town times dec. 28, 2012

Volume 19, Number 38 Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall www.TownTimes.com Friday, December 28, 2012

Santa and elves at the library

Submitted by Christine Michaud

Over 50 children and their families enjoyed a visit with Santa Claus at theDurham Public library recently. Santa was assisted by local “elves” Ivy andClaire Linden-Dionne, Shannon Carey and Tatiana Perez, who took photos,made notes for the elves at the North Pole, and handed out candy canes. In ad-dition to sharing their Christmas wishes with Santa, children made Christmastree ornaments, colored holiday pictures, and listened to Christmas stories.

In wake of Sandy Hook,BOE looks at safety issuesBy Mark Dionne

Special to the Town Times

“We don’t have a greater re-sponsibility than the securityof the children,” Board of Ed-ucation chair Kerrie Flanagantold the BOE at a special meet-ing regarding school safety.“The sad truth of the matter iswe’ll probably never be at 100percent. It’s a journey and Ithink we’ll be on this road fora long time.”

The tension between the de-sire to provide safety for chil-dren and the impossibility ofachieving complete safety ranthrough the somber meetingheld Dec. 19, five days after thekillings at Sandy Hook Ele-mentary School.

While no major decisionswere made at the meeting,many safety issues wereraised, some of which willlikely change the way theschools are used and look.

Entrances and exitsProcedures for being buzzed

through the locked schooldoors were changed followingSandy Hook. “Everybody whois buzzed in to every buildingwill be asked some questions,”Superintendent Sue Viccarosaid.

Cameras provide what Vic-caro described as sometimes“limited visibility” to the

Year in reviewBy Stephanie Wilcox

Town Times

Wonder where the year went? We do, too. Especiallyconsidering how much happened in Durham and Mid-dlefield in 2012. Here are the major headlines for yourreview.

JANUARYPowder Ridge update – Rick Sabatino, a member of

the former Alpine Ridge group, was one of several par-ties that showed interest in purchasing the town-owned246 acre ski area property. Middlefield First SelectmanJon Brayshaw said he was “cautiously optimistic” thatsomething would develop for Powder Ridge, whether itwas with Sabatino or someone else.

Football player from Durham makes key bowlgame TD - Durham native Graham Stewart was a fresh-man linebacker for the Florida Gators when he recov-ered a blocked punt and ran it back for a touchdown.The score broke open a tight 14-10 game and gave theGators their margin of victory in the 24-17 win over theOhio State Buckeyes. Note: Stewart transferred toUConn in May.

Officials ‘weed out the wheat from the chaff ’ re-garding Powder Ridge interested parties – Middle-field Residents complained to the Board of Selectmenabout certain matters being considered in executivesession. First Selectman Jon Brayshaw assured thepublic that he, along with Town Planner Geoff Cole-grove, Finance Director Joseph Geruch and the Boardof Selectmen are trying to “weed out the wheat from thechaff ” regarding potential buyers for Powder Ridge.

All-day kindergarten discussed at BOE – Initialtalk of all-day kindergarten began at a January meetingof the Regional School District 13 Board of Education.Board members said they had been contacted by mem-bers of the public on the issue, and opinions rangedfrom thrilled at the opportunity to concerned about thepotential expense.

FEBRUARYMiddlefield revaluation leads to 10 percent drop

in grand list – Middlefield home assessments wentdown during the 2011 state-mandated revaluation,which happens every five years.

Newest Powder Ridge possibility Sean Hayestalks snowballs and restoration – Sean Hayes, themanaging director of Brownstone Exploration and Dis-cover Park, LLC in Portland, was the newest entry intothe Powder Ridge Ski Area ownership sweepstakes.“I’m a specialist with a proven business model for tak-ing distressed properties owned by municipalities andturning them into something everybody can be proudof,” he said.

See Review, page 2See Safety, page 7

Town Times — Friday, December 28, 20122

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CorrectionsWe strive to bring you the most accurate information

available each week, but if you see something in TownTimes that is incorrect, give us a call at (203) 317-2448,and we’ll do our best to make things right.

ESPN comes to Durham for Super BowlSunday – ESPN anchor Karl Ravech reportedlive at the Coginchaug High School footballfield on Super Bowl Sunday in front of a live-ly local crowd. Durham is said to be the cen-ter point between the Patriots’ Foxboroughand the Giants’ Met Life Stadium.

Redistricting — a big impact on splittowns – Civic leaders in Durham and Mid-dlefield called the state’s redistricting plan a“political mess.” Durham was split into twoseparate state senate districts and two sepa-rate state assembly districts.

Durham approves new 20-year DMI-AAB agreement – Durham voters approvedthe new agreement that extended the life ofthe Durham Middlefield Interlocal Agree-ment Advisory Board, the operational agencyfor the two-town transfer station. Note: Onemonth later, Middlefield also passed the newagreement.

MARCHMeyer and Lesser talk reform with

BOE – State Sen. Ed Meyer and state Rep.Matt Lesser spoke to the Board of Educationabout the proposed education reform and lis-tened to concerns from board members andSuperintendent Susan Viccaro.

Residents hear plan for Powder Ridgewinter sports park – Sean Hayes, managingdirector of Brownstone Exploration and Dis-covery Park, LLC in Portland, presented hisplan for a winter sports park. In addition tooffering downhill skiing and snowboardingby the end of 2013, the plan called for a two-year restoration of the existing lodge, con-verting the hotel rooms into day rooms andrestoring the restaurant building for a thirdparty lease.

Durham resident creates iPad app -Durham resident Peter Mueller proved that

technology can serve as a vessel for the inde-pendent artist to bring his creations to theworld more easily by creating a vertical-scrolling children’s book app for the iPad.

Middlefield agrees to become memberof COG – Middlefield residents approved aproposal to become a member of the Con-necticut River Valley Council of Elected Offi-cials. This group will function as the regionalplanning agency for 13 area towns. It replacedthe Midstate Regional Planning Agency be-cause the state said it would reduce the num-ber of regional planning agencies to savecost. Note: In May, Durham also joined COG.

APRILAfter more cuts, BOE approves budget –

The BOE voted to move forward with a netbudget for the 2012-13 school year of$34,089,930, which represents an increase of3.27 percent over the current school year.This represented almost a full percentagepoint drop from the original budget presentedMarch 7. The proposed budget changed half-day kindergarten to full-day. Note: the schoolbudget ultimately passed at referendum inMay, by a margin of victory of 87 votes.

Durham Fair budget forces some enter-tainment cuts – The Durham Fair Associa-tion made budget cuts that eliminated GreenStage entertainment, stilt walkers, food tentsingers, the strolling barbershop quartet andpig races.

MAYPublic invited to Historical Society

grand reopening – The Durham HistoricalSociety, located adjacent to the Town Hall, re-opened after a decade of restoration done byvolunteers.

Review (Continued from page 1)

Photo by Mark Dionne

ESPN anchor Karl Ravech reported from Durham on Super Bowl Sunday.

See Review, next page

–

D

Friday, December 28, 2012 — Town Times 3

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Student’s Google doodle could bring $50,000 to CRHS– Cory Hassmann, from Durham, was honored as the Con-necticut winner of Doodle 4 Google with his depiction of thetechnology company’s logo. He had the chance to win a$50,000 technology grant for Coginchaug if his doodle wonoverall. Note: Hassmann did not win at the national competi-tion.

Middlefield $4.42 million budget passes – It took just 20minutes for Middlefield to overwhelmingly vote in favor ofadopting the 2012-13 town budget. Note: That same week,Durham passed its $5.93 million budget.

Throwing candy thrown out of parade – Due to safetyand litter issues, organizers of the Memorial Day Parade an-

nounced that participants riding in floats would not be al-lowed to throw candy to spectators as they have in years past.

Town and fair officials react to Girl Scouts jubileetraffic issues – Residents were furious about traffic conges-tion when thousands of participants attended the 100-yearanniversary of Girl Scouts event at the Durham Fairgrounds.Fair Association President Gene Chiappetta said “We felt wehad a reasonable plan, but…that reasonable plan could notsupport the success of the event.”

JUNEMiddlefield’s Trooper Kelly named one of CT’s finest

– Middlefield’s Trooper 1st Class Eric Kelly was honored atthe annual Salute to Connecticut’s Finest for being “a rolemodel for other police officers.”

CT School Nurse of the Year says there’s never a dullmoment – Memorial Middle School nurse Joanne Nytch wasnamed the Association of School Nurses of CT School Nurseof the Year for her “outstanding professionalism, initiativeand leadership skills.”

‘Learn, improve and enjoy the game of golf ’ at Ly-man’s new golf center – The Lyman family opened a third

Photo by Christine Foster

Cory Hassmann with U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

To advertise yourbusiness, call the

Town Times203-317-2313

See Review, page 5

TownCalendar Town TimesFriday, December 28, 2012

4

Dec.28 Friday

Tot Time - The MOMSClub of Durham-Middle-field meets every Friday atthe Middlefield CommunityCenter at 10 a.m. Babies,toddlers and children arewelcome. For more infor-mation, email [email protected].

Bridge Night - Comejoin in at the Durham Ac-tivity Center every Fridaynight at 6:30 p.m. for a funnight of bridge. If you arenot sure how to play, Jimwill teach you. You may callJim at (860) 346-6611 withbridge questions. CallDurham Recreation at (860)343-6724 with further ques-tions.

29 Saturday

Informational meeting -Come to an informationalmeeting Saturday, Dec. 29, at10 a.m., to learn more aboutBiggest Loser Pro Chal-lenge. The fifth season ofBiggest Loser Pro Challengeat Core Club & Gym startsJan. 6. at 350 Main St.,Durham. Call (860) 349-9100for more information.

31 Monday

Durham Senior Lunch-es – are canceled today.

Middlefield SeniorLunches - The MiddlefieldSenior Café is serving lunchthree times a week, on Mon-days, Wednesdays and Fri-days. Reservations are re-quired 24 hours prior, andthe monthly menu can bepicked up at the center,Town Hall or at www.mid-dlefieldct.org.

Transfer Station hours -The Durham MiddlefieldTransfer Station will beopen 8 a.m. to noon on Dec.31.

Jan.1 Tuesday

2 Wednesday

TOPS Meeting - Take OffPounds Sensibly meetsevery Wednesday at 6 p.m.on the third floor of theDurham Town Hall. ContactNaomi Klotsko at (860) 349-9558 or Bonnie Olesen at(860) 349-9433 for more infor-mation.

Knitting group – Localknitters are invited to joinWarm Up America the firstWednesday of each monthfrom 7 to 8:30 p.m. atDurham Activity Center, 350

Main St. You may drop in toknit and chat or you canstop by to drop off itemsyou’ve completed.

The group will continueto work on the Warm UpAmerica blankets as well asbaby blankets, lap blanketsfor nursing homes andchemo caps. Dates are Jan.2, Feb. 6 and March 6.

For more information orfor pattern changes, contactKim at [email protected].

3 Thursday

Book discussion - OnThursday, Jan. 3, at 7 p.m., atDurham Public Library,there will be a book discus-sion of “Empire Falls” facil-itated by Jane Eriksen andAmy Bloom, focusing on thebook’s themes and their rel-evance to small town life inthe communities. No regis-tration.

5 Saturday

Workshop – on Saturday,Jan. 5, at 11 a.m., atDurham Public Library,

artist and art teacher JanWenzel will conduct an artsworkshop for students aged10-14. Entitled “Dream YourDream,” the workshop willexplore the One Booktheme of making dreamscome alive in all communi-ties for all people. Themedium will be collagewith all materials provid-ed. Registration requiredeither at Levi Coe orDurham Public Library.

7 Monday

Book discussion – OnMonday, Jan. 7, at 1 p.m., atDurham Activity Center,there will be an “EmpireFalls” book discussion fa-cilitated by town librariansand members of the OneBook committee. No regis-tration necessary.

Middlefield SeniorLunches - The MiddlefieldSenior Café is servinglunch three times a week,on Mondays, Wednesdaysand Fridays. Reservationsare required 24 hours prior,and the monthly menu canbe picked up at the center,Town Hall or at www.mid-dlefieldct.org.

10 Thursday

Author reading – onThursday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m., atDurham Public Library,Leslie Bulion, Durham au-thor, will read from her latestbook, “The Universe of Fair,”in which Miller Sanford, anover-anxious 11-year-old boysets out to conquer a fiction-alized fair. Though theDurham Fair is never men-tioned by name, most peoplewill recognize the inspira-tion for this delightful tale ofsmall town life. Copies of thebook will be available forsigning at the program andat the library beforehand. Noregistration necessary

.

11 Friday

Ballet performance –Middlesex Dance Center hasscheduled an AmericanAcademy of Ballet perform-ance for Friday, Jan. 11, at 6p.m. at eh Church of St. Col-man, Middlefield. Dancerswill perform ballet combina-tions and solo dances. Admis-sion is a donation of a fooditem or pet food item for thelocal food bank or animalshelter. For more informa-tion, call (860) 345-7586.

Bridge Night - Come joinin at the Durham ActivityCenter every Friday night at6:30 p.m. for a fun night ofbridge. If you are not surehow to play, Jim will teachyou. You may call Jim at (860)346-6611 with bridge ques-tions. Call Durham Recre-ation at (860) 343-6724 withfurther questions.

12 Saturday

History lecture – on Sat-urday, Jan. 12, at 2 p.m., atDurham Public Library,Durham historian FranKorn will share his extensiveknowledge of town history.Think you know everythingthere is to know about thesmall town of Durham?Come to this lecture and besurprised. No registrationnecessary.

Warming up for Orange Bowl

Kaitlyn Mentlick, 16, and Korinne Stockdale, 17, both from Durham, are sched-uled to dance Jan. 1 in Miami, during the Orange Bowl’s half time show withcountry artist Jake Owen. Both girls have been in Disney’s daily parade, atseveral Rock Cat games, at the Komen Race for the Cure and Relay for Life,MS walk-a-thons and the Durham Fair.


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Published weekly byRecord-Journal at11 Crown Street,

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Periodicals Postage Paidat Meriden, CT and at

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golf course and new learning center for people of all ages,genders and skill levels.

Clean water plan for Durham Center seems clear – TheDurham Board of Selectmen gave its approval to enter intoan agreement with Middletown to extend an existing watersystem in Middletown to Durham Center.

JULYState: new signs at Millers Pond will give ‘straightfor-

ward message’ about swimming – Another drowning atMillers Pond in Durham moved town officials to request thatthe Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in-crease coverage during recreation season. Instead, the DEEPinstalled signs that read: “People have lost their lives hereand we do not want you to become another statistic.”

BOE elects new chair – Kerrie Flanagan was elected aschairman of the Board of Education after Tom Hennick leftthe seat after five years. Note: Shortly after, Tom Hennick re-signed from the BOE.

Durham Conservation Commission meets 100+friends of Melynda – When the Conservation Commissionbegan reviewing how the town leases town-owned property, itbecame a hot topic for many individuals and local groups

who feared how it would impact Deerfield Farm, which hadbeen operated as a dairy farm for the last eight years byMelynda Naples. Most did not want to see her go and thought anychange would contradict the town’s support of agriculture.

Super Coaster coming to Durham Fair – The DurhamFair Association voted to have the “Super Coaster”, the firstbig roller coaster to grace a Connecticut fair, in the midway.

Photo by Sarah Nathan

A swimmer enjoyed a sunny day at Millers Pond.

We’re on the web:www.towntimes.com

Photo by Stephanie Wilcox

Passengers rode the Super Coaster at the 2012Durham Fair.


See Review, next page


0411

cm

1260327

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Notice is hereby given to the taxpayers of Durham that the secondhalf of Real Estate and Personal Property taxes and the total

Supplemental Motor Vehicle tax on the Grand List of 2011 are dueand payable to the Town of Durham on January 1, 2013.No bill is sent for the 2nd installment of Real Estate.

If not paid by February 1, 2013 these taxes will be considereddelinquent and interest will be charged at the rate of 1.5% per month

from the due date, with a minimum 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, andThursday 8:30-4:30pm, Tuesday 8:30-7:00pm and Friday 8:30-

3:00pm. Additional hours for this collection period will be SaturdayJanuary 26, 2013; from 10:00am-12:00pm.

Martin French, CCMCTax Collector - Town of Durham, CT

LEGAL NOTICETown of Durham, CT

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Durham chosen as a Solarize CT pilot town – A pilot so-lar program that aggregates homeowners across communi-ties to offer discounted prices for residential solar waslaunched, and Durham was selected as one of four pilottowns.

Durham native relishes role in first big studio feature– Michael Barra played the role of a store clerk in the sum-mer blockbuster “The Amazing Spider-Man.”

AUGUSTMiddlefield gives ‘resounding yes’ on Powder Ridge

sale – Middlefield voted 1,132 to 466 to sell Powder Ridge toSean Hayes. “I’ve lost sleep over this,” First Selectman JonBrayshaw said. “This was the answer to our prayers. I’vebeen sick over it for months.”

SEPTEMBERRehabilitation of White’s Farm underway – An eight-

week project to restore wetlands that had been causing flood-ing at White’s Farm in Durham began late summer.

OCTOBERRecord-setting numbers register to vote in Durham

and Middlefield – As of Oct. 18, less than three weeks beforethe Nov. 6 election, 5,028 people were registered to vote inDurham and 3,224 were registered in Middlefield.

DEEP hopes for ‘permanent solution’ – The state toldresidents of Middlefield that the Lake Beseck dam will un-dergo major repairs to address recurring seepage problems.DEEP officials said the project could take 10 months.

NOVEMBERHurricane Sandy: towns ‘dodged a bullet’ – First se-

Review (Continued from page 5)lectmen from Durham and Middlefield said, thanks to havingplans in place before the storm hit, the towns were in a goodposition when Hurricane Sandy hit Connecticut. Not to men-tion, Mother Nature was kind to the area — Durham and Mid-dlefield did not see the worst of the hurricane’s damage.


Sean Hayes said he wasready to resurrect PowderRidge.


DEEP workers recreated the original channel of AllynBrook.

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Safety(Continued from page 1)

buzzer area, and office staffhave been questioning schoolvisitors more than in the past.

“We’ve had every custodiancheck every exterior door tomake sure they are latchingand locking,” Viccaro report-ed. Several people at the meet-ing noted that the physicallocks and barriers can bethwarted not just by a power-ful gun but by rushed or well-meaning school visitors.

Parents often hold the doorsfor each other and other visi-tors. “Please don’t do that,”urged Viccaro, who noted thatthis week parents have beenwaiting in line to be buzzed inindividually.

BOE member Nancy Boylesuggested instructing parentsto use only the main exit whenleaving the building. “I thinkwe all care about having oneegress point. You see who iscoming and going. You don’thave to worry about too manypeople leaving” out the otherdoors. “We need to control theegress points,” she said.

“Every time somebody ex-its, somebody can enter,” BOEmember Robert Fulton said.

Exterior school doors arelocked to the outside but openon the inside for fire safety. “Ican’t monitor if somebody isgoing to exit a door that they canexit,” Viccaro said. “I’m not surehow we monitor that.”

Portables“My major concern right

now is the portables,” said Vic-caro, adding that the portableswere the first issue cited bymost school principals. Five ofthe six district schools useportables.

Teachers in the portableshave been instructed to keeptheir doors locked. “Until wecome up with longer term so-lutions, that’s what we’re do-ing,” Viccaro said. “Is it cum-bersome? Yes. Is it important?Absolutely.”

The BOE will be gettingquotes at future meetings forbarriers for the portables. Op-tions include installing swipecard access, enclosing theportables with the schools orbuilding a walkway betweenthe portables and the schools.

One member of the audi-ence also questioned the pro-cedure for sending studentsbetween the portables and themain building, another safety

issue to review.Prepare and preventAlso under review, accord-

ing to Viccaro, are the lockdown drills conducted by theschools twice per year. Thedrills may increase in frequen-cy, be done on a surprise basis,and include instruction for thestudents.

Substitute teachers are alsonow being given instructionsand keys so they can lock theirown classroom doors.

BOE member MerrillAdams asked about mentalhealth awareness in the com-munity. Viccaro said, “We havecounseling resources availablein the district as well as...newcounseling resources availablethrough Durham and Middle-field Youth and Family Ser-vices. If you know someone, ifyou are experiencing difficul-ty, please contact me, contactthe building principal and wewill provide you with addition-al resources.”

Multiple issues“There is nothing that’s not

in consideration if it can makeus safer,” Flanagan said.

Members of the audiencealso asked about panic buttons

and intercom procedures atthe school. Others questionedthe safety of schoolchildrenoutside the physical security ofthe buildings such as at recessor outdoor classes.

Other members of the audi-ence voiced support for aschool resource officer, anarmed state trooper stationedin the schools. RSD13 had aschool resource officerthrough a federal grant in thepast, but the position was re-duced and then eliminatedwhen the grant disappeared.

Building access, Viccaronoted several times, alsochanges with the time of dayand use. Students at somebuildings need to get from areato area at different periods andthe buildings are also open tocommunity groups after theschool day and on weekends.

“Obviously we’re walkingaway with a lot of questionstonight,” said Flanagan, whoopened the meeting with a mo-ment of silence to honor thechildren and teachers killed atSandy Hook.

The next BOE meeting isscheduled for Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m.at John Lyman School.

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

Durham Library. Check the town website at www.townof-durhamct.org for updates.)

Monday, Jan. 7Board of Selectmen, Town Hall, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 8Library Board of Trustees, Library, 7 p.m.

Board of Education Communications Committee, Superin-tendents office, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 9Joint Board and Commission Meeting, Town Hall, 7 p.m.

Cemetery Company, Town Hall, 7 p.m.Board of Education, John Lyman School, 7:30 p.m.

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

munity Center.)Thursday, Jan. 3

Economic Development Commission, 7 p.m.Monday, Jan. 7

Board of Selectmen, 7 p.m.

Government Meetings

Letters to the Editor

TownOpinion8

Town TimesFriday, December 28, 2012

Letters policyThe Town Times intends to present a forum for the lively exchange of

ideas and issues. To facilitate the publication of your contributions, severalguidelines should be followed. Letters to the editor must be signed, with aphone number included, and be no more than 300 words. The writer will becalled to confirm authorship. No anonymous letters will be printed. Contri-butions by any individual or group will not be published more frequentlythan once a month. Every effort will be made to print all letters received.However, the selection and date of publication will be at the discretion of theeditor. Finally, the opinions expressed by our letter writers are not necessar-ily those of this newspaper. Deadline: Monday noon for Friday publication.

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

http://www.towntimes.com

News (860) 349-8000 [email protected] (203) 317-2313 [email protected] (203) 639-0210Marketplace (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, EditorMarsha Pomponio, Office Assistant

Olivia Lawrence, News Editor-WeekliesKimberley E. Boath, Advertising Manager

Joy Boone, Advertising Sales

Contributors: Diana Carr, Trish Dynia, Elisabeth Kennedy, Karen Kean, Judy Moeckel, Mark Dionne,

Christine Foster and Michelle P. Carter.

MischaracterizationTo the editor:I’m writing to respond to

an editorial written by JohnSzewczyk about the GeneralAssembly’s redistrictingprocess. I take issue with Mr.Szewczyk’s mischaracteriza-tion of my integrity and in-volvement in redistricting. Iwas not a member of the bi-partisan commission thatvoted on district lines, and Idid not participate in theprocess.

Over the past 20 years, the86th District has been com-prised of all of North Bran-ford, parts of East Haven,Wallingford and Guilford. Italways has been a multi-towndistrict with North Branfordserving as the base town, andto suggest that I “sliced” and“diced” towns for my benefitis fraudulent.

The entire Durham delega-

tion, including myself, Sena-tors Meyer and Fasano andRepresentative Kokoruda al-ready has met with First Se-lectman Francis for a brief-ing on issues important toDurham. As always, I willwork with this team of dedi-cated lawmakers to bring astrong collective voice toHartford for Durham.

Vincent J. CandeloraState Rep. 86th District

Toy drive successTo the editor:Durham Fitness would like

to thank all who gave toysthis holiday season to sup-port local families in North-ern Middlesex County. All thetoys were delivered to the Sal-vation Army in Middletownon Dec. 17. The collection wasa huge success.

Kristen Kleeman &Durham Fitness

How you can help NewtownThe following are sugges-

tions on how you can helpthe community of Newtown.It comes from the regionalUnited Church of Christ andwas formulated by the lead-ership there in consultationwith their colleagues in New-town.

Please do not try to callthe Newtown churches. Thephones are still ringing offthe hook and important andnecessary calls are not get-ting through.

It’s fine to email a messageof support to a church, butplease do not expect an im-mediate reply. There has notyet been time for the staff toweigh all the offers of sup-port or acknowledge condo-lences

An old-fashioned card orletter, sent through the U.S.mail, may be the best form ofcommunication. These areeasily shared and can beposted.

Churches and the commu-nity are being “flooded” withcare items: prayer bracelets,shawls, and at least 8,000 ted-dy bears. Church will try toaccept and distribute anyitems received, but especial-ly those made by children forNewtown children.

While these items will findgood homes, they can be a bitmuch to manage in the midstof a crisis. You may wish toinquire first as to what isneeded.

Churches and churchagencies are in it for the longhaul. The most significantwork will begin after thecamera crews have left andthe people of Newtown needto begin dealing with thelong term effects. Please notethat there will be ways tosupport the people of New-town in the future.

Here are opportunities tosupport Newtown.

United Way of WesternConnecticut

“United Way extends ourmost sincere condolences

and prayers to all those fami-lies affected by the devastat-ing events inNewtown/Sandy Hook, Con-necticut,” the organizationsaid in a statement on itswebsite. “We will stand withthe community and everyoneaffected directly and indi-rectly by this tragic event aswe face the days and weeksahead.”

Checks for the United Wayfund may be mailed to SandyHook School Support Fund,c/o Newtown Savings Bank,39 Main St., Newtown, CT06470, or may be dropped offat any Newtown SavingsBank branch.

Newtown MemorialFund

Brian Mauriello, a long-time resident of Newtown,established the NewtownMemorial Fund to help withfuneral expenses and a per-manent memorial to the vic-tims. Mauriello said he was“dedicated to ensuring ourcommunity has a properfund for the memory ofthose who did perish, and forall those affected by thistragedy.”

To donate to Mauriello’sfund, checks can be mailed toNewtown Memorial Fund,P.O. Box 596, Botsford, CT06404.

My Sandy Hook FamilyFund

Established by parents ofchildren who survived the at-tack, the My Sandy HookFamily Fund intends to usedonations to pay for immedi-ate needs of families wholost loved ones, including fu-neral services, and ongoingliving expenses such as food,mortgage payments, daycareand insurance, until familiescan get back on their feet.

“We ask the world to joinus not only in our grief butalso in our burning need totake some of the burdens offthese families in their timeof incredible pain,” thegroup said on its website.

Donations can be mailedto My Sandy Hook FamilyFund, c/o Union SavingsBank, 1 Commerce Drive,Newtown, CT 06470.

University of Connecti-cut Scholarship Fund

The University of Con-necticut established a memo-rial scholarship fund thatwill cover college costs forstudents who attend SandyHook Elementary School, aswell as siblings of thosekilled and children of teach-ers and other adults who losttheir lives.

“Newtown is in our ownstate and many of our stu-dents and alumni have tiesto those who are affected di-rectly,” UConn President Su-san Herbst said in a state-ment. “The gift of higher ed-ucation is a transformation-al one. We want the studentsof Sandy Hook to have theopportunity to study at a toppublic research university.”

Checks can be mailed tothe UConn Foundation, 2390Alumni Drive Unit 2306,Storrs, CT 06269. Note on thecheck that the gift is for theSandy Hook School Memori-al Scholarship Fund.

InfolineState police have estab-

lished an informational hot-line for people or businessesthat want to assist the vic-tims of the Sandy Hook Ele-mentary School shooting.Assistance may include vic-tims’ assistance agencies,counselors, religious or min-istry services, dog therapyand transportation services.

For more information,contact the hotline by dial-ing 211.

United States PostalService

The U.S. Postal Servicehas set up a special post of-fice box for the public tosend its condolences to New-town. Letters and cards canbe sent to P.O. Box 3700, New-town, CT 06470

Let us know what you’re thinking - send us your Letters to the Editor! Town Times, P.O. Box 265, Middlefield, CT 06455

9

TownSchoolsTown TimesFriday, December 28, 2012

STRONG MIDDLE SCHOOLFIRST TRIMESTER HONOR ROLL

High HonorsGrade 8 - Azevedo, Seth

Chipman; Blair, Abigail Ann;Boyle, Amy EIizabeth; Car-roll, Emily Kathryn; Collins,Sarah Katherine; Davis, JuliaMargaret; Dills, Calista Tay-lor; Egan, William Joseph;Faiella, Justin Dennis; Fion-della, MaryGrace; Gavin, WillPeter; Hettrick, DawsonMichael; Hocking, PatrickJames; Jubelirer, BrianSamuel; Khalil, Nora; Labasi,Natalie Marie; Larkin, PaigeAmbrose; Leibiger, EmilyPierce; Marteka, Samuel Vin-cent; Rinaldi, Elie Rose;Romeyn, Scott Mullaney;Schleicher, Lucas Benjamin;Stanwood, Emily Harris;Stockdale, Camden Robert;Therrien, Kayla Alexis;Whitaker, EIizabeth Haynes.

Grade 7 - Brayton, SpencerSeathrun; Byrne, HaileyEmma; Christiana, TaylorAnn; Coogan, Colleen EIiza-beth; D’Agostino, Carol Jean;D’Amato, Lydia Jean; Dana,Ashley Fay; Doyle, SeamusEdward; Fazzino, JoshuaMichael; Figoras, AubreyMarie; Koba, Thomas Gerald;Labasi, Derek Martin; Lin-den-Dionne, Ivy; Mancarella,Faith Sarah; Marczuk, Ste-fan; Mariani, Zachary Nolan;McMaster, Sean Douglas;Montz, Madeline Jane;Pereira, Olivia Louise;Pietrzyk, Samantha Ellen;Pitruzzello, Cal Roberts;Planeta, Charlotte Emily;Slight, Victoria Ellyn;Sorensen, Claire EIizabeth;Stephan, Alexander Tran-QuyViet; Sullivan, ConnorPatrick; Tang, Ashely; Ture-cek, Daniel Joseph.

HonorsGrade 8 - Alsup, Alexandra

Sarah; Amirault, HannahLeigh; Baba, John Carlos;Bentley, Olivia Evelyn; Biz-zario, Marissa Leah;Boothroyd, Alexander Stone;Bournival, Lily McVeigh;Brant, Sydney Catherine;Cannon, Abigail Mary; Cas-sidy, Chelsea West; Child,Ryan William; Coppola, De-mery Joyce; Coughlin, Jessica

Lynn; Courchesne, BrodyReed; Decker, Megan Carey;DeFilio, Alexa Marie; Del-l’Oso, Trevor Aloysius; Dev-ers, Charlotte Ann; DiVicino,Angela Marie; Donnelly, Lau-ren Nicole; Fairchild, LaurenSandra; Fay, Taylon Joseph;Fontaine, Kyle Joseph; For-rester, Emma Maureen; Gagn-er, Amelia Catherine; Genest,Joshua Alexander; Grenier,Melissa Rose; Hall, BrittanyRose; Hassmann, Erin Leigh;Hlouchin, Erin Claire;Isleibm, Jenna; Keenan, De-clan James; King, JoshuaJohn; Korzan, Conrad Brian;Kotrady, Stefan Peter; Kurek,

RaAnna Jaide; Longworth,Samuel James; Lower, AshlynEIizabeth; Malek, MatthewSam; Marran, Abigail EIiza-beth; Martowski, NadiyaAllyson; McDonald, NathanScott; McIntyre, Hayley EIiza-beth; Melchionne, LaurenAlexandra; Morris, SkylerJean; Murphy, Griffin Dou-glas; Murphy, Jack Harrison;O’Connell, Rowan Catherine;Orozco, Jeremy Christopher;Paduano, Mitchel Thomas;Pakech, Hannah Camille;Paul, Amanda Lee; Poulin,Marisa Danielle; Preneta,Olivia Maria; Puchalski, Gar-rett Paul; Quinley, Danielle

Marie; Radziunas, BrienFrancis; Richardson, KatelynMichelle; Romeo, Kyle Fred-erick; Schulten, Mary Kather-ine; Seibert, Thomas Christo-pher; Sirois, Brendan Paul;Sliker, Olivia Ashton;Solomon, Christopher John;Sorensen, Richard Frederick;Strothers, Kye Lynn; Sung-Cuadrado, Kenneth; Szy-maszek, Jessica Ann; Terrill,Madison Rose; Thompson,Chase Franklin; Timbro,Nathan Michael; Tregoning,Sydona Rae; Turecek, BridgetClaire; Vynalek, RyanWilliam; Wilcox, SamuelJohnson; Woznyk, Matthew

Terry; Zaclli, Megi.Grade 7 - Anderson, Jared

Scott; Annecchino, KatherineJoy; Backstrom, Sean Ryan;Barrett, Marie EIizabeth;Barton, Ricki Lynn; Basiel,Garret Joseph; Benbow, Vir-ginia Kenzie; Berry, CooperMartin; Biro, CameronWilliam; Bourland, Luke An-thony; Carey, ShannonAlyssa; Casey-Leonard, Cait-lyn Elizabeth; Christenson,Emily Rae; Clancy, EmilyCharlotte; Courchesne, ColbySimone; Cross, Ryan A1exan-der; Curry, f1nthony Harri-son; DeGennaro, DylanMichael; DelVecchio, De-marie Rose; DeMartino, Vin-cent; DeVille, Meghan EIiza-beth; Diaz, Liliana Noel; Dou-glas, Kenneth Joseph; Esparo,Bryant Vito; Fede, Ana EIiza-beth; Fontanella, Erica; Garo-falo, Luke Michael; Gossart,Kaitlin Elizabeth; Halligan,Ashleigh Suzanne; Hessel-tine, Jake Alan; Hinsch, Lau-ra Rose; Howell, JohnRichard; Hultgren, TyraMichele; Hurlbert, HaydenChristopher; Jameson,Hunter James; Johansen,Kayley Elizabeth; Kelly, Tay-lor Lynn; Kinell, SamanthaRyan; Kleczkowski, AndrewJoseph; Kulasenski, Alexan-der Lukasz. Lane, CarlyMarie; Lecza, Alyssa Leigh;Lee, Daniel Joseph; Lineber-ry, Anthony Lawrence; Locas-cio, Sarah Keeman; Mili-dantri, Austin Levi;Mitchard, Mary Isabel;Munoz, Leany Marcella;Munro, Daniel Thomas; Pas-tore, Cody Tyler; Perez, Ta-tiana Elizabeth; Peters, Rhi-annon Mary; Potvin, AmandaMarie; Puziss, Isabel Sonja;Richardson, Alyssa Lynn;Robertson, Nina Aurea; Ro-drigue, Reid Jean-Paul; Saks,Griffin Daniel; Satagaj,Zachary Thomas; Schinas,Matthew; Starr, Hunter Jack;Strang, Kyle Andrew; Thayer,Camryn Emily; Titus, SamuelBerne; van Eyndhoven,Alyssa Lauren; Volenec, Jock-son Paul; Wallach, OttoSteven; Zito, Abbigale Rose.

Rockfall resident is student of the month The Middletown Rotary Club honored Lisa Bradley, a senior at Vinyl Technical High

School and resident of Rockfall, as Student of the Month.Bradley is a student in culinary technology and is ranked third in the class.In addition to being on the school volleyball and softball teams, Bradley is an active

member and president of Student Council; a chapter officer of Sills USA; and vice-pres-ident of CT Technical High School Student Congress. She has volunteers as a blood driveassistant, and participated in the Penguin Plunge and the Relay for Life.

Outside of school, she has been an active member in providing foster homes forLabs4Rescue and volunteered her time on Adoption Days. For the past seven years, sheand her family have fostered over 55 labrador retrievers. Bradley has also volunteeredwith Mission of Mercy.

The Middletown Rotary Club selects Student of the Month based on a combination ofhigh academic standards, community involvement and extracurricular activities. Ro-tary maintains its membership from those who live and/or work in Middletown as wellas the surrounding towns of Cromwell, Portland, Durham, Middlefield and Higganum.

Pictured from left: Middletown Rotarian Carlton Winslow, Student of theMonth Lisa Bradley, and Middletown Rotarian Joe Marino.


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NOT A PRETTY SIGHTIndividuals who have cracked, dry,

and irritated skin or blisters on the solesof their feet are most likely facing thechallenges of psoriasis. Often, thischronic autoimmune condition causes“plaques,” raised, red patches that liebelow a silvery layer of dead skin. Moresevere cases also cause pus-filledblisters to form. Ongoing treatment andmanagement are necessary to controlpsoriasis. Topical steroids or ointmentsmay be recommended by a doctor. Skincell production may also be controlledusing a form of ultraviolet lighttreatment. In more extreme cases, whenother treatments are unsuccessful,injectables that block the immunesystem may be necessary. If you noticeany symptoms that suggest you mayhave psoriasis, be sure to see yourpodiatrist.

As podiatrists, we can see all typesof psoriasis from the most commonplaque type to the least commonpustular psoriasis form. AtAFFILIATED FOOT CARE CENTER,LLC, our policy is to exhaust allconservative therapies beforesuggesting surgical options. Fortreatment for a full range of footproblems, please call us for anappointment. Good foot health canenhance your daily existence andimprove your quality of life. Officehours in Middlefield are Mon. 9-5,Wed. 3-7, and Fri. 9-5; Tues. & Thurs.9-5 in Wallingford. For our patients’convenience we offer on-site X-rays,and diagnostic and therapeuticultrasounds.

“for SINGLES only ...” DancesInfo: (860) 633-0600 • 1-800-824-3083www.singlesdances.com (inc. map)

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Curriculum nightCoginchaug High School has scheduled Curriculum

night for Tuesday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m., at the high school. Thepresentation is for parents of ninth grade students, thefirst group to take the new Common Core test scheduledfor the spring of 2015.

For more information, call Linda Berry at (860) 349-7206or email [email protected].

Dean’s listRochester Institute of

Technology, New York - An-drew Gucwa, of Durham; Ste-vie Thompson, of Rockfall.

Choate Rosemary Hall -Katharine Bronson, ElizaRomeyn, Jordan Santiago,Emily Sokol, of Durham;Justin Hall, Daniel Piscatelli,of Middlefield.

Nancy Heckler has the floor

Brewster School Principal Nancy Heckler addresses the audience at theschool’s recent winter concert, directed by music teacher Tiger Robison.

11TownSeniorsTown TimesFriday, December 28, 2012

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Water color classWater color classes for sen-

iors with well-known localartist, Aleta Gudelski, arescheduled for Thursdays,from 1 to 3 p.m., Jan. 10through Feb. 14, at theDurham Activity Center.

Beginners are encouragedto attend and explore the artof water color. Intermediatesare also welcome. Studentswork at their own pace.

Class is limited to 10 stu-dents. A fee is charged and ispayable in advance. For moreinformation and to register,call Sherry Hill at (860) 343-6724.

Senior CafeThe Middlefield Senior

Cafe serves lunch on Monday,Wednesday and Friday tosenior in the community. TheSenior Center is looking forvolunteers to set up, servelunch (no cooking) and cleanup after lunch. The commit-ment would be one to twotimes a month, from 10:30a.m. to 1 p.m. Volunteers re-ceive training and maychoose what best fits theirschedule.

For more information, callAntoinette at (860) 349-7121.

BingoBingo games are played

every third Monday of eachmonth at 1 p.m. at the Middle-field Senior Center. A fee ischarged.

Book discussionThe Middlefield Senior

Center has scheduled a bookdiscussion of Richard Rus-so’s novel, “Empire Falls” forMonday, Jan. 14, at 1 p.m. atthe Senior Center.

The book, chosen for thisyear’s One Book, One Com-munity, chronicles life in asmall town in upstate NewYork. Several copies of thebook are available at the sen-ior center.

For more information or toregister, call the Levi E. CoeLibrary at (860) 349-3857 orthe Middlefield Senior Cen-ter at (860) 349-7121.

Knitting andcrocheting

Knitters and crochetersmeet every Thursday morn-ing at 9:30 at the MiddlefieldSenior Center for coffee andknitting. Bring your unfin-ished project or learn a newone. The group also makesafghans for the MiddlesexCancer Center and the Mid-State Cancer Center. Yarn

and needles are available.

Blood pressurescreenings

Free Blood PressureScreenings are held everyfirst and third Wednesday ofeach month at noon at theMiddlefield Senior Center.No appointment is necessary.

Durham seniorlunches

Senior lunches are offeredevery Monday and Wednes-day at the Durham ActivityCenter, 350 Main St. The El-derly Nutrition program isdesigned to provide nutri-tional meals, at a low cost topersons ages 60 and over andtheir spouses. To cover thecost of the meal, a suggesteddonation is welcomed. Tomake lunch reservations, callAmanda Pedersen, seniorcafe manager, at (860) 349-3153. Bingo is offered everyWednesday at 1 p.m. follow-ing the luncheon.

Senior BusThe Durham/Middlefield

Senior Bus is available fortransportation to activitieson Tuesday and Wednesday.There is no fee for this serv-ice. Planned trips include:The Christmas Tree Shops in

Manchester and Orange, Yan-kee Candle in Deerfield,Mass., IKEA, Mohegan Sun,Foxwoods, Evergreen Walk,WFSB Better Yet Connecti-cut, Stew Leonards, FootPrints, Maritime Aquarium,Mystic Village and the Thim-ble Islands, to name a few.The bus schedule can befound at various establish-ments in Durham, such asthe library, the Durham Ac-tivity Center, Town Hall andonline at www.townof-durhamct.org. Call (860) 347-5661 Monday through Friday,9 a.m. to 3 p.m., to make areservation.

Dial-A-RideDial-A-Ride provides curb-

to-curb transportation for theelderly and disabled. Thisservice can be used for med-ical appointments, shopping,banking and other places,and is available five days aweek. Call (860) 347-3313 for areservation. There is a fee.

Senior exerciseSenior exercise is offered

Monday, Wednesday and Fri-day at the Durham ActivityCenter. Two classes are of-

See Seniors, page 24

CreativeArts12 Town TimesFriday, December 28, 2012

Happy New Year !Our Shelves are restocked with your

after Christmas needs! Track, Cars,accessoriesor addons

for your modeltrain or race set.

Celebrate Family FunPlay a game, build a model, make a

craft, build a puzzle!Bring the family to see our Model Train Display!

Saturday and Sunday 1 - 4 pm,Monday New Years Eve 2 - 6 pm!

Models,Rockets,Motors,

Paint, Glueand more!

1270109

A photo collection of The GambiaBy Sonja Kubik

In September I returned from two yearsserving as a Peace Corps volunteer in thesmall West African nation of The Gambia.These are some of my favorite photos frommy time there.

A bride being prepared for presenta-tion to her in-laws (at right)

Kola nuts (the original source of caffeinein Coca-Cola) have an important place inGambian tradition. A visitor always offerskola nuts to the chief and a future husbandto his future in-laws. Here, a bride preparedto go to her in-laws compound has had redkola nuts tied in her hair. After the eldersfinished their preparations, she wasbrought through the village, first on theback of a motorcycle, then on the shouldersof a cousin. Along the way, the crowd aroundher grew and the singing and dancing inten-sified. When the group reached the in-laws’compound, the bride was led into a darkenedhut while everyone else continued dancing.

Basse market comes to life (above)Early in the morning, buses would pull into Basse and women

would pour out with their buckets and bags of produce for sale. Thenthey’d spread out tarps along the sides of the dirt road and begin ar-ranging pyramids of onions, bundles of mint, and handfuls of chilipeppers and packets of seasoning. In the background you can see oneof the few churches in this predominantly Muslim country.


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Tanji Fish Market (above)Beef is expensive, pork is forbidden, but The Gambia — a

country located on the Atlantic coast and divided in half by theGambia River — has plenty of fish. You can spot the Tanji fishmarket from miles away by the perpetual cloud of seagulls thathovers above, sneaking bites as the fishermen bring in theircatch. Although it is the men who catch the fish, there is a jobfor everyone: young boys gut the newly-caught fish whilewomen and girls sell the fish from buckets and wheelbarrows.

Four girls pounding millet (at left)In addition to rice, millet is one of the staples of the Gam-

bian diet. To prepare millet, it must first be pounded and sift-ed. Afterwards, it is cooked (over an open fire, of course) untilit has a consistency similar to couscous. Pounding is a time-consuming and physically-demanding task, but girls andwomen make the job easier by working together.

Saliou plays the drums(above)

Without money to buytoys, Gambian children maketheir own out of discardeditems. Saliou, my three-year-old neighbor, made himself adrum out of an aluminumcan, a filthy length of fabricand two twigs. Other com-mon toys were cars madefrom sardine cans, dollsmade of braided corn husks,and checker boards drawn inthe dirt, with different-col-ored stones used as the play-ing pieces.

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By Drew Morris, Grade 4

Note: the following is an ex-cerpt from a longer work

about a trip to Belize

Chapter 2 The MassiveMayan Ruins 4/4/12

Mom told us at dinner thattomorrow we would go to the

Climbing pyramidsbiggest Mayan Ruin in Be-lize.

“This will be really fun,”we all said.

“Wake up! Wake up!” I gen-tly rocked my parents fromside to side and finally theyboth awoke from their deepsleep.

“Huuuuuw,” my Mom

yawned. Dad, half asleep andhalf awake, walked aroundand got dressed for breakfast.Finally, it was time for theMayan Ruins. I couldn’t waitto see the huge buildings tow-ering over everything insight. The only thing was itwas the biggest structure inBelize. So when you’re at thetop of the Mayan Ruin, yourheart is in your mouth.

When you go up, the viewis a painter’s dream. Formiles around all you see is aview you will never forget. I

could see the sky, blue andbeautiful. Trees splashed indifferent places. Thepanoramic view washed overme as I looked at the trees. Icouldn’t imagine what itwould be like in the time theRuins were functioning. Butbefore we went to the Ruin,we saw a picture of Atlasholding the Earth. I was thefirst to answer when our in-structor questioned us. Icould just imagine the royalempire at the top bellowingdown through the echoingarena to every peasantaround.

Finally, we made it to thestart of where the stairs goup all the way. I was startingto think I shouldn’t go to thetop, but I decided it wouldn’tbe a good trip if I didn’t go tothe top.

“I guess I’ll go,” I agreed. “Let’s start climbing,” the

instructor announced. Upand up we went until our in-structor declared, “Here weare at the top of MayanRuin.”

“Wow,” I gasped.“Oh my gosh,” Mom gaped. “It’s spectacular,” Dad re-

marked. “Wow,” Trevor repeated. I was literally scared out of

my mind. The instructor saidhe could do almost anythingon the Mayan Ruin. He saidhe was like a Billy Goat onthe Mayan Ruin, but he exag-gerated. The stairs are so nar-row. All the time I was won-

dering what would happen ifI lost my balance. There’s norailing on the steps and ourinstructor moved gracefully.

It was time to go backdown, which was five timesscarier than going up. Icouldn’t handle it, so I hadthe instructor carry me. Wegot to the fun part of jump-ing. There was a part whereyou can’t go back down, sothere was a ledge a few feetfrom the ground. You sprangonto the grass patch. I wassaying, “Woo y Hoo,” thewhole way down. Trevor wasthe first one down. Then Isprang off. And of course,Mom and Dad jumped offwith the instructor close be-hind. Finally a regular-sizedstair. My heart was poundingevery minute of the timelooking up. I just couldn’t be-lieve the size of the Ruin.

I learned that there was avery ancient game that thepeasants used to play to con-firm that they were worthyenough to live during that pe-riod. Two components wouldhit a ball against a rock hardwall and the other personmust get the ball before itpassed his body. If someonelost, they would be executed.

“Pretty darn harsh,” Dadmuttered. I couldn’t believethe differences in culturethat people had back then. Ifyou every tried somethinglike that in the 21st century, it

See Belize, page 16


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I fell into a bookBy Abby Gerry

Grade 1, John Lyman SchoolI fell into a book. I said, “Ouch, because I fell on my

head.” I met a lot of people. They were my friends. I canhear them. Their names are Jacqueline, Jenna, Han-nah, Travis, Sullivan, Katie, Norah, Joshua, Kaitlyn,Kieran, Marie, Emily, Colin, Carter, Andrew, Ava, Ay-den, Ben, and Mrs. Sibiskie.

Jaelyn, age 8, travel in my dream car... a purple bug!

Belize(Continued from page 14)

wouldn’t turn out as well asplanned. Dad sprinted up anddown the “Parents Ruin.” TheParents Ruin was anotherpyramid that was smaller andeasier to climb. Naturally, wefollowed. So up and down andup and down — that kept go-ing on for five minutes. But fi-nally, the exercise ended. Icouldn’t imagine the Momand Dad living in that palace.

Well, we better get on theroad to get to the van. So getanything you need, pack upand let’s get hiking,” said theinstructor.

The sights poured into mymind and went into mymemory space while I sadlytrudged away from the arenaand back on the trail.


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“An Essay-Blog” By Lex Sorrell

Chinese Saying: “HeavenAbove, Suzhou andHangzhou below.”

Censorship, incredible na-tional pride, beauty and filthall came together as I exploreda once forbidden, but nowslowly opening, country. Goingto China is not exactly like tak-ing a trip to Florida or evenCalifornia. Traveling to Chinaboth opens your mind to an en-tirely new world and also al-lows you to see your own worldin a completely new light. Itraveled, with my mom and agroup of 25 other adults associ-ated with Chambers of Com-merce, on an eight-day excur-sion to four cities in China.

After a 15-hour flight, we ar-rived in Shanghai tired andscrubby. Immigration took along while. I was entering aCommunist country. “Nihau!Hello!” I said. I was looking forsome kind of facial expressionfrom the Customs and Immi-gration people. They wererather expressionless. Stamp,stamp, stamp…we were in Chi-na. But that was not our finaldestination. We had to then flyto Beijing to start our tour. Thetrip to our hotel took usthrough almost dark roads.There is far less lighting inChina than in the West. I thinkwe waste a great deal of lightin the West, with so manylights left on in houses, high-rises, and streets all the time atnight.

We woke up to a bustling,smog filled and fascinatingcity. Breakfast was a mixture ofEastern and Western food andwe tried almost everything. Wewould soon discover thatbreakfasts were the meal of

An eye-opening trip to Chinathe day for us, as the remainingmeals, out in the cities, werevery, very questionable. Thiswas also the place that we bidfarewell to Western toilets forthe day. Toilets in China tend tobe, at best, a porcelain square,shower drain-style hole in theground. At worst the toilets arejust a hole in the ground. To the

Chinese it is considered un-pleasant sitting where some-one else had sat for the toiletfunctions, so you just crouchdown. Oh, and there is rarelyany toilet paper in the publictoilets. We traveled with ourown roll of toilet paper each

See China, page 19


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Oil pastel landscape, by Victoria Salemme

The unforgettable journeyBy Nicky Stevens

Grade 3

I jumped in the water. Iscreamed, “It is so cold!”

I was at the place to do thedolphin swim. It was calledDiscovery Cove. We were go-ing to split up into groups.One of the ladies called out soeveryone could hear that wewere going to feel the dol-phin. The dolphin’s namewas Stella. It was smooth andit felt like rubber. It wasgraceful and gentle. It wasthe most graceful dolphin inhistory. The way its tailmoved was gentle. It was likethe dolphin was talking to mein movement. It was trulybeautiful. The nice lady in-structed us that now we weregoing to ride on Stella’s back.

I was so happy I almost fellover. A bubble of joy got intomy stomach. I went first. “I

am so excited,” I said anx-iously to my mom.

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set go!!!”The dolphin went so fast

that I couldn’t hold on. So Idid it one-handed. I felt free. Ifelt like I was flying. The wa-ter was propelling behindme. The dolphin’s tail wasmoving in a slow movementbut I felt like the dolphin wasas fast as a racecar.

When that part was overmy mom asked me, “Howwas it?” I was speechless fora few moments, but then I fi-nally spoke.

I screamed, “That wasawesome!”

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I asked my mom, “What?”The lady said, “Now we are

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most screamed but I man-aged. I put my head down. Iheld the dolphin’s beak and Ikissed it. Stella was wigglinga lot because I think the dol-phin was probably excited. Iwas a little nervous, too. Ididn’t want to hurt the dol-phin. I had that same feelingof joy in my stomach.

When I was done, I askedmy mom, “What are we doingnext?” She replied that wewere going back to the hotel.I had a great time. I hope youcan do this some day becauseit’s a once-in-a-lifetime op-portunity!

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day. They also take your pass-ports each day, so you feel a bittrapped.

We visited the formerOlympic site and buildingssuch as the Birds Nest and Wa-ter Cube that were seen somuch during the BeijingOlympics. Tiananmen Squareis the largest square in theworld and means Gate ofHeavenly Peace. This is whereI learned from the travelerswith me all about the pro-democracy movement whichended on June 4, 1989, andabout the death of several hun-dred civilians. The Chinesewith the group did not want totalk about it much — theyavoid the topic “like it neverhappened.” In fact, the Inter-net in China has June 4 cen-sored as a search parameter.They way around it is by peo-ple calling it May 35. The num-ber comes from the date June 4plus the 31 days in the monthof May. China is opening upslowly or figuring out how toget around their closed societyissues. Facebook, though, isstill censored completely. Thenthousands of people werelined up to see the ForbiddenCity (also called the PalaceMuseum), which was thehome of 24 emperors with a to-tal space of 9,999 rooms.

Our travels continued to themost amazing place in China.The Great Wall of China is ab-solutely awe-inspiring. TheGreat Wall of China is roughly

China(Continued from page 17)

5,000 miles long and dates to 4thcentury B.C. The Wall wasbuilt for many reasons, includ-ing border control, being ableto put taxes in place along theSilk Road and as a militarystructure with watch towers

and signaling capabilities.Chairman Mao said “He whodoes not reach the Great Wall isnot a true man!” so in Chineseeyes I am now a man. Much ofthe Great Wall of China is indisrepair, but near Beijing, the

part I walked and ran on has tobe the most fascinating place Ihave seen. Looking out over theWall reminds you of how histo-ry lives on years and years af-ter something has been creat-ed. It is an incredibly beautiful

place and is one of the SevenWonders of the World. I want togo back to see more of the Wall!

The smog that you could seeover the hills does show that

See China, page 22


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First and second graders in Carrie Howes’ art class at John Lyman School were inspired by 15th century italian artist Giuseppe Arcim-boldo. He became famous for his painted fruit and vegetable portraits.

In the gameBy Caroline Smith

Grade 4I can feel the sweat burst-

ing on my forehead. I have aweird ticklish feeling in mystomach. I turn my headquickly to see if my walkedpredator is going to steal. Iturn my head back to home.I stare directly into the run-ner’s eyes. I start mywindup. The ball glides intothe catcher’s glove like atiger pouncing on a wound-ed gazelle. I hear the firmumpire letting the word outlike a balloon deflating —“STRIKE!!!” I look at thescoreboard. It’s the bottomof the ninth inning — twoouts, two strikes and threeballs. A shiver goes up anddown my spine like a littlepenguin slipping on ice. Igrab the pencil yellow soft-ball by the laces and I bringmy arm in a large circle andlet go. I shiver as the ballhits the catcher’s glove. Iwait for what the umpire isgoing to say. “Out!” heshrieks. I feel a gust of re-lief zooming through mybody like a police car in ahigh-speed chase. I thoughtI was going to be a revoltingpitcher because I wasscared to pitch! Best sum-mer ever!

Continued on next page


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Students began the Giuseppe Arcimboldo project by looking at fruits and vegetables as shapes and then drawing what they saw. Thenthey gathered the realistic looking fruits and veggies and created a class portrait in the style of Arcimboldo’s famous art.

Continued from page 20


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China(Continued from page 19)

the environment in China is atrisk, which also means it af-fects the whole world. I noticedlakes and especially the riversalso, had a lot of pollution, somy idea of the country beingpolluted before coming to Chi-na was accurate. A few days ofour trip were windy though, sowe were lucky to see blue skywhen it is typically hazy from

the smog. Kunming Lake was the next

adventure. This place is a cen-ter for people to go and relaxand enjoy the beauty of na-ture. When you go to placeslike this you see China as youimagine it with Zen temples,Chinese music in the back-ground and people dressed intraditional outfits. I thoughtthe clothing would be very dif-ferent when I went there.About half the people (andmore the older generations),wear traditional clothing.

Jeans and T-shirts are all overthe place too, but worn moreby the younger crowd. What Idid not expect was seeing somany people on their iPhones,even in the poorer areas andeven in the isolated marketplaces. As a note though, theiriPhones do not have the sameglobal access, in most cases,that ours do outside of China. Ialso learned that all land real-ly belongs to the government.Even if you “buy” an apart-ment, it is yours for only 77years or so, and the land below

your house is governmentowned, too.

Along the way we visitedjade factories, silk factoriesand carpet factories. Manypeople make about U.S. $2 aday; that would be RMB12(RMB are Yuan - the currencyof China). Watching the workbeing done, you realize howlucky we really are not sittingfor 10 hours a day hunchedover a work bench doing this.

Every meal had white riceand a selection of fried orboiled vegetables and meats.

We never really knew what themeats were. We did eat a lot ofwhite rice with soy sauce andwatermelon. At another loca-tion they had large jars ofsnakes on the bar. Thank good-ness for peanut butter and wa-termelon!

Our journey continued witha flight back to Shanghai and along, long bus trip to Suzhou(pronounced Sue-Joe). Suzhouis located in the JiangsuProvince and is in EasternChina. The city is located atthe Southern end of theYangtze River. The city datesback to 514 B.C. and is locatedon a mass of canals with stonebridges, pagodas and gardens.The gardens in Suzhou are list-ed as a UNESCO World Her-itage Site and Suzhou is oftencalled Venice of the East. Mar-co Polo was here during theSilk Trade days. In this city wespent hours visiting the canalsand the local markets.

The next city we visited wasHangzhou (pronounced Hang-Joe). This city is the largestcity in the Zhehiang Provincein Eastern China and has over6 million people in it. It hasvery beautiful natural sceneryand is south of Shanghai onthe Yangtze River Delta. It is amajor economic center. Anoth-er UNESCO World HeritageSite is in Hangzhou and is theWest Lake. The lake is sur-rounded by hills, pagodas andcultural sites. It was fascinat-ing to see this history com-bined with wind-surfers on thelake!

The adventure “traveled” toShanghai. This city seems likea mixture of old and sciencefiction. The skyline is the mostexciting I have ever seen. Withmore than New York, the sky-line has three thousand sky-scrapers and a few thousandmore in the works. The cityhas over 21 million people.There are also 12 metro trainlines that include the Shang-hai Maglev (magnetic levita-tion) train that runs at 260miles an hour.

I would definitely go back. Iwant to climb and run on moreof the Great Wall of China.China got a new governmentin November, too. The newgenerations will continue tomake changes in China I amsure, while my biggest con-cern about China is the envi-ronment. I hope human rightsalso continue to improve.


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Drinking and Driving: A Disaster Waiting to HappenWhen you head out to celebrate this New Year’s Eve, use your head.If you plan to drink alcohol, you can avoid a disaster by appointing

a designated driver, calling a cab or using public transportation.

Durham AutoCenter

428 Main StreetDurham, CT

(860) 349-2273

Glazer DentalAssociates

16 Main Street,Suite 303

Durham, CT(860) 349-3368

Perma Treat74 Airline Drive

Durham, CT(860) 349-1133

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Barber Shop193 Strickland Road

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fered: 9 a.m. and 10 a.m.There is no cost for Durhamresidents 60 and over.

Seniors(Continued from page 11)

Brenna Sweeney Zettergren“Bean”, 5, of Durham, diedDec. 22, 2012, surrounded byher loving family after a coura-geous battle with leukemia.

She was born on Aug. 6,2007, a beloved daughter ofKevin A. and Jennifer CroteauZettergren, of Durham.

In addition to her parents,she is survived by her lovingsisters, Bailey and MauraZettergren; her maternalgrandparents, Richard andKathleen Croteau, of Durham;her paternal grandmother,Barbara Zettergren, of Clin-ton; her aunts, uncles andcousins; her dear friends andher beloved dog, Duncan. Shewas predeceased by her pater-nal grandfather, Jack Zetter-gren.

Her family wishes to thanktheir cherished family anddedicated friends for their sup-port and love. Brenna receivedloving care from The CT Hos-pice. Her family will forever begrateful to the wonderful teamof angels at the Smilow Pedi-atric Cancer Clinic includingdoctors, nurses, child life de-partment, receptionists,clowns and volunteers. Speciallove and thanks are extendedto Dr. Debbie Chirnomas, Car-olyn Demsky, Jill Azzaroneand Charlotte Beals.

Services were held Dec. 27,2012 from the Wallingford Fu-neral Home, followed by aMass of Christian Burial at St.Colman Church, Middlefield.Interment was in Mica HillCemetery in Durham. In lieuof flowers, gifts in her memorymay be sent to the BrennaZettergren Memorial Scholar-ship Fund, c/o The Walling-ford Funeral Home.

ObituaryBrenna Zettergren

St. Luke’sEldercare

The Middlefield SeniorCenter is located in the Mid-dlefield Community Centerat 405 Main Street. If youhave any questions or would

like to sign up for any pro-grams or for lunch (monthlymenus can be picked up atthe senior center or TownHall) in the Senior Café(serving on Monday,Wednesday and Friday),contact Antoinette Astle at(860) 349-7121.

The Durham 60 Plus Clubmeets at the Durham Activi-ty Center the second andfourth Monday of eachmonth, September throughJune, at 1:30 p.m. The nextmeeting is Oct. 22 at 1:30 p.mand newcomers are most wel-comed.

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