for this year’s National League Divi-sional Series.

If Wotus’ team wins against the Braves, theGiants will play either the Cincinnati Reds orthe Philadelphia Phillies in the National LeagueChampionship Series. If the Giants make it, theycould be taking on either the Rangers, Rays,Yankees or Twins in the World Series.

“We have a shot now to move on, but wedon’t want to get ahead of ourselves,” Wotussaid Tuesday.

The Giants won 92 games and lost 70 dur-ing the regular season, placing them fifth of all30 major league teams in terms of wins.

“With 162 games, it’s not many off days, andthe whole reason you go through all that is toget through the playoffs and make it to theWorld Series,” Wotus said.

As a bench coach, Wotus went to the WorldSeries in 2002, when the Giants played theAnaheim Angels. San Francisco lost that se-ries in six games.

When asked about his team’s chances thispostseason, Wotus was hopeful.

“We feel good,” he said, adding, “we have avery good team; pitching is our strength. Ourbullpen is solid.”

The Giants led Major League Baseball thisyear in strikeouts and saves, at 1,331 and 57respectively. The team also had the lowest ERA(earned run average), at 3.36, and batting aver-age against, at .236.

According to the New York Times, the Gi-ants held opponents to a .182 batting averagein September and pitched to a 1.78 ERA. Ac-cording to the Times, those were the lowest suchmarks for a staff in any month since the Cleve-land Indians in May 1968. Also, the Timesnoted, the last team to sport a better SeptemberERA was the 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers – whowent on to win the World Series.

“This is certainly one of the top three teamsthat I’ve been on here in San Francisco,” Wotussaid.

And Wotus is no stranger to top teams, orplayers, for that matter. He was first a third basecoach, and then a bench coach, during BarryBonds’ tenure with the Giants. Bonds left theGiants after the 2007 season.

Wotus said he was fortunate to see Bonds

by Claire MichalewiczFormer East Hampton Town Manager Jeff

O’Keefe and laid-off Police Chief MattReimondo both testified Monday evening, forthe hearing into Reimondo’s termination.

For nearly five hours, Reimondo’s attorney,Leon Rosenblatt, and the town’s attorney, MarkSommaruga, faced off in the high school audi-torium. The two lawyers examined five wit-nesses, including O’Keefe and Reimondo, totry to determine why O’Keefe decided to elimi-nate Reimondo’s position in June.

Interim Town Manager Bob Drewry servedas hearing officer. During the hearing, attorneyNick Grello sat beside Drewry, offering legaladvice and ruling on the numerous objectionsthat Rosenblatt and especially Sommarugaraised during the course of questioning.

The long-awaited hearing into Reimondo’sdismissal is offered under state statute 7-278,which states that a police chief can be dismissedonly for just cause. This hearing started in July2, only to be abruptly adjourned by Sommaruga,who said Reimondo had no right to a hearingas he had been fired for budget reasons.

About 200 residents gathered in the audito-rium to watch the proceedings, though thecrowd thinned out as the evening wore on. Theaudience remained mostly quiet throughout thehearing, though most of them applauded forReimondo.

Sommaruga frequently objected toRosenblatt’s questions, protesting whenRosenblatt brought up the harassment allega-tions against O’Keefe and Reimondo’s historyof being pressured by O’Keefe, Town CouncilChairwoman Melissa Engel and other localpoliticians.

While being questioned, O’Keefe insisted hedid not know that Reimondo was involved inthe complaints when he started looking intoeliminating his position, though he knew com-plaints had been filed. Reimondo, though, of-fered evidence that O’Keefe was acting ongrudges that he and Engel had against him.

Sommaruga’s argument hinged on the factthat Reimondo’s position had been officiallyeliminated by a revised ordinance the TownCouncil passed last week. O’Keefe’s move,

Former East Hampton Town Manager Jeffrey O'Keefe, left, was questioned by LeonRosenblatt, the attorney for the town's laid off police chief, Matt Reimondo, during ahearing Monday. The hearing, which lasted five hours, was attended by 200 people.

Baseball cont. from Front Page

Hearing cont. from Front Page

first break Babe Ruth’s long-standing careerhome run record, at 714, in 2006, and then goon to smash Hank Aaron’s, 755, a year later aswell. Bonds left baseball maintaining the ca-reer home run record at 762.

“Those were special moments in baseballhistory,” Wotas said. “It’s great to have been apart of that.”

Wotus noted the Giants were a different teamwhen Bonds was a player, as his home runsdrove crowds to San Francisco.

“He was always the marquee player for thefranchise,” Wotus said. “People identified theSan Francisco Giants as Barry Bonds. It wasspecial to have such a great player.”

Since the Bonds era, the Giants have movedon, and the “team [has taken] on a new iden-tity,” Wotus said.

“It was a big transition for the organization,”he added. “It’s certainly in the past with us, es-pecially with us getting into the playoffs.”

During the 1990s, Wotus worked his way upthrough the Giants’ ranks. From 1991-97, Wotuswas manager for the Giants’ farm teams andwon Manager of the Year for the CaliforniaLeague in 1991, at the age of 30.

As manager for the Single-A San Jose Gi-ants in 1991, Wotus led his team to the bestrecord in all baseball, at 92-44. Two years later,in 1993, Wotus led the Double-A ShreveportCaptains to the playoffs for three straight sea-sons. In 1995, his team compiled the best over-all record in minor league baseball, at 88-47.

By 1996 Wotus debuted as the Triple-APhoenix Firebirds manager and led them to thechampionship series that year.

But before his managerial magic touchkicked in, Wotus played ball himself. He playedtwo seasons with the Firebirds from 1988-89and, before that, had a stint in the big leagues.

Wotus played shortstop and second base onthe Pittsburgh Pirates from 1983-84 and got hisstart as the 16th-round draft pick in 1979, atthe age of 18.

Before he made the big-league club, one ofWotus’ minor league stops was in Hawaii in1983, with Pittsburgh’s Triple-A affiliate, theHawaii Islanders. With the Islanders, Wotusbatted .301 with 10 home runs and 62 RBI in125 games.

And it all started back in Colchester and atBacon Academy, where his teams’ trophies arestill on display, Wotus’ mother Jean said.

While at Bacon, Wotus played soccer, bas-ketball, and, of course, baseball.

“He was a good athlete in high school,” Jeannoted.

“I had a great time growing up in Colchesterand going to Bacon Academy,” Wotus said. “Ihad outstanding coaches and mentors.”

Since climbing the ranks through highschool, minors and majors, Wotus said he nowhas his sights set on managing his own majorleague team, and has had four interviews withteams.

“We’ll see what happens in the future,” he

said.Being a manager, he said, would allow him

to “implement your own style and philosophyinto the game.”

Wotus recently assumed the manager’s po-sition for the Giants on Oct. 2, when the team’smanager was thrown out in the sixth inning, ina game against the San Diego Padres.

As a bench coach, filling in when the man-ager gets tossed is just one role, Wotus ex-plained. Mostly, a bench coach helps a man-ager during games, providing suggestions and“another set of eyes and ears,” Wotus said.

“If he has a question, I have an answer forhim.”

He also coordinates spring training and setsup workouts for players.

He may be bench coach for now, but Wotushas shown his ability to move up through theworld of baseball. And, depending on thecoming weeks, his next title of recognitionmight begin with the phrase “World SeriesChampions.”

Sommaruga reiterated, was strictly budgetary,but had been turned into a political issue.

“No one likes to lose a job,” Sommarugasaid. “I do actually feel sorry for Mr.Reimondo.” But, he said, the state was facing abudget crisis, and public sector jobs were nolonger as secure as they once were.

Rosenblatt, meanwhile, focused on the ha-rassment complaints against O’Keefe thatReimondo was investigating, outlining howReimondo encouraged three female town em-ployees to put their concerns in writing.

“It was his intention to investigate this be-cause that is a serious matter and he is the chiefof police,” Rosenblatt said.

“There was never a reorganization in the po-lice department,” Rosenblatt said later, explain-ing that the switch to a lieutenant was only asemantic one. “All that has happened has beena single person replaced by another single per-son.”

Rosenblatt called five witnesses to testify –resident and petition organizer Bill Marshall,Director of Finance Jeff Jylkka, Director ofPublic Works Keith Hayden, O’Keefe andReimondo. Sommaruga declined to call anywitnesses, instead cross-examining each per-son Rosenblatt called.

When Rosenblatt questioned Jylkka, Jylkkaexplained that he had been left out of the deci-sion to eliminate Reimondo’s position, and thatO’Keefe had miscalculated the numbers he usedin making the decision.

Jylkka said he first learned that Reimondowould be laid off in a meeting on June 22, justabout an hour before Reimondo was laid off.

“I was shocked,” Jylkka said. “At the time, Iguess it just didn’t make sense.

“I told him that he shouldn’t do it,” Jylkkacontinued.

Normally, Jylkka told Rosenblatt, if thetown was facing a shortfall, they would havea meeting of department heads, to discussplaces to make cuts. “At some point,” Jylkkasaid, he himself would likely be involved inthat decision.

Jylkka said the state published its forecastsfor municipal aid in March, well before O’Keefestarted planning to cut the police department.“We do not foresee any major material short-falls,” Jylkka said.

Jylkka also said O’Keefe had used incorrectnumbers in his calculations of police depart-ment expenses, explaining that O’Keefe over-estimated the costs of two police cruisers. Whenhe tried to replicate O’Keefe’s calculations ofthe savings from downsizing the department,Jylkka said, “I could not arrive at the same num-bers he had.”

Another witness Rosenblatt called was Di-rector of Public Works Keith Hayden, who ex-plained that a budgeted town engineer positionhad not yet been filled. The town was spendingmore money on outside consultants than theywould on a permanent full-time engineer,Hayden said.

When O’Keefe took the stand, he continuedto insist that he took steps to cut the police de-partment because he was anticipating the town’sbudget failing at a referendum in May.

“I did not fire him,” O’Keefe said ofReimondo. “I gave him a series of memos indi-cating that his position was being eliminatedand the police department was being right-sized.”

O’Keefe also said Green had not receivedany overtime since being promoted to actinglieutenant, as his promotion had eliminated hisunion protection. (Reimondo later disputedthese claims, saying that Green had been re-ceiving overtime, since he was still covered byunion regulations. Furthermore, Reimondo said,Green is not qualified to be East Hampton’spolice chief, because he lacks the necessaryeducation and training.)

O’Keefe told Rosenblatt Engel had attendedtwo meetings with himself, Sommaruga andtown attorney Jean D’Aquila, though he latersaid Engel had only attended one. (Engel laterexplained she had attended one and participatedin the other by speakerphone, so she would beprepared to handle the June 22 Town Councilexecutive session that offered Reimondo hisseverance package.)

“I don’t know that she was necessarily in fa-vor of it,” O’Keefe said of Engel. “It was mydecision to go forward with it.”

“I was starting to prepare for next year’s bud-get,” O’Keefe said. “I could have sat back onmy laurels and done nothing.” But, O’Keefeadded, he “firmly believed” the town would befacing budget difficulties in the next fiscal year.

“I probably would not be looking for a job ifI just hid under a rock and didn’t take action,”O’Keefe continued.

O’Keefe attempted to continue stating hiscase even after Rosenblatt stopped questioninghim. “I’m tired of being publicly crucified as asexual deviant,” O’Keefe said. “The harass-ments never happened.”

When Sommaruga examined him, O’Keefesaid he found out about the harassments onApril 30, when Engel told him. Later that day,he started asking Jylkka and finance directorsin neighboring towns about their police bud-gets.

But O’Keefe said he did not know the iden-tities of the complainants, or that Reimondo wasinvolved, until Sommaruga faxed him the in-formation on May 5. Furthermore,Sommaruga’s investigation was officially fin-ished on May 25, when the Town Council votedto take no action against him.

The criminal investigation into the com-plaints, O’Keefe said, started the day Reimondowas fired. After cleaning out his office, O’Keefesaid, Reimondo took his file on the harassmentfrom the trunk of his car and handed it to Sgt.Garritt Kelly.

O’Keefe said Reimondo told Kelly to takethe files to the state’s attorney’s office “and seeif you can have Mr. O’Keefe arrested for some-thing.”

After O’Keefe testified, Reimondo testifiedthat local politicians, especially Engel, had beenpushing him to do things he did not want to dofor years.

“I’m giving you a background of whattranspires in small-town America,”Reimondo said, explaining that his goal wasto do what was right for the community, notfor individuals.

Reimondo said Engel had been interested indismissing him for years, dating back to a 2002fire at Markham Meadows Campground, whichshe owns. Two of her employees were arrestedand charged in the fire, Reimondo said. Afterthe fire, Reimondo said Building, Planning andZoning Administrator Jim Carey and Drewry,then the town’s director of public works, ad-vised him that Engel would “be after” him forpressing charges.

Later that year, Reimondo said, Engel’sbrother was killed in a motorcycle accident.Reimondo said Engel pushed him to arrest theperson who struck him, he said, but he declinedbecause neither he nor the state’s attorney’soffice could find any criminality.

In addition, Reimondo said, he drew moreire from O’Keefe by declining to hire O’Keefe’srecommendation for the position of animal con-trol officer, refusing to open a bridge on MainStreet when he thought it wasn’t safe and issu-ing citations for noise violations to Angelico’sLake House, which Reimondo said was a popu-lar place for local politicians.

On Tuesday, Engel denied having ever spo-ken to anyone about wanting the driver whostruck her brother arrested, and said that as faras she knew, no one in her family had, either.The driver who killed him was a family friend,she said, and the entire situation was a tragicaccident.

“I resent the fact that he would even alludeto that,” she said. Moreover, she said, anotherofficer, not Reimondo, had arrested the twocampground employees, and the case had beendismissed in court.

As the hearing drew to a close, Rosenblattacknowledged that Drewry was in a difficultsituation, and urged him to apply the principlesof justice and make the right decision.Rosenblatt said he heard Drewry had told othertown employees that the Town Council wouldfire him if he ruled against O’Keefe. Rosenblatttold Drewry he shouldn’t feel pressured to com-promise his ethics.

“It’s not worth it,” he said, pointing out thatDrewry made $25 an hour.

Engel said Tuesday the Town Council didnot tell Drewry he would be fired for rulingagainst O’Keefe. “I can’t imagine anyone say-ing that to Bob Drewry,” she said. “Bob Drewryis his own guy.”

Rosenblatt told Drewry at the hearing, “Re-turn [Reimondo] to work immediately. If theordinance is passed, we’ll deal with it. But puthim back to work now.”

The current situation, Rosenblatt said, was“Kafkaesque,” with the town hiring several law-yers to prevent Reimondo from working, eventhough the Reimondo is still being paid.

“This is a pretty emotional issue,” Drewrysaid as he closed the hearing. He said he wouldreview all the documents and transcripts aboutReimondo’s dismissal, and issue a written judg-ment “as soon as humanly possible.” As of presstime, Drewry could not be reached to see howclose he was to making that decision.

O’Keefe made a quick exit after testifying,

but Sommaruga reiterated that O’Keefe did notknow the details of the complaints when hestarted looking at cutting the police department.

“I’m happy now that, finally, people got tohear the truth,” Sommaruga said.

Sommaruga added that he was concernedabout the town’s budget shortfall in upcomingyears. The “media circus” surroundingReimondo’s layoff was hindering the ability ofEast Hampton and other towns to make furtherbudget cuts, he said.

Rosenblatt said that while he thought thehearing had gone well, he was not optimisticabout its outcome.

“I think I have to go to court,” he said.Rosenblatt is due back in court next Tuesday,Oct. 12, for a hearing on a motion to dismissthe case, filed by O’Keefe’s and the town’s at-torneys, David Monastersky and SheldonMyers.

Reimondo said the hearing offered the audi-ence “a clearer picture of what’s transpiring,”and let people know how difficult it can be tobe a police chief.

“When we as chiefs make decisions, we haveto make them on behalf of the whole commu-nity,” Reimondo said.

* * *Although the Town Council voted to elimi-

nate Reimondo’s position, the ordinance doesnot take effect until Oct. 21. There is a chancethe ordinance will never take effect, as someresidents are petitioning to have the ordinancesent to vote at a town meeting.

On Saturday, members of Take Back OurTown stood outside Stop and Shop and outsideTown Hall to collect signatures. Organizer BillMarshall said petitioners were supposed to setup on Stop & Shop property, but the managerexplained that he couldn’t do it after receivingcalls from residents saying they would no longershop there if he allowed the petitioners on hisproperty.

Marshall said he understood that the man-ager had a business to run, and said the man-ager was fair and helpful to the petitioners.

Marshall would not comment on how manyresidents had signed the petition so far, but saidthe petition drive was successful.

“We are doing extremely well,” Marshallsaid. “It is an outpouring from the community.”

“We want to demonstrate where the senti-ment in this community lies,” Marshall contin-ued. If Town Council members were confidentthey had support in town, he said, he didn’tunderstand why they weren’t signing the peti-tion, since it would only bring the issue to avote.

In the 10 hours organizers were outside withpetitions on Saturday, Marshall said, only asmall handful of people told them they sup-ported the council. The majority of passers-by,he said, waved and cheered, and many stoppedto sign.

Marshall said he planned to continue collect-ing signatures until the deadline of Oct. 21.“Wherever the people are, we’ll be,” he said.

Cover Story • Cover Story • Cover Story • Cover Story • Cover Story • Cover Story • Cover Story • Cover Story • Cover Story • Cover Story • Cover Story •

Cover Story • Cover Story • Cover Story • Cover Story • Cover Story • Cover

San Francisco Giants bench coach,and former Colchester resident, RonWotus is pictured above with his great-nephew’s son Landon Bergess.

Marlborough Receives STEAP Funds for Sidewalksby Katy Nally

Marlborough was awarded $150,000 by theState Bond Commission Sept. 28, as part of theSmall Town Economic Assistance Program(STEAP).

Town Planner Peter Hughes said the fundswill be used to construct sidewalks throughoutthe town center.

The money will be pooled with the town’s2009 STEAP award, Hughes said. Last year,Marlborough received $250,000 from the stateprogram, and the town is using those funds tobring sidewalks from South Main Street toRichmond Memorial Library. The design phasefor this project is almost complete, Hughes said.

Areas where the new sidewalks could appearinclude Cheney Road, North Main Street fromthe 7Eleven to the Shoppes at the MarlboroughBarn Complex, Route 66 near the post officeand South Main Street past the Marlborough

Tavern.Selectman Joe La Bella explained the areas

are the “most logical places downtown.”The exact areas will be decided on by the

Board of Selectmen and Nature Trails and Side-walks. La Bella said the boards would prob-ably make decisions within the next fewmonths.

Hughes said the plans call for standard sixfoot-wide sidewalk blocks and some streetlights. The town would go to bid for the projectthis winter, in anticipation of spring construc-tion, he said.

The ultimate goal, Hughes said, is to “makeeverything connected.”

La Bella said the benefit to sidewalks down-town is twofold. First, he said, the project wouldmake the center of town more attractive over-all. Secondly, sidewalks would also promotepedestrian traffic between stores, which could

STEAP Money Going Toward Downtown HebronImprovementsby Lindsay Fetzner

At the end of last month, the town of Hebronwas awarded $150,000 for downtown improve-ments to Main Street and beyond from thestate’s Small Town Economic Assistance Pro-gram (STEAP).

Façade improvements, sidewalk and tree in-stallation, a new community events sign and apedestrian crosswalk signal will be fundedthrough the STEAP funds.

On Sept. 28, Gov. M Jodi Rell announcedthat 10 towns in the greater Willimantic areawould share approximately $1.5 million forprojects including improvements to local parks,repairing bridges and roads, and for historicpreservation, according to a press release.

Rell said the project variety reflects the“unique needs” of each of the 10 small townsthat include Andover, Ashford, Chaplin, Colum-bia, Coventry, Eastford, Hebron, Lebanon,Union and Willington.

“Our small towns, just like all Connecticutfamilies, have had to make some very difficultchoices the last two years in this recession,”Rell said in the press release. “I am pleased wecan help so many projects – critical to acommunity’s quality of life – now move for-ward.”

Local officials were thrilled this week to havebeen awarded the STEAP funds.

“We are very pleased,” Town ManagerBonnie Therrien said. “We can certainly con-tinue the façade work.”

Therrien added that the STEAP funds pro-

vide an opportunity for not only improvementsfor Main Street, but throughout the town aswell.

“We will see how far we can go with the$150,000,” Therrien added. “We are just open-ing it up to the whole town.”

Board of Selectmen (BOS) Chairman JeffWatt agreed with Therrien.

“We are very happy to have $150,000,” Wattsaid. “Especially to be able to help out thefaçade – and not only on Main Street.”

The town applied for a total of $500,000 inSTEAP funds in July. The Economic Develop-ment Commission (EDC) voted to allocate$302,000 of that potential amount for façade/signage improvements to businesses through-out the town (not just on Main Street) as wellas $93,500 for sidewalk installation for side-walks from routes 66/85 to the Town OfficeBuilding, along the front of Ted’s Supermarketand along the south side of Main Street fromRoute 316 to Pendleton Dr.

An additional $52,000 was allocated forstreet tree installation along Main Street andfor landscape improvements, $20,500 for acommunity events sign to be erected at the cor-ner of routes 66 and 85, and lastly, $32,000 fora pedestrian crosswalk signal to go along withthe new traffic light in front of the Village Greendistrict.

Hebron applied for the maximum amount ofSTEAP funds, as municipalities can apply forup to $500,000, according to the Office ofPolicy and Management (OPM).

While the town didn’t get the full amount itasked for, selectman Mark Stuart was still happywith the award. “I think it’s great that the townwas able to get those funds,” selectman MarkStuart said, adding that hopefully, with the im-provements, additional business will be broughtto town.

Watt said the next step for the BOS will beto accept the grant from the state when thefunds become available. The EDC and TownPlanner Mike O’Leary will work together todetermine how to best use the funds, Watt said,and then come back to the BOS with theirfindings.

“Anything we can do to help out our busi-nesses to draw more [business] to them is great,”Watt said. “I’m excited about the $150,000 andto help the businesses out any way we can.”

The OPM administers the STEAP funds, andfunds are distributed to the eligible communi-ties by the State Bond Commission.

To be eligible, towns must have a popula-tion of less than 30,000 and must not be desig-nated a “distressed municipality or a public in-vestment community,” according to Rell’s pressrelease.

STEAP funds can only be used for capitalprojects. Eligible projects include those asso-ciated with economic development, recreation,solid waste disposal, social service-related,housing and several others.

However, budget expenditures that are recur-ring or programmatic expenditures are not eli-

gible for STEAP funds, according to OPM.In total, approximately $20 million in

STEAP funds was approved for the fiscal year2011, when the State Bond Commission meton Aug. 17 of this year. The funds are for 115towns and a total of 134 projects across Con-necticut.

Each of the communities that the Rivereastcovers were awarded STEAP funds for variouscapital projects.

Andover was awarded $200,000 for the de-sign and construction of a new recreational areaon Long Hill Road; Colchester received$285,000 for the expansion and sidewalk im-provements from the town’s central district tothe southern entrance of the Colchester Air LineTrail, as well as trail entrance improvements;for $200,000, East Hampton will complete anextension and improvements to the Air LineState Park Trail into the Village Center;Marlborough was awarded $150,000 for theconstruction of sidewalks and streetscape im-provements in the Village Center area; and Port-land received $200,000 for the third phase ofthe Brownstone Avenue Extension Project,which will include the construction of an open-air pavilion, an outdoor amphitheater and arestroom facility.

For more information on the program and acomplete list of towns and the fund allocations,visit www.ct.gov/opm, and click on the STEAPlink under the ‘What’s New’ heading.

encourage shopping downtown.“I think it’s a positive step, and a step in the

right direction,” La Bella said. “We’re hopingthe whole concept of the Village Center is tomake the center of town accessible to pedestri-ans.”

The town applied for STEAP this July afternarrowing down several potential projects, in-cluding sidewalks, library renovations, creat-ing a public water well and replacing the bath-house at Lake Terramuggus.

On July 13, selectmen voted 2-1 to seekSTEAP funds for the sidewalks. SelectwomanRiva Clark was opposed, saying the moneyshould go to renovate the second floor of Rich-mond Memorial Library. La Bella and FirstSelectman Bill Black voted in favor of the side-walks, because the design phase for the projectwas already complete.

In July, town officials asked for the maxi-mum amount awarded by the program –$500,000. While Marlborough received only$150,000 of that, Hughes seemed pleased withthe award.

“We didn’t do too bad,” Hughes said.The Office of Policy and Management

(OPM) administers the STEAP grant and allo-cates money to Connecticut towns that havepopulations of less than 30,000. The funds canonly be used for capital projects, which includesthose associated with economic development,recreation, solid waste disposal, social servicesand housing, according to the OPM website,www.ct.gov/opm.

A total of $20 million from STEAP was au-thorized for this fiscal year for 115 towns, cov-ering 134 projects across the state. The awardswere approved Aug. 17 this year.

Streetscape Construction Begins, TownPlace Still Waiting in Portlandby Claire Michalewicz

Construction on the long-awaited MainStreet Streetscape Project has begun, after agroundbreaking ceremony on Monday.

The project, which the Board of Selectmengave its final approval to on Sept. 1, is fundedby a $250,000 from the Small Town EconomicAssistance Program (STEAP) and $819,000from the Federal Surface Transportation Pro-gram.

The project design includes widened side-walks, benches and new light fixtures in the areaof Main Street between the intersection ofMarlborough Street and the Arrigoni Bridge.Cisco LLC, a construction company from NewHaven, is carrying out the work.

Construction has started along the east sideof the street, and on Monday morning, FirstSelectwoman Susan Bransfield, Planning andLand Use Administrator Deanna Rhodes, stateRepresentative Jim O’Rourke and state Sena-tor Eileen Daily gathered to commemorate thestart of the project.

O’Rourke said the project was important formaking that part of Portland more attractive,and making the town “a nicer place to live.”

“I’m very, very excited about it,” O’Rourkesaid. He explained that the project had been indevelopment for years, and that the STEAPprogram had been a huge help to Portland inimproving its roads. O’Rourke explained thathe had worked to get Portland eligible for thegrant program, allowing projects like thestreetscape to become a reality.

Bransfield thanked O’Rourke, Daily andmany residents for their work to get the project

started and securing grant money to fund it.“I’m very proud of all the work that many

people in Portland have done over the years toget work done on our Main Street,” Bransfieldsaid. She said she tried to make Portland awalkable, friendly community, and the im-proved sidewalks and more attractive neighbor-hood would help bring Portland toward thatgoal.

Bransfield said construction was planned tocontinue throughout the fall, break for the win-ter, and be completed in the spring or summer.

The streetscape project, Bransfield said, was“just one of several we’re working on.” Re-cently, representatives from TD Bank and Lib-erty Bank announced a low-interest loan pro-gram that residents and business owners in thevillage district could use to improve their prop-erties.

* * *Also, last week, the state of Connecticut an-

nounced its STEAP grants for this year. Port-land will receive $200,000, to be used for PhaseIII of the Brownstone Avenue Extension project.Bransfield explained that the money would funda pavilion, amphitheater and restroom facili-ties in the area off Brownstone Avenue, withviews of the quarries and the Connecticut River.

Phase II of the project, completed this sum-mer, put new sidewalks in the area and improvedthe athletic fields and parking lot, while PhaseI extended the village water system to the area.Phase III, she said, was important to completethe project and bring more recreational spaceto the area around the Quarries, the historicalheart of Portland.

Connecting the village district, the historicquarries and the riverfront areas has been “aninstrumental step in Portland’s economic de-velopment, and now it is time to take the nextstep,” Gov. M. Jodi Rell said in a press releaseabout the grant. “The pavilion and amphithe-ater will make Portland a true destination andhelp to turn what was once a dream into real-ity.”

* * *Meanwhile, construction on the nearby Port-

land TownPlace project, approved over a yearago, has not yet started. Before the project canbegin, the developers need a new traffic permitand must demolish the vacant buildings on theproperty.

Portland TownPlace will be built on theformer Elmcrest Hospital property, at the south-east corner of Main and Marlborough streets.The project, which the Planning and ZoningCommission approved in July 2009, calls for amixed-use development of commercial spaceand 81 residential units.

The development is currently awaiting a traf-fic permit from the state, explained Rhodes, toaccommodate a designated right turn lane fromMain Street, or putting in a light at the inter-section to ease traffic entering and leaving thedevelopment.

As of yet, Rhodes said, the project devel-oper, Anthony Fonda, had not submitted a finalplan for the traffic permit to the Department ofTransportation for approval. Rhodes said shehad only seen preliminary sketches of the de-signs, and said there was no deadline for sub-

mitting the plans.Ralph Wilson, attorney for developer An-

thony Fonda, did not return calls seeking com-ment. Patrick Gorman from Land ResourceConsultants in Cromwell, which has been work-ing on the project, said the plans for the trafficpermit were not yet complete, and demolitionof the Elmcrest buildings has not started.

Bransfield said she had recently met withFred Hassan, who along with Fonda, owns PerryPortland Associates, which owns the formerElmcrest property. The company had boughtthree vacant houses adjacent to the hospitalproperty – 2, 8 and 12 Perry Ave. – so their lotscould be incorporated into the development,Bransfield said.

Bransfield said Hassan said the vacanthouses should be ready for demolition within afew weeks, after they’re cleared of any hazard-ous materials. As of this week, Bransfield said,Hassan has not filed any specific plans fordemolition.

The plans also call for the destruction of twohistoric houses on the Elmcrest property, theHart Jarvis Home, built between 1829 and 1830,and the Erastus Brainerd, Sr. Home, from 1852.Those two homes, along with the rest of thebuildings on the Elmcrest property, have yet tobe demolished. A third historic home, the SageHouse, will be left standing.

Town officials are still meeting with compa-nies interested in opening stores or restaurantsat TownPlace, Rhodes said. Aside from a pro-posed Walgreens, none of the companies’ nameshave been released.

Dogs – and Pumpkins – Have Their Day in Colchesterby Katy Nally

Last Sunday was a day of doggish propor-tions, as fanciful canines paraded around thetown green in their best attire, showing off theirbest tricks, for the 12th annual Pumpkins ‘nPooches festival.

Each year the Colchester Lions Club orga-nizes the event to raise money for local, regionaland national charities.

One of the event’s highlights was the cos-tume and silly dog competition, where dogowners showed off their pooches to a panel ofthree judges.

“People just flock to that,” Charlene Picard,organizer of the event and Lions Club member,said.

Throughout the day, there were also pump-kin decorating and photo contests, as well asdoggie demonstrations.

This year’s best in show for the costume com-petition went to Pumpkins ‘n Pooches aficio-nado Janet Schultz and her dog Belle. Announc-ers were familiar with the pair, who are said tobegin working on next year’s costume the dayafter the event.

Last Sunday, Schultz arrived in a Frenchmaid’s uniform and Belle carried all her accou-trements, including a mop she wore on her head.Freddie Martinez walked with the pair, carry-ing an empty bottle of Mr. Clean.

“They really get creative,” Picard said.Last year Schultz came as Lady Luck and

Belle was her poker table, and the year before,Schultz was a flight attendant and Belle washer airplane.

“So much thought and work goes into it,”Picard added. “They really enjoy doing it.”

Schultz, Martinez and Belle won the bestensemble category and later best in show forcostumes. Other costume categories included:funniest, cutest, scariest and most original. Forthe “silly dog” contest, there was waggiest tail,best kisser, biggest, smallest, funniest, biggestears and most unusual trick.

For $3, a pup and its owner were entered intotwo categories and $1 for each additional group.The top three finalists from each category wereawarded prizes.

Picard said it was hard to choose a favoritedog from Sunday’s event, but she said she lovedKayla McAuliffe and her dog Barney. Kaylacame as Little Bo Peep, dressed in pink andwhite, carrying a white Shepard’s cane, andBarney, a poodle, was her fluffy white sheep.The pair took first place in most original.

Along with Kayla and Schultz, BrendaBeech and her tiny pup Murray, and EmilyCowan and her dog Ginger, all squared off inthe winners circle for best in show.

Emily, who wore a black robe with a red andyellow tie, won funniest costume with Ginger,a boxer, who looked very similar to Harry Pot-ter. Ginger had the cape to match Emily, butalso wore glasses and a sign that read “GoDogworts.”

Beech won the cutest category with her dog“King Murray,” whom she carried around thering. Murray seemed to be dwarfed by his largered crown and matching cape.

“I think there were some really creative cos-tumes,” Picard said.

After the costume competition, poochesstrutted their stuff in the silly dog competition.

Dressed to match, dogs and their owners stormed the Colchester Town Green last Sunday at the 12th annual Pumpkins ‘n Pooches festival. Pictured left is Sue and EmilyCowan’s boxer, Ginger, looking studious in her Harry Potter getup. Ginger and Emily won first place for funniest costume with their matching robes and red and yellowties. Right is Owen Duff’s Tommy Turtle, which won first place in the painted/decorated category for ages 10-12.

While there were many fierce competitors, per-haps the Great Dane in the biggest dog categorywas the fiercest of all, as no other dogs wouldchallenge the over-two-foot-tall winner.

In total, 56 pooches were entered intoSunday’s costume and silly dog competitions.This was an increase from last year, when 53participated.

And for as many pooches as there were, thereseemed to be just as many pumpkins. Picardsaid those who entered their imaginative pump-kins into Sunday’s contests, created them athome first.

“That way they can really think about it,”Picard explained.

This year’s pumpkins included several ham-burger imitations, a googly-eyed porcupine anda black cat, just in time for Halloween.

First place for the painted/decorated categoryin ages 3-6 went to Gracie Gladding for herpretty in pink pumpkin. Gracie’s creation ri-valed the Disney princesses with her shiningtiara, gold magic wand and curly locks. Firstplace for the same category in ages 10-12 wentto Owen Duff and his Tommy Turtle. Tommywas a happy, smiling turtle made up of eightdifferent painted pumpkins.

“There were some really, really good pump-kins,” Picard said.

Participants in the pumpkin contest paid $1per entry.

As of Monday, Picard did not know the totalamount raised through Pumpkins ‘n Pooches,however she estimated it was about $5,000.

Last year the event took in over $6,000, but

Sunday had fewer vendors, at 82 in total.Besides entering in the canine and pumpkin

competitions, the festival also fundraisedthrough its dog photo contest, which debutedin 2009.

The winner of this year’s contest was Baileythe Golden Retriever, pictured in a bed of dai-sies. The one photo raised $46 of the total $140from the contest. Each vote cost $1.

Although the Lions Club was able tofundraise last weekend, the club also had anunanticipated expense of $240. Picard ex-plained the Lions hired a police officer to keepwatch on the green to make sure the Lions’ trail-ers and tents weren’t vandalized before theevent.

“Unfortunately it’s that much less we haveto give back to the community,” Picard said.“It was an investment we had to do.”

Picard said private property on the green hasbeen vandalized before, and she didn’t want totake a chance last weekend.

The money that was raised, however, willgo into the Lions Club general fund, and thenwill be distributed to organizations and schol-arships. Every year the club gives $8,000 toscholarships. The Lions Club also supports theColchester Land Trust, Colchester Food Bank,Cragin Memorial Library and regional and na-tional organizations such as Camp Rising Sun,Southeast Connecticut Center of the Blind andthe Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation.

For more information about the ColchesterLions Club, visit colchesterlions.org.

Parents of Portland Special Ed Students Pleased with Servicesby Claire Michalewicz

The parents of special education students aremostly happy with the services they receive atPortland schools, Superintendent of SchoolsSally Doyen told the Board of Education (BOE)at its meeting Tuesday.

Superintendent of Schools Sally Doyen pre-sented the school board with the results of asurvey from the state Department of Education,which was sent out to parents throughout thestate. In Portland, Doyen said, the survey wasmailed to 134 households, only 32 of whichwere returned.

The results of the surveys that were com-pleted were “very positive,” Doyen said, thoughschools would continue to work with parentsto find out what they want and need from spe-cial education services.

One hundred percent of parents were happywith the transition services offered to youngchildren starting preschool, Doyen said, but theparents of graduating high school students gaveless favorable feedback about the transition outof Portland schools. Doyen said she was talk-ing with high school guidance counselors andteachers to find ways to help graduating spe-

cial education students ease their way into lifebeyond high school.

Doyen said parents also felt the schoolsdidn’t offer adequate support to special educa-tion students participating in extracurricularactivities like clubs and sports. She said thatwhile she knew support staff had helped stu-dents with club activities, she and school ad-ministrators were unaware of any special edu-cation students who may be interested in sportsand who needed help.

“It is something we need to be aware of,”Doyen said, explaining that more feedback andinput from parents and students would helpschools provide the special education servicesstudents needed.

In other news, Doyen explained that the re-cent problem with fire alarms had been re-solved. Last month, the Middletown dispatchcenter was not receiving the fire alarm signalsfrom Portland schools. Doyen explained theproblem had been with the computer at the dis-patch center, which had been fixed. The dis-patch center successfully received the signalsfrom fire drills last week, though Doyen saidthe schools would continue testing the alarms

for the next week, just to be sure.Doyen also announced that the Brownstone

Intermediate School roof was set to be replacedthis weekend. In case of rain, she said, theproject would be moved to the following week-end. Doyen said BIS principal Laurie Boskehad already prepared a backup plan for movingstudents from affected classrooms into otherareas of the building while the construction iscompleted. Ideally, she said, construction wouldhave started yesterday, Oct. 7, and would becomplete by Tuesday.

The BOE also offered preliminary approvalfor a high school field trip to Spain in April2011, which teacher Marietta Shlien proposedfor students in higher-level Spanish classes.Doyen explained the trip would take place overthe April vacation, taking students to severalcities throughout Spain.

BOE members were supportive of the idea,though Chris Bongo cautioned that they shouldkeep an eye on travel alerts and terror warningsfor tourists in Europe. Still, Bongo called thetrip “a phenomenal thing,” and MaryAnne Rodesuggested the trip could be a reward for stu-dents who had taken Spanish classes all through

high school. Doyen said she would ask Shliento give the BOE periodic updates about the tripplans throughout the school year.

The BOE also approved a proposal from highschool teacher Krista Karch to offer eveningtechnology classes for adults, providing Doyenchecked with the teacher’s union to make surethe position didn’t need to be advertised to otherteachers. The classes would cost $20 for Port-land residents and $25 for people from othertowns, though Portland residents would havepriority in registering. Doyen said she wouldhave Karch run the classes for a two-month trialperiod and report back to the BOE about howsuccessful they were.

The BOE also voted unanimously to adopt anew pesticide policy for the school district, asrequired by state statute. The policy requiresthe schools to alert parents and staff who haverequested advance notification of pesticide ap-plication, and requires schools to keep recordsabout the pesticides they apply for five years.

The next BOE meeting is scheduled for Tues-day, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m. in the high school li-brary.

STEAP Grants to Fund Sidewalks, Air Line TrailColchester • East Hampton • Colchester • East Hampton • Colchester • East Hampton • Colchester • East Hampton • Colchester • East Hampton • Colchester •

Colchester received $285,000 from the state’s Bond Commission last month to beused for sidewalk improvements in the downtown area. Above is a rendering ofwhat the sidewalks along Main Street will look like.

by Katy NallyWhen the state’s Bond Commission issued

its allocation of Small Town Economic Assis-tance Program (STEAP) funds Sept. 28, the sixtowns the Rivereast covers made the cut, re-ceiving a total of $1,185,000. Colchester re-ceived $285,000 and East Hampton, $200,000.

According to Colchester Town Planner AdamTurner, the STEAP money will be used to reno-vate or maintain some existing sidewalks down-town, along Lebanon Avenue and Main Street,incorporate solar-powered light posts and for-malize the entrance to the Air Line Trail onLebanon Avenue.

“This project will greatly enhance the towncenter and the Lebanon Avenue corridor,”Turner said in a press release. “It also permitsus to utilize the airline trail as it is a tremen-dous resource both in terms of recreationalvalue as well as for economic development.”

Like Colchester, East Hampton also receivedSTEAP funds for its portion of the Air LineTrail. East Hampton officials plan to use the$200,000 from STEAP to extend the trail intothe Village Center.

“Anything we can do to bring stuff into theVillage Center is great, East Hampton TownCouncil Chairwoman Melissa Engel said.

The Air Line Trail “is one of the most scenicin Connecticut, and it makes all the sense inthe world to extend it into the center of town,”Governor M. Jodi Rell said in a press release. “Doing so will allow for more cyclists and pe-destrians to access area businesses and resultin an uptick in activity.”

The Air Line Trail begins in East Hamptonand continues for 50 miles, ending in Thomp-son. In the 1800s, “the trail originally served

as a railroad track for ‘fast-speed’ trains, offer-ing a straight diagonal route through Connecti-cut – as if the line had been drawn in the air,”according to Rell.

Turner called the Air Line Trail in Colchester“a world-class facility” that could benefit fromSTEAP funds.

* * *In addition to formalizing the Lebanon Av-

enue entrance in Colchester, Turner said the$285,000 from STEAP would go toward “ac-centuating” the sidewalks downtown. This in-cludes expanding some sidewalks and using redbrick pavers, he said.

“It would really create an avenue,” Turneradded.

Along the brick sidewalks, small solar-pow-ered posts would illuminate the walkway.

“At nighttime it would look very attractiveto walk down,” he said.

Through solar, Turner said the town couldcut energy costs and the posts wouldn’t requirethe town to string power.

“We’re trying to green this out as much aswe can,” he added.

The entire project in Colchester, includingthe Air Line Trail entrance would “create a fullservice pedestrian corridor pathway,” First Se-lectman Gregg Schuster said in a press release.

“We are very excited that we can now go for-ward on an economic development project likethis,” Schuster added. “These improvementswill not only add character but also help createa healthy community where residents can walkor bike from place to place and not feel theyhave to drive everywhere.”

Although Colchester applied for $320,000from STEAP, Turner said he was happy with

the $285,000 the town received. (The deadlineto apply for STEAP funds was July 20 thisyear.)

The Office of Policy and Management(OPM) administers the STEAP grant and allo-cates money to Connecticut towns that havepopulations of less than 30,000. The funds canonly be used for capital projects, which includesthose associated with economic development,recreation, solid waste disposal, social services

and housing, according to the OPM website,www.ct.gov/opm.

A total of $20 million from STEAP was au-thorized for this fiscal year for 115 towns, cov-ering 134 projects across the state. The awardswere approved Aug. 17 this year.

“We’re very appreciative of the governor’soffice for including us and supporting outproject,” Turner said. “Anytime you can getsomething like this, it’s great.”

Portland Fair Returns This Weekendby Claire Michalewicz

It’s already a week into October, but anyonelooking to get one more fix of fair season cando so this weekend at the Portland AgriculturalFair.

The fair, one of the last in the area, startstoday at 5 p.m., and continues at the ExchangeClub Fairgrounds through Sunday. Organizerssay they’re looking forward to a weekend fullof entertainment, food, fun, and hopefully, goodweather.

“It’s gonna be a good fair,” said Portland FairAssociation President Don Bascom, as he listedsome of the many events scheduled for theweekend.

Returning for the second year is the Port-land Fair 5K Road Race, a five-kilometer loopthat starts and ends on the fairgrounds. Prizeswill be given to the top three finishers in eachage category. Race organizer and fair associa-tion treasurer Joyce Murphy said last year’sinaugural race had been a success.

“We had almost 70 people, and it was great,”Murphy said. “A lot of the people said it wasthe best race they ran all year.”

The five-kilometer course starts at the fair-grounds, heads south on Route 17, cuts througha neighborhood off Bartlett Street and comesup Main Street back to the fair. The race startsat 9 a.m. Sunday, and runners can register start-ing at 8 a.m. The entry fee is $25.

Also returning this year is a carnival mid-way with rides and carnival games, providedby Coleman Brothers Shows. Ride wristbandswill be available on Friday and Sunday for $18,Dillon said.

Other highlights Dillon singled out includeMiddlesex 4-H Shooting Sports, which are set-ting up an archery range on the fairgrounds.Walter and Nancy Squier offer free archery les-sons at the range, Dillon said, which are alwayspopular with both children and adults. Andwhile there won’t be a car show this year,

NASCAR driver and Middletown native JoeyLogano’s car will be on display Saturday after-noon.

Live entertainment is scheduled all weekendon two stages, kicking off this evening withPortland’s own high school band. Other musi-cians include the band Fly Machine on Fridayevening, and Great Hill Mountain Band andGunsmoke Band both on Sunday. PerformingSaturday are two acts from Nashville – singersCharlene Marie and Casey Ferguson; the latteris a Willie Nelson tribute act who, Dillon said,looks and sounds just like the real thing.

For those seeking a more traditional NewEngland fair experience, there will be plenty ofarts, crafts and homemade baked goods on dis-play. And of course, animals will be on displayall weekend, with contests for cattle, goats,sheep, poultry and rabbits.

Bascom said this was a particularly success-ful year for getting vendors, with “a lot more”signing up this year than in previous years. Thismeans there will be a wider-than-usual varietyof food and commercial goods available tofairgoers, he said.

Dillon said the biggest variable in the suc-cess of the fair is the weather. Since the fair-grounds are at the edge of the river, there was arisk of the ground being soggy, he said.

“As long as the rain doesn’t amount to a lot,we’re golden,” Dillon said Tuesday, pointingout that the weather forecast for the weekendcalls for sunny skies.

Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, as therain was letting up, Bascom also said he wasoptimistic. Good weather and lots of vendors,Bascom said, “all adds up to a good fair.”

Dillon said the fair was organized by a teamof skilled volunteers who’d been doing it foryears. “We’ve almost got it down to a sciencenow,” Dillon said.

Bascom agreed, thanking the core group of15 or 20 people who help organize the fair ev-

The Portland Fair kicks off today and will continue through the weekend. Onceagain, a horse pull will be among the many sights for fairgoers to enjoy.

ery year. He said that while putting the fair to-gether takes hours and hours of work every year,he likes creating an event that people can enjoy.

“I like having people come up to me after-wards and telling me it was a good fair,” he said.

The Portland Fair is open today, Friday, from5-11 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m.-11 p.m. andSunday from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Admission is$8 for adults, $6 for seniors and free for chil-

dren under 10.Free offsite parking is available on Sand Hill

Road, off Route 66, with free shuttle service tothe fairgrounds provided by Nichols Bus Ser-vices. Limited parking for those with handi-capped parking permits is available at the fair-grounds.

More information and a full schedule ofevents are available at www.portlandfair.com.

Beloved Portland Police Dog Rememberedby Claire Michalewicz

Last month, the Portland Police Depart-ment lost a valued member of their team.Niko, a German Shepherd who worked withPortland Police since 2004, died of cancer atthe age of 7.

In the time he spent with the police, Niko’sduties ranged from detecting drugs and catch-ing suspects to visiting students in local schools.Above all, he was Officer Peter Paranzino’sfriend, living at Paranzino’s home and accom-panying him out on calls.

“He was just a faithful companion for allthese years,” Paranzino said. “Just a great-na-tured dog.”

Paranzino said Niko loved being with kids,whether on a visit to a classroom or at homewith his grandchildren.

Paranzino explained that he took Niko to aregular vet check-up in early September, andthe vet recommended he see a specialist be-cause of some broken teeth. While he waswaiting for another appointment, Paranzinosaid, he noticed a lump on Niko’s neck, whichhe thought was a swollen gland. Niko was puton antibiotics, but the swelling didn’t godown.

When Paranzino took Niko back to the veton Sept. 22, the veterinarian, Robert Olson,did some tests and found that the lump was arapidly-growing carcinoma. Olson said Nikomight only live for another two weeks,Paranzino said.

“It was a mess,” Paranzino said, explainingthat he had just taken Niko out on a call twonights before and he seemed healthy. Faced withthe grim diagnosis, Paranzino said, he andOlson made the decision to have Niko put downthat same day.

Paranzino said he wanted to thank the staffat Pieper-Olson Veterinary Hospital inMiddletown, who donated all their services forNiko and the police department’s other dog,Lightning.

Niko was born in Slovakia, and came to Port-land in 2004, when he was 11 months old. Nikowas certified to detect narcotics when he was16 months old, and then went through additional

training so he could also work as a regular pa-trol dog.

Ever since he started in Portland, Niko livedwith Paranzino. While Niko was being trained,Paranzino was still working with Caleb, Niko’spredecessor, whom Paranzino had also workedwith since he was a puppy. Caleb had been get-ting older, and passed away shortly after Nikowas acquired. Losing Caleb, like losing Niko,was difficult, Paranzino said.

Paranzino said most of the work Niko endedup doing was outside Portland, as townsthroughout the state would sometimes makecalls looking for the nearest police dog onduty.

“The hardest part about being a dog handlerwas to trust the dog,” Paranzino said. “I don’tknow where he’s taking me.”

But as he and Niko worked together, he cameto trust Niko to help him find what they werelooking for, Paranzino said. Paranzino saidtracking people was his favorite part of being adog handler, because the searches were excit-ing and often successful.

Paranzino said it was hard for him to choosea favorite experience with Niko, since theyspent so much time together. But one job thatstands out was the cold December night Nikolocated a suspect from a break-in hiding in aswamp in Middletown.

“That was a pretty exciting night, becauseof the circumstances surrounding the search,”Paranzino said.

“Everyone loved him,” he added. “You couldtrust him.”

Beth Wrobel, who teaches the D.A.R.E. pro-gram at Brownstone Intermediate School, saidshe and her students enjoyed having Niko visittheir classes.

“Niko was a class act,” Wrobel said in an e-mail. “He had such a personality and the kidsloved him.”

Wrobel said Niko taught her students impor-tant lessons when he visited her classes. WhenNiko demonstrated his drug-sniffing abilitiesto find items that had been planted on students,Wrobel said, he showed them that patience andperseverance can pay off.

“The officers utilized him to teach us somevery powerful lessons,” Wrobel said. “He willbe missed.”

First Selectwoman Susan Bransfield said sheremembered watching Niko give a demonstra-tion for students in the D.A.R.E. program, andnoted that he had “outstanding” abilities as apolice dog.

“It’s a huge loss for our department,”

Bransfield said, explaining that Niko helpedwith many crimes. “We’re gonna miss himdearly.”

To honor Niko, Paranzino explained, hisdaughter-in-law was working on organizing amemorial service for him, and possibly puttingup a plaque in his memory.

“There wasn’t one person who didn’t likeNiko,” he said.

The Portland Police Department said goodbye to one of its own last month, Nikothe German Shepard police dog. Niko came to Portland in 2004 and regularly madeappearances at local schools and assisted in catching suspects.

New Andover Rec Area Possible Use for STEAP Fundsby Lindsay Fetzner

Long Hill Road might soon be the home of anew recreational area, thanks to funds from theSmall Town Economic Assistance Program(STEAP) awarded last week.

The town of Andover was allotted a total of$200,000 for both the design and constructionof the area. Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced theaward recipients of the STEAP funding lastTuesday, Sept. 28.

At Wednesday’s Board of Selectmen’s meet-ing, selectmen voted to start advertising to forma building committee to help get the recreationalarea underway. The committee would have nomore than five people.

“We would like to do more than a soccerfield,” Burbank said. “We would like to have arecreational park if we have the funding for it.”

Selectman Jay Linddy said the committeecould recommend to the board an idea of whatwill be needed to make the recreational area areality, as well how to get the best “bang forthe dollar.”

Following state grant procedure, Burbanksaid the town will work with a supervisor andarchitect on the project.

“Once we have that in place, we will look atthe funding, look at the revenues that are avail-able and try to get the most for the funding thatwe can,” Burbank said.

Selectwoman Linda Knowlton said it is a“great idea” to have the recreational area in

town.In addition to a soccer field, Knowlton said

she would like to see a town park or picnic areaconstructed, which could be used by not onlythe younger crowd playing sports but also theseniors and other residents. Because the area isclose to the Hop River Homes on RiversideDrive, Knowlton said it would “prettyconvenient…and a nice thing for them.”

Roughly two years ago, the town put togetheran athletic field search committee, which foundthat the town had a “definite need for a soccerfield,” Burbank said. He added that the com-mittee found an appropriate location for thefield, on Long Hill Road, on property that thetown already owned.

From there, a STEAP grant application wassubmitted. However, Burbank said it was notapproved. But this year, Burbank said he reap-plied for the grant and it was approved forroughly half the amount that was in the origi-nal request.

“For small towns like Andover, it really, re-ally helps” Linddy said of the STEAP money.“Every town has a different way of using [thefunds].”

Although the allocation was about half of theoriginal request, Burbank said he is happy tohave the funds to put toward a recreational area,which seems to be a great need in town.

“We have many, many people that have chil-

dren that are playing soccer,” Burbank said.“Some of the fields they play on at the elemen-tary school are not even level. They are basi-cally playing on a hill.”

Burbank noted that other athletic teams sharethe Little League field too, creating a lot of “giveand take,” he said, due to appropriating differ-ent parts of the field for the various teams toshare.

Linddy agreed with Burbank and said thetown fields are constantly being used on a regu-lar basis by various athletic teams.

And, as a result, “It’s taking a toll on thefields,” he said.

Hopefully, with the $200,000 in STEAPfunds, the town can now begin to fix this prob-lem.

The STEAP funds are administered by theOffice of Policy and Management (OPM). TheState Bond Commission distributes the fundsto the eligible towns across the state. In orderto be eligible for STEAP funding, a town musthave less than 30,000 residents.

The fund allocations are designated for capi-tal projects. There are a total of 115 towns thatare recipients of STEAP funding for the 2011year, and as a result, 134 projects will now beable to move forward.

When the State Bond Commission met inAugust, the nearly $20 million in STEAP funds

for fiscal year 2011 was approved.Out the six Rivereast towns, Colchester re-

ceived the largest appropriation. At $285,000,the town will fund the expansion and improve-ments of sidewalks from the town’s central dis-trict to the entrance of the Colchester Air LineTrail, as well as enhancements at the site of thetrail entrance.

In East Hampton, the town will extend andmake improvements to the Air Line State ParkTrail into the Village Center, with a total of$200,000 in STEAP funds.

Hebron was awarded a total of $150,000 forfaçade improvements, the installation of side-walks, tree installation, a community eventssign and a pedestrian cross walk signal alongMain Street, as well as throughout the town.

Marlborough will construct sidewalks andmake improvements to the streetscape in theVillage Center area with the town’s allocationof $150,000.

In Portland, Phase III of the BrownstoneAvenue Extension Project will be completedwith $200,000 in STEAP funds. Included inPhase III is the construction of an open-air pa-vilion, an outdoor amphitheater and a restroomfacility.

For more information on the STEAP, visitwww.ct.gov/opm and click on FY2011 STEAPawards under the ‘What’s New’ header.

Portland CrashTraps Driver in Car

by Claire MichalewiczA car struck a utility pole on Main Street

Tuesday morning, toppling the pole and trap-ping the driver in the car, Portland Police said.

The accident happened at 10:46 a.m., whenCasey Blackman, 18, of 52 Cherry Tree Ln.,Colchester, was traveling north on MainStreet, Sergeant Scott Cunningham said.

Blackman was rounding a curve in the roadnear Indian Hill Avenue when she veered intothe left lane and hit the pole, Cunninghamsaid. The pole fell on her car and trapped herinside, he said.

Cunningham said a crew from NortheastUtilities arrived to shut off the power to thepole before removing it from Blackman’s car.Blackman suffered moderate injuries and was

transported by Hunter’s Ambulance to Hart-ford Hospital, he said.

The accident knocked out some power,phone and cable services to the neighborhoodaround the collision, Cunningham said. Con-necticut Light & Power spokesman MitchGross said 248 customers in the area lostpower as a result of the crash, but it wasmostly restored by that afternoon. The cableand phone connections were restored that dayas well, Cunningham said.

Blackman said she veered into the left laneafter momentarily taking her eyes off the road,Cunningham said. She was charged for fail-ure to drive in the proper lane, he said.

Pig Roast Planned to HonorPortland Firefighters

by Claire MichalewiczWorried that all their service might go un-

noticed, a local business owner is honoringPortland’s volunteer firefighters next week.

Frank Cavaliere, owner of Cavaliere’s Bak-ery and Deli, has organized a special dinner – apig roast – for all active firefighters and theirfamilies, as a way to thank them for their con-tributions to the community.

“I don’t think the general public realizes theamount of man-hours these guys take awayfrom their families,” Cavaliere said.

For Portland’s 68 active firefighters, the timecommitment can be large, explained WayneMergel, a third lieutenant at Company No. 1.Mergel explained that Portland firefighters re-sponded to 998 calls in 2009, including 14 firesand 733 medical calls, including car accidents.

So far this year, Mergel said, firefighters haveresponded to 885 calls. In addition to calls,firefighters spend time on training, averagingabout 120 hours per person per year. This com-mitment, on top of regular jobs and spendingtime with their families, can be difficult, Mergelsaid.

“Everybody does what they can,” Mergelsaid, explaining that for him, this usually in-volves covering weekend shifts to ensure thatPortland has 24/7 fire and medical coverage.

Aside from their regular duties, the mem-bers of the Portland Volunteer Fire Departmenthave also been active in raising money forpeople in need. Mergel explained the depart-ment had been hosting monthly pancake break-fasts for years as fundraisers. Its October break-fast, held this past weekend, raised money forthe New London Burn Foundation, while pro-ceeds from next month’s breakfast will go toPortland’s food bank.

But despite the effort they put in, Mergel saidthe firefighters aren’t looking for attention.

“We don’t exactly need any recognition,”Mergel said. “We do this out of our personalwants and desires to serve ourselves, our com-munities, and our families.”

For Mergel and the other firefighters, he said,

the knowledge that they were helping peoplewas enough of a reward, though he said he ap-preciated what Cavaliere was doing for them.

Mergel said he and Cavaliere had knowneach other for years, as he stops in at Cavaliere’sbakery every morning for coffee as he heads towork. Mergel explained that Cavaliere hadhosted events for other civic groups in Portlandover the years, and felt that it was time to rec-ognize the firefighters. He heard somefirefighters talking about having a pig roast, anddecided to host it himself to show his thanks.

Cavaliere said he had volunteered coachingsports for decades, and while that took a greatdeal of time, he knew the firefighters did more.

“That’s really nothing compared to theamount of time they put in,” Cavaliere said.“They put their lives on the line.”

Some residents, Cavaliere said, seemed tohave a perception of firefighters as just relax-ing in the firehouse, not realizing how muchwork they really do. Cavaliere said he hopedthe dinner would bring attention to thefirefighters’ work, and encourage people inPortland and other towns to thank their fire de-partments.

“We’re very grateful to Frank, not only forwhat he’s doing here,” Fire Chief Bob Shea said.“Overall, he’s just a great guy and his supportto the department has been phenomenal. He’salways taking care of us.”

Shea said Cavaliere’s support in the commu-nity went beyond the fire department, asCavaliere frequently helped out other organi-zations in Portland as well.

“Coming from one volunteer to another,”Shea said, “I think he understands whatvolunteerism is all about.”

The dinner, for all active firefighters and theirfamilies, is scheduled for next Friday, Oct. 15,at 6 p.m. at Portland Engine Company No. 2,located at 594 Main St. Any firefighter who hasnot RSVP-ed can contact Mergel by today, Oct.8, at 860-759-6921 or waynemergel@att.net.

Westchester Pet Vaccines on Loomis Road provides vaccines and free exams forcats and dogs. Above is the owner, veterinarian Lewis Kimball, with Opus the GoldenRetriever.

Vaccination Clinic WelcomesWestchester’s Pets

by Katy NallyPet owners in the area now have a low-cost

choice when it comes to getting their dogs andcats vaccinated and tested, thanks to veterinar-ian Lewis Kimball and his new wellness cen-ter, Westchester Pet Vaccines, located at 111Loomis Rd. in Colchester.

Because the clinic only offers vaccinationsand tests, the business has less overhead costs,Kimball explained, and can charge less for eachprocedure. Kimball, who has been practicingveterinary medicine for the past 31 years, alsoprovides brief routine physical exams free ofcharge. If something is found during the exam,Kimball said he would refer the pet owner to afull-service veterinary clinic.

Westchester Pet Vaccines, which openedabout three weeks ago, will never expand intoa full-service facility that includes surgery andlarge inventories of medicine, so prices will staylow, he said. On average, Kimball said peoplewho come to Westchester Pet Vaccines can saveabout $5 to $25 per pet.

“In today’s economy, I’ve been hearing moreand more that folks want to keep up with theirpets’ vaccines but that it’s just too expensive,particularly if you have more than one pet,”Kimball said.

After practicing medicine at full-service clin-ics, Kimball said he “noticed the need” for abusiness that simply offers vaccines and tests.

Westchester Pet Vaccines offers routine vac-cines, brief exams, heartworm tests, feline leu-kemia tests, flea and tick control and de-worm-ing. The wellness center only treats dogs andcats.

At traditional veterinarian facilities, Kimballsaid pet owners are charged for physical examswhen having a pet vaccinated or tested.

And usually only large pet supplies retailstores offer vaccines without having to pay forexams, but these clinics come around abouttwice a year and last only about an hour, headded.

So far, mostly East Haddam, East Hamptonand Colchester residents have been coming toWestchester Pet Vaccines, and overall, the petowners have been “very happy” withWestchester Pet Vaccines, Kimball said. Now,it’s just a matter of getting the word out, headded.

This is not Kimball’s first endeavor when itcomes to animal medicine. As a veteran veteri-narian, Kimball began practicing inGlastonbury in 1978 and moved to Stoningtontwo years later.

Westchester Pet Vaccines is open Mondaysand Tuesdays from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. and 3-5 p.m.,and Saturdays from 9 a.m.-noon. For more in-formation, call the center at 860-267-4554.

Amber Alert SearchEnds in Andover

by Lindsay FetznerAfter an Amber Alert for two children was

issued by Manchester Police early Tuesdaymorning, the 10- and 6-year-old were foundsafe in Andover several hours later.

At approximately 1:25 a.m., ManchesterPolice responded to 17 Huntington St. for “apossible child abduction that had just oc-curred,” police said.

The children’s biological mother, 36-year-old Carmen Montanez, left the home withher two children, 10-year-old Ivelyse Smithand 6-year-old Leonard Smith Jr., afterMontanez broke in through a rear door ofthe house. The three left the scene in a 2004Dodge Caravan with a Connecticut registra-tion, police said.

Lt. Sean Grant of the Manchester PoliceDepartment said the Amber Alert was issuedroughly one hour after police responded tothe Huntington Street address, and as the de-partment began receiving more informationon the incident.

An off-duty State Police detective, who hadknowledge of the alert, was able to locate thesuspect, with the assistance of an off-dutyManchester Police Department sergeant, po-lice said. Grant said the detective likely spot-ted the plate and called in for assistance.

“It was a fabulous job,” Grant said. “A greatjob.”

The police found the Dodge Caravan inAndover, in the area of routes 6 and 87, Grantsaid, shortly after 7 a.m.

Montanez was “successfully apprehended,”and the children were found safe, due to as-sistance from members of the ManchesterPolice Department, local and federal agen-cies and State Police, Manchester Police saidin a press release issued Tuesday.

Montanez was arrested and charged withviolation of protective order, first-degree bur-glary, first-degree criminal trespass, risk ofinjury and breach of peace, according toManchester Police.

ObituariesPortlandBruce May Memorial Service

The May family invites everyone to join themfor a memorial service for Bruce I. May to beheld at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, at Christ LutheranChurch, 300 Washington St., Middletown.

May, 76, of Portland and Sebastian, FL, diedMonday, July 19.

HebronOlive Warner Burt

Olive Warner Burt,94, of North Port, Fla.,passed away peacefullyTuesday, Sept, 28, atTideWell HospiceHouse in Port Charlotte,FL. She was born inGilead to the lateNorman J. and Mabel P.Warner. She was thewidow of Wilfred Burt.

Olive is survived bythree sisters, AlleneTurner of North Port,FL, Charlotte Motyka of Glastonbury and herhusband Alec, and Jean Raymond of Gilead; abrother, Alden Warner of Tolland and his wife,Anne; and nine nieces and 11 nephews and manygreat-nephews and -nieces.

She was predeceased by two brothers, NortonP. Warner and William H. Warner, both of Gilead.

Olive worked for many years at ConnecticutMutual Insurance in Hartford. She retired to Ver-mont, later moving to North Port, FL. She was amember of the Grace United Methodist Churchof Venice. Olive was an accomplished pianist andenjoyed choir singing. Arrangements are withNational Cremation Society of Port Charlotte, FL.

Graveside services will be held in Gilead Sat-urday, Oct. 16, at 1 p.m., at the Gilead Cemetery,Gilead Street (Route 85). Everyone is invited af-terward to the home of her sister Jean Raymondat 731 Gilead St., Gilead.

East HamptonAlbert DeMatos Sr.

Albert DeMatos Sr., 83, of East Hampton, hus-band of the late Joline (Drouin) DeMatos, passedaway Thursday, Sept. 30, at home. Al was bornJuly 20, 1927, in West Hartford, the son of thelate Carlos and Maria (Cardoso) DeMatos. Heserved in the United States Navy during WorldWar II and retired from the United States PostalService where he worked as a truck driver for 22years.

Al is survived by five children, Denise DeMatosof Tennessee, Daniel DeMatos and his wife Abbyof Windsor, Albert DeMatos Jr. and his wife Judithof Windsor Locks, Richard DeMatos and his wifeAnnie of Florida and Michael DeMatos of NewMexico. Al is also survived by a brother, DanielDeMatos of Florida; two sisters, Angela Mannand her husband Bob of Colorado and Marie Ursyof Florida; five grandchildren, Karen and KellyDeMatos of Tennessee, Benjamin and JoshuaDeMatos of Windsor and Kelly DeMatos ofWindsor Locks; and a great-grandson Ashton.

In addition to his beloved late wife Joline, towhom he was married 50-plus years, he was pre-deceased by two sons, Arthur J. DeMatos andCarlos DeMatos; two brothers, Manuel and An-thony DeMatos; a sister, Anna DeMatos.

There are no calling hours and funeral servicesare private.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations inmemory of Al may be made to the American Can-cer Society, P.O. Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK73123-1718 or to the Alzheimer’s Association,P.O. Box 96011, Washington, DC 20090-6011.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted toWindsor Locks Funeral Home. For online expres-sions of sympathy or directions, visitwww.windsorlocksfunerlhome.com.

ColchesterArthur Daniel Standish

The HonorableArthur Daniel Standish,92, a lifelong resident ofColchester, belovedhusband of Minnette(Nelkin) Standish,passed away Mondaymorning, Oct. 4, at thefamily home, sur-rounded by his lovingfamily. Born in Nor-wich Dec. 3, 1917, hewas the eldest son of thelate Charles and Ethel(Webster) Standish.

He proudly served our country with the ArmyAir Corps during World War II. Together, he andMinnette ran the family dairy farm on the StandishRoad homestead in Colchester until 1960. He thenwent on to work as a mechanic for D.H. Marvin,Marvin’s Midway and then partnered at Art andRomie’s Service Station and later owned and op-erated Standish Auto, all in Colchester.

Artie had served on the Colchester Board ofTax Review, was an alternate trial justice forColchester and was a representative in state leg-islature for one term. He was a longtime memberof the Donald A. Bigelow American Legion PostNo. 54 and the Wooster Lodge No. 10 A.F. &A.M., in Colchester.

He volunteered for the care and operation ofthe Linwood Cemetery in Colchester for over 50years.

Mr. Standish was honored as the Grand Mar-shal of the Colchester Memorial Day Parade in2007.

In addition to his loving wife of 68 years,Minnette, he is survived by four children, RobertC. Standish and wife, Judy of North Carolina,Jean Brainard and husband, Bill of Vermont,Kathy (Williams) Orth of Indiana and Bruce Wil-liams of Colchester; two sisters, Barbara SmithClark of Colchester and Betty Jean Bruce ofFlorida; a sister-in-law, Barbara Standish ofColchester; eight grandchildren, Kate and HuntRogers of New Jersey, Lori and James Standishand Lynn Mancini, all of Colchester; Amanda andGeorge French and Alan Orth, all of Indiana andSarah Korpak and Meghan McSweeney, both ofConnecticut; nine great grandchildren, Alexa,Devyn, Aubrey, Mallorie, David, Lauren,Michael, Ashlyn and Griffin; and numerous ex-tended family members and friends.

He was predeceased by his sister, GladysLadegard; and two brothers, Donald and CharlesMyles.

Friends called Wednesday, Oct. 6, at the Au-rora-McCarthy Funeral Home, 167 Old HartfordRd., Colchester. An American Legion memorialservice was observed during that time. The fu-neral assembled Thursday, Oct. 7, before a chapelservice. The Rev. Fred M. Dole officiated the ser-vice, assisted by the Rev. Amanda LadegardOstrove. Committal with full military honors fol-lowed in the Linwood Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his memorymay be made to the Colchester-Hayward Vol. FireCo., 18-54 Old Hartford Rd., Colchester.

For online condolences, visit www.auroramccarthyfuneralhome.com.

ColchesterWayne R. Taylor

Wayne R. Taylor, 71, formerly of Westchester,passed away Wednesday, Sept. 29. He was bornin Hartford, and was a 1958 graduate of BaconAcademy.

Mr. Taylor served in the U.S. Navy, was a mem-ber of the Loyal Order of the Moose, and theAmerican Legion. He along with his wife ownedthe Taylor Home Day Care for many years andwas manager of the Florida Tackle and Gun Club.

He was preceded in death by two brothers,Donald and Neil Taylor.

Survivors include his wife of 37 years, PatriciaTaylor; two sons, Arthur Genovese and Mark Tay-lor; three daughters, Gail Casalini, JaniceGenovese and Sheri Taylor; two brothers, Jim R.Taylor and Joe Guastamachio; seven sisters, Bar-bara Oddis, Janice Chadwick, Nancy Partridge,Diane Taylor, Linda Cappelli, Jacqueline Caglioniand Li Guastamachio; and eight grandchildren.

A memorial service was held Saturday, Oct. 2,at in the chapel of Hardage-Giddens RivermeadFuneral Home, 127 Blanding Blvd., Orange Park,FL 32073. 904-272-6316.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made tothe veterans’ charity of your choice or to theAmerican Cancer Society.

East HamptonJessie Anne Franklin

On Sept. 26, Jessie Anne Yeager Franklin, 29,of Fort Hood, TX, and formerly of East Hamp-ton, was unexpectedly taken away from loved onesand placed in God’s care. She was the beloveddaughter of David H. Yeager of East Hamptonand Cynthia G. Yeager of New Britain.

Jessie Anne leaves behind a daughter, MikaylaAnne Franklin, 6, and a son, Byron DavidFranklin, 2, of Fort Hood, TX. She is also sur-vived by her brother and best friend, T. MartinCavanaugh and his wife Carrie; a cherished nieceand nephew, Ashley and Tristan Cavanaugh; step-mother, Pamela Rudolph Yeager; her uncle, S.C.Gillette and family; her uncle, Z. Arthur Yeagerand family; two other mothers, Kathleen McCrannof New Britain and Donna Byron of Rhode Is-land; sister-in-law, Bridget Byron of Massachu-setts; many members of the Franklin family ofRhode Island and close friends from Texas, Con-necticut, Massachusetts and South Carolina.

A 1998 graduate of the Academy of the HolyFamily of Baltic, and a 2002 graduate of SalveRegina University of Newport, RI, Jessie Annededicated her life to her children and family. Shewas employed as general manager and personaltrainer by GYMX of Kileen, TX.

Calling hours will be from 6-8 p.m. on Mon-day, Oct. 11, at Spencer Funeral Home, 112 MainSt., East Hampton. A funeral liturgy will be cel-ebrated at Saint Patrick Church, 47 West HighSt., East Hampton, on Tuesday, Oct. 12, at 10 a.m.Burial at Saint Patrick Cemetery will follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to afund for the children, Mikayla and ByronFranklin, c/o David Yeager, P.O. Box 208, EastHampton, CT 06424 or The Fort Hood FisherHouse Building, 36015 Fisher Ln., Fort Hood,TX 76544 or the Prevent The Domestic ViolenceCoalition of your choice in memory of Jessie AnneYeager Franklin.

MarlboroughSalvatore Santangelo

Salvatore T. Santangelo, 76, of Marlborough,husband of the late Ruth (Tighe) Santangelo, diedMonday, Oct. 4, at Middlesex Hospital. Born Sept.7, 1934, he was the son of the late Thomas S. andRose (Malone) Santangelo.

He proudly served his country in the Armyduring the Korean War. Salvatore had lived inMarlborough for the past 30 years and was a mem-ber of the Elks Club and the American LegionPost in Marlborough. He had worked as a unionlaborer at Millstone Nuclear Power Plant and hadrecently retired from the Marlborough Landfillafter 15 years of service.

He is survived by his son, Thomas S.Santangelo and his wife Jenna of West Hartford;his two daughters, Dana Klemyk of Marlboroughand Tracy Vincek of Marlborough; two brothers,Peter Santangelo of Middletown and RobertSantangelo of Middletown; a sister, PhilomenaLessor of Middletown; five grandchildren, JessiKlemyk, Roxanne and James Vincek, and Emmaand Madeline Santangelo. He also leaves his closefriend and companion, Brenda Abrams.

He was predeceased by his brother ThomasSantangelo.

Friends and family called at the Spencer Fu-neral Home on Wednesday, Oct. 6. Burial will beprivate at the convenience of the family.

Memorial contributions may be made to theHelen and Harry Gray Cancer Center at HartfordHospital, 85 Retreat Ave., Hartford, CT 06102.

To leave online condolences, visitwww.spencerfuneralhomeinc.com.

Colchester Police News9/27: Aharon Ron, 19, of 14 Addison Rd.,

Glastonbury, was charged with sixth-degreelarceny, Colchester Police said.

9/27: A residence on Norwich Avenue wasburglarized, Colchester Police said. Collectiblecoins and copper piping were stolen.

9/27: Rachel Blandina, 19, of 20 Main St.,Apt. 5, was charged with sixth-degree larceny,Colchester Police said.

9/29: A residence on Windham Avenue wasburglarized, Colchester Police said. A 42-inchflat-screen television was stolen.

9/30 Corrinne Ciochini, 23, of 92 StanavageRd., was charged with possession of narcotics,possession of drug paraphernalia, illegal stor-age of narcotics and DUI, Colchester Policesaid.

9/30: Thomas Lemay, 23, of 51 Pleasant St.,was charged with possession of narcotics andpossession of drug paraphernalia, ColchesterPolice said.

10/1: Michael Tancredi, 35, of 35 David Dr.,was charged with criminal violation of a pro-tective order, Colchester Police said.

East HamptonPolice News

9/18: Sebastian Walsh, 19, of 719 SquawRock Rd., Moosup, was arrested for DUI, EastHampton Police said.

9/24: Amelia A. Cavanaugh, 19, of 133Wopowog Rd., was arrested for first-degreeforgery and sixth-degree larceny, police said.

9/27: Sean Jeffers, 24, of 6 Mott Hill Rd.,was issued a ticket for speeding and failure tonotify DMV of address change, police said.

9/28: Christopher Scaplen, 25, of 18 WellsAve., was issued a ticket for breach of peaceand interfering with an officer, p

From the Editor’s Desk

Observations & Ruminationsby Mike Thompson

In my last column I said they’d probablydo it, so I wasn’t surprised Monday when theMets fired manager Jerry Manuel and gen-eral manager Omar Minaya. When a teamwith a payroll as high (and with expectationsas high) as the Mets does as poorly as it didfor two consecutive years – not to mentionthe famous collapses at the end of 2008 and2007 – it’s almost inconceivable that headswouldn’t roll.

As for their replacements, I think the gen-eral manager definitely needs to be experi-enced, both with making personnel moves andin dealing with the media. The GM of a NewYork ball club – especially one whose imageis as bad as the Mets is right now – is not thekind of position you want filled with a newbie.But I don’t have any particular names in mindas to who should get that spot. I know thereare some quality-sounding resumes out there,but I’m not as well-versed in GM candidatesas others are.

Now, I do have a name in mind for theMets’ next manager: Bobby Valentine. Thefans would love to see him return, and hishigh-energy persona would be a polar oppo-site from the laid-back one of Manuel. Plus,the man has shown he can win in New York,and doesn’t need the equivalent of the ‘27Yankees to do it. The ‘99 and ‘00 Mets teamsthat he took to the playoffs, while they cer-tainly had some star players (the biggest onebeing the one and only Mike Piazza), weren’toverly terrifying, and featured a lot of unim-posing, largely-forgotten names like BennyAgbayani, Jay Payton, Rey Ordonez, RickReed and Turk Wendell. Yet these guys knewhow to win, and I think Bobby V. played abig part in creating that atmosphere.

Now, Valentine might not be the pick. Af-ter all, the team did fire him after the 2002season, and rumor has it there’s still some badblood between Valentine and ownership stem-ming from that firing. What the team mightdo is go with Wally Backman, another favor-ite of many fans (he was a piece of thosefamed mid-‘80s Mets teams) who also has afiery personality, and who led the Class-ABrooklyn Cyclones to the Penn State LeagueChampionships this year. But that’s the thing;

to go from managing a single-A team to man-aging a major league one….well, that’s oneheck of a leap.

* * *Speaking of baseball, the San Francisco Gi-

ants made the playoffs. The team’s benchcoach is Colchester native Ron Wotus, and incase you missed it (perhaps you just immedi-ately turn to page 2 each week to read mydelightful column; hey, it could happen), KatyNally has a story on the cover of this week’sRivereast interviewing Wotus. This isn’t the1979 Bacon Academy graduate’s first trip tothe postseason; he’s been the Giants’ benchcoach since 1999, meaning he was with themin 2000 when they lost to the Mets in the Di-vision Series and was there in 2002 when theylost to the Angels in the World Series. Still,it’s always nice to see a local guy enjoyingsuccess on a big stage.

The Giants are playing the Braves in theirDivision Series, which just started yesterday.While I suppose it’d be nice to see Bravesskipper Bobby Cox get one more WorldChampionship before he retires, as a Mets fanI’d feel a little queasy rooting for Atlanta. Fortoo many years, the Mets season ended, ei-ther literally or figuratively, at the hands ofthe Braves. While it’s true they aren’t quitethe thorn in the Mets’ side that they used tobe (one could argue that thorn is the Metsthemselves), sometimes old habits die hard.

* * *Election Day is less than a month away,

which means the mud-slinging, and dirt-dig-ging, is in the home stretch. Now is the timeof year where there is no skeleton too deep tounearth and expose. Of course, some skel-etons are less relevant than others. Person-ally, I couldn’t care less that Delaware Sena-torial candidate Christine O’Donnell said ina 1999 episode of Politically Incorrect thatshe had previously dabbled in witchcraft. Andyet, this week she premiered her new cam-paign ad and declared, “I’m not a witch.”

Definitely one of the most surreal openingstatements of a political ad I’ve ever heard.

* * *See you next week.