Montville Times

Public Invited to Hearings on Montville Town Charter - First one Sept. 4

2008-08-29T13:09:00Z

While Montville’s residents have been going about their lives the past 12 months, a handful of committed citizens have been hashing through the details of the Town Charter, the town’s governing document.

It’s time for town residents to get involved and speak up if they have any questions or concerns, according to Dick Wilson, Charter Revision Commission chairman.

The first of four public hearings, a required step in the charter revision process, will be held next Thursday, September 4, 7 p.m. at the Chesterfield Fire House. Three more are scheduled in September and October. Once public hearings are held, the commission will present its recommendations to the Town Council.

The council has the authority to review and approve the charter revisions for the town or to determine if a public referendum will be held, according to Lisa Terry, Town Clerk. It is possible that a public referendum could be on the November 2009 general elections ballot.

There are some sweeping changes in this set of proposals, assembled by this fourth charter revision commission appointed since the town charter was established in 1969.

The most significant would replace the Mayor with a Town Manager as the chief executive officer of the town. The Mayor would be a part-time position, mostly honorary but also a champion for economic development, serving as non-voting chairman of the Economic Development Commission.

Significant savings are projected from a reduced need for legal advice. Under the current arrangement, members of the Town Council can seek legal interpretation. The Commission noted that the town attorney budget has increased seven-fold over the past eight years; it projects this amount being cut in half as a result of a professional town manager’s inherent knowledge of municipal law.

The position of Town Engineer would become full time, appointed by and responsible to the Town Manager, instead of the current arrangement of contracted engineering consultants. The Inland Wetlands Commission and Conservation Commission would be combined.

The current Public Safety Commission, an advisory commission, would be replaced with two administrative boards, the Board of Police Commissioners and the Board of Fire Commissioners. It is recommended that the town’s Constabulary, now under control of the State Police, would be upgraded to a Police Department. The number of emergency dispatchers would be increased to handle police, fire, ambulance and other emergency calls.

The commission estimates a net annual savings of $13,000 resulting from the changes, with $603,000 savings resulting from reduced consulting fees for engineering and town attorney services more than off-setting the salaries and benefits for the town manager, town engineer, police chief and additional emergency dispatchers, estimated to total $590,000.

The commission has prepared two summary documents, an Overall View and financial statement and an Explanatory Text of the proposed revisions, to help residents understand the proposed changes and projected financial impact.

These documents are posted on the Town of Montville website with other charter revision commission documents and meeting minutes for the past year, or can be obtained from the Town Clerk’s Office. Copies also will be available at each of the public hearings.

Upcoming Charter Revision Commission Public Hearings

Thursday, Sept. 4, 7:00 p.m., Chesterfield Fire House
Thursday, Sept. 18, 7:00 p.m., Oakdale Fire House
Thursday, Oct. 2, 7:00pm, Town Hall Council Chambers
Wed., Oct. 15, 7:00pm, Mohegan Fire House

Montville Polish-American Club Celebrates 75 Years

2008-08-29T13:05:00Z

Montville’s Polish-American Citizens Club is celebrating 75 years with a gala weekend of activities. Members are marking the milestone with three day’s worth of celebrating at with Polish foods and music at the club, located at 85 Maple Avenue. They encourage friends and supporters to join in.

The Polish-American club was started by a handful of Polish men back in the Depression to help members help themselves and to provide fellowship, according to club historian James Radgowski. The club has grown to over 500 members of many nationalities. It has served as both a social club for members and their families and as a civic-minded organization in town.

The celebrations start with a traditional Polish dinner of pierogies, stuffed cabbage and kielbasa on Friday evening, August 29, and music by Steve Smiegel. Tickets for this event, served buffet style in the club lounge and bar, are $10 per person.

The big event is a dinner dance on Saturday, August 30, complete with proclamations and well wishes from the Connecticut Congressional delegation, the governor and local state representatives. Rep. Joe Courtney and Attorney General Blumenthal top the list of dignitaries expected to attend. State Rep. Kevin Ryan (D-139th) is master of ceremonies.

The club hopes to fill to its 225 person capacity for the dinner, said Ed Radgowski, chairman of the 75th anniversary committee, and James’ brother. Tickets are $25. The Good Times Polka Band, which regularly performs at the Polish Home in Hartford and other venues, will provide the dance music.

Thursday, August 28 is the deadline to purchase tickets for either of the dinners. These can be purchased at the Polish Club through Thursday evening.

On Sunday, the club is hosting a family picnic in its outdoor pavilion, providing fun and games for both kids and adults. There will be no charge for hamburgers, hot dogs and fries, soft drinks and beer for adults. Music will be performed by Gemini.

The Polish American Club, one of Montville’s institutions, is one of a handful of Slavic clubs remaining in Southeastern Connecticut. It still is considered a men’s organization, with men eligible for voting membership and the $40 annual dues. But many women get involved with club activities, pointed out Ed Radgowski, who thanked that Betty Piersa, the wife Joseph, a former club president, for her efforts on the anniversary committee. Fellow committee member Pat Dunion also has been busy selling tickets for the gala dinners.

The club amended its bylaws eight years ago to allow for its first non-Slavic president, so it could elect Bruce Martel, who still serves as president. Martel is credited with initiating many capital improvements to the club.

The current complex includes the hall, where the dinner and dance will take place. Over the years, the hall has been used for meetings, weddings, anniversaries, showers and other events. Downstairs, there is the lounge and bar, kitchen and offices for club records.

An outdoor pavilion, completed in 1979, can be rented out for family picnics and other events. It also is where the club holds its annual Lobster Luau in July.

The club has sponsored many athletic teams over the years. Besides his family’s involvement, Ed remembers that it was the sports leagues and games organized by multiple Polish clubs in the region that appealed to him. His grandfather, Joseph, was a founding trustee back in 1932, and his father, Stanley, served as club president for a few terms.

As Little League and other youth sports leagues have grown over the years, the club’s role has shifted to sponsoring town teams. The club also lets the town’s youth football, baseball and other sports leagues to hold their meetings there, Ed said.

As a membership club, the Polish-American Club is open seven days a week, from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. on weekdays, and from 12 noon to 1 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Bar tenders are on hand.

With five television screens, the bar and lounge are a popular place for its members to watch sports.

“One side of the room will be the Yankees game; the other side of the room will be the Red Sox. There will be some friendly rivalry back and forth,” Ed said.

The club members hold monthly meetings the second Sunday afternoon of every month, except for holidays, with June, July and August off.

To buy tickets for Friday or Saturday’s events, call the club at 848-7287.

Montville VFW’s Colleen Ewing - Commander in Charge

2008-08-20T18:58:00Z

The Montville VFW’s new commander, Colleen Ewing, has plenty of “sea stories.” She certainly has the background. Elected to the post commander position earlier this year, Ewing and her husband, Mitchell, both retired after 20 years of service in the Navy.

Ewing is one of the few women in Connecticut and the country who are at the helm of local VFW chapters. The VFW is open to U.S. citizens who are in or have had honorable service with the US Armed Forces and overseas service in a foreign conflict.

As times change and there are more roles for women in military service, including conflicts overseas, more posts are expected to have women active in VFW leadership, as well as in the Ladies Auxiliary.

Ewing had what could be described as a desk job in the Navy. As a legalman, she performed legal support functions similar to a paralegal in the private sector. But her desk was located in some pretty interesting places, as she and Mitchell, a chief petty officer, took on tours of duty.

The Ewings spent 13 of their military years in overseas assignments. This included Cuba, Puerto Rico, Spain, the Philippines, Japan, and Adak Island, Alaska, which is considered an overseas tour because it is in the middle of the Aleutian Islands.

Although one place was extremely hot and the other cold, she said Cuba and the Alaskan island posts were similar in that they were isolated bases.

“Either way, you had to fly on or fly off, and you didn’t do that very often,” she said. The couple did take up scuba diving when they were based in the Caribbean.

Ewing’s last military assignment was senior chief legalman, or enlisted advisor to the Navy’s Legal Service Office in Groton. She got involved in just about every legal aspect that affects military personnel and their families.

This included court reporting, processing of household goods claims, court martials, preparing and reviewing legal charges, and handling powers of attorneys, wills and all sorts of legal assistance to military families.

It was during the couple’s posting at the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo, Cuba in 1993-95 that she said she saw first hand the importance of powers of attorney. During the rafter crisis of 1994, all non-essential dependants of US military were evacuated, including children, spouses and civilian employees. It involved plenty of paperwork, as well as calm nerves, as the migration crisis unfolded.

“The Cubans were leaving, grabbing whatever they could to assemble floatable devices to get to the U.S. side, only to be picked up in the middle of the ocean by the Coast Guard and returned to the United States side of Cuba,” she said. News reports estimate 30,000 Cubans were detained on the US Naval base.

But enough of the sea stories here.

The Ewings, who live in Uncasville, have called Connecticut home since 1995 when they returned from Cuba to the mainland. Colleen, who grew up in Michigan and Mitchell, from Ohio, decided they like the coast and the water. They joined the Montville VFW when they knew they were retiring and planning to stay in the area.

“It was a pretty big family event when we both retired from military service on June 30, 1999,” Ewing said. “That was the year our son, Joseph, graduated from Norwich VoTech, too.”

Colleen and Mitchell have returned to the Navy Base in Groton in civilian jobs. She works as an employee relations and labor relations specialist.

Ewing said her goal as VFW Post Commander is to increase membership and active participation of existing members.

Montville VFW Post 10060, chartered in 1966, started with 33 original members. There are over 300 members now, she said, but as with many organizations, only a small portion are active in the organization.

“I’m trying to get more of the older members active, as well as some of the younger members, who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan,” she said. “It’s tough with the vets returning from overseas, though, because when they get back home, they want to spend time with their families.”

The post also is organizing a men’s auxiliary, which is open to men who have a spouse or family member who is or has served in a foreign tour of duty.

“We already have 20 to 25 people interested in this auxiliary,” she said, “and several of them are hard charging and ready to go with fundraisers or take one of our causes and run with it.”

As post commander, she attends district and state meetings at the state VFW center in Rocky Hill and looks for ways to get the local post involved in district and national VFW programs. Her previous experience includes serving as quartermaster, responsible for the post’s finances.

The post supports a number of community activities, including the local Red Cross blood drives each quarter. Its members provide the color guard for the annual town Memorial Day parade, which in Montville is always the Sunday before Memorial Day weekend, and the holiday parade in December.

The post participates in the annual VFW sale of poppy lapel flowers ever November to raise money for veterans programs. Nationally, in over 75 years, the VFW's Buddy Poppy program has raised millions of dollars in support of veterans' welfare and the well being of their dependents.

The Montville VFW also is actively collecting items to send to the 1109th AVCRAD of the Connecticut Army National Guard in Groton, who were recently deployed in three different areas in the Mid East, and other military personnel.

Items being collected include powdered tea and fruit drinks, personal health and hygiene items of all kinds for men and women, batteries, chewing gum, pens, canned foods, cookies, crackers and dried fruit, as well as new or used books, board and electronic games, comic books and magazines, cards, puzzles and sports balls. A detailed list is available from the VFW post.

Ewing encourages people to support Operation Uplink, too. This national VFW program provides telephone cards so personnel overseas can call home.

The VFW post also aims to be a place for members to socialize.

“We’re trying to keep it like Cheers, a nice place to come in,” she said. “The canteen brings in a DJ every Friday evening for entertainment, so members can bring their spouses or friends.”

There are two dances, every third Friday and every fourth Saturday of the month, put on by area groups. These are open to the public.

The VFW’s downstairs hall is one of, if not the largest hall that can be rented out in New in New London County. People have held showers and receptions for all sorts of milestones, from weddings, babies, sweet sixteen parties and anniversaries to funerals. One couple hastily moved an outdoor wedding into the hall when rain changed their plans, she said.

There also is a smaller hall, with complete kitchen, for smaller gatherings.

Ewing encourages anyone interested in getting involved with the VFW, either as a veteran or in one of the auxiliary organizations, to contact the post, which is located at 91 Raymond Hill Road. Post meetings are the third Wednesday of every month at 7 pm. Call 848-3750 for more information.

Kicking Together to Build Character - German's Martial Arts Family Center

2008-08-20T18:19:00Z

“The family that kicks together stays together.” That’s the advice and motto of Alain and Carolina German, owners of German’s Martial Arts Family Center in Montville.

The Germans moved their school from New London to Montville in May, next to the Brown Derby. Alain, a fourth degree black belt martial arts master, has been studying martial arts for 17 years. Carolina, head instructor, is a first degree black belt, has been at it for 11 years. Both are from the Dominican Republic. They moved to New England from Florida about five years ago.

The center is open Monday through Saturday. Formal classes start after 4 pm for the youngest students, three to five years old, and advance through the levels of difficulty, signified by the color of the belt: white and yellow, green, blue, red and black. Classes include karate, kicks, breaking boards as well as work with martial arts weapons.

Students range all the way from three years old to adults. This can be a life-long sport; two of German’s adult students are 50 and 51 years old.

The new facility has twice the classroom size they had in New London, plus higher ceilings so students working with the martial arts staffs, or long sticks, have plenty of room to leap and swing.

The Germans describe their teachers as “tough but nice guys,” not exactly the electronic media image of martial arts experts. They take a holistic approach, encompassing character development and academics as well as kicking and punching.

“The character development makes us different from everyone else,” said Carolina. “We stop the class for ten minutes and read a story. Every week, we have a different word. This week, it’s about motivation, how, when and where to use it.”

Members of National Association of Professional Martial Artists (NAPMA), the world’s largest association of martial arts instructors and school owners, the couple goes to a school for martial arts professionals and educators each September. That’s where they came up with the 12 months of stories to support character development.

Kids who are committed to earning their black belt are encouraged to sign up for the school’s All Star program. Progressing to a black belt usually takes three to four years of dedication and work, Carolina said.

This is a serious commitment for both students and their families. All Stars have special uniforms, with the goal of earning stars and badges for good grades and good behavior at home.

“Every time they behave well at home and get a note from their parents, they can earn a white star,” she said. There are green stars for good grades and yellow starts for regular class attendance, which is expected two times a week.

Gold stars are given out for leadership initiation, coming up with an idea and doing something good for the community every month, she said. They also have to write a short essay about it. Master readers are rewarded for reading books every month and doing reports on them.

“If you don’t have good grades, you can’t be an All Star,” said Carolina.

It’s all part of building self-discipline, said Alain. Each All Star curriculum takes about two to three months to complete. After that, the kids put on a presentation of their martial arts skills for family and friends, showing off their kicks and sparing abilities.

On August 22, the summer class of young students will be going through their belt ceremony, or presentations.

Free Internet Self Defense Course Aug. 30

German’s Martial Arts Family Center is expanding its personal safety/self-defense instruction to include the protection of children and families from Internet predators and Child Abductors.

The center is holding a free program about Internet self-defense at 2 pm, Saturday, August 30, where it will give out copies of an Internet Predators Guide, developed by the FBI.

“Child pornographers, predators and abusers are not just lurking in dark alleys and cruising playgrounds,” said Carolina. “They are using computer technology to find and arrange to meet children. Education is always the first line of self-defense, so it’s important that our students understand how predators operate, recognize their enticements and avoid their advances.”

The Germans decided to do something after watching national news shows about how authorities are seeking out and arresting adults who pose as children on Internet websites. They cite a 2003 National Children's Homes report that the number of Internet child pornography images had increased 1,500% since 1988; and more than 20,000 images of child pornography were posted on the Internet every week.

“We try to do a lot of stuff for the community and the kids,” Carolina explained. They have contacted Mayor Jaskiewicz and the town’s Parks and Recreation Department to raise awareness of the Internet self-defense program. They also include the guide as part of their new student introductory kits and hand out copies at presentations to area schools.

Advance registration is required by calling the center or signing up online. The free guide also can be downloaded from the German’s website, www.RespectAndDiscipline.com. Call 848-7872 to register.

Montville Kids On Stage - Annual Parks & Rec Talent Show a Hit

2008-08-15T01:17:00Z

Call it Kung Fu Fighting meets Kareoki. It’s a fitting farewell to summer camp. On Wednesday, July 30, Montville kids participating in the annual Parks and Recreation summer camp entertained their families and friends with the annual talent show.

The auditorium at Tyl Middle School was filled to capacity with grandparents, parents and siblings to watch the girls and boys camp groups get up on stage to sing, dance and generally jump around to their favorite Disney tunes.

Preparing a number for the talent show and practicing it is mandatory for all kids, according to Stephanie Gwudz said, camp director. They had a couple of designated sessions each week, as well as free time, to work on their moves.

It’s one of the camp’s group activities for kids that involve creativity, imagination and physical exercise, she said. Getting up on stage to perform on the final day is optional.

So, while a large group of 5 and 6 year-old girls stole the show with “It’s a Hard Knock Life,” from the Broadway musical “Annie,” the announcer gave a special shout-out for the seven 11 to 12-year old boys, out of a group of 30, who decided it was still cool to get on stage to perform a little “Kung Fu Fighting” from the new Kung Fu Panda movie.

The 9 and 10-year-old girls started the show with “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” from the Lion King. The 5 and 6-year-old boys sang the loudest, belting out “I Don’t Dance” from High School Musical 2. The 7 and 8-year-old girls bopped, boogied and threw in some cartwheels, flips and the splits to “We Rock” from Camp Rock.

It was “Funky Town” from Alvin and the Chipmunks for the 7 and 8 year-old boys, complete with break dancing, spins and handstands. The 9 and 10 year-old boys donned eye patches and “Aarg-ed” along with “The Pirate Song” from the Pirates of the Caribbean. The 11 and 12 year-old girls had all of Miley Cyrus’s moves down pat for “See You Again,” including the signature hair toss.

The performance was staged over the noon-hour to give adults a chance to come during lunch break. Brad Wilkerson, Montville, came to see his daughter, Julie Anne, in the 11 to 12-year-old group.

“It was awesome,” said Carol Korineck, who came to watch her daughter, Emma, 9, and son Wil, 7, perform. “Every year they do such a good job.”

The 2008 camp staff got everyone in the audience involved with “All for One” from High School Musical 2. Students from the Montville public schools special needs summer school program, which took part in afternoon activities at the summer camp, ended the show with “Donald Duck Tutti Ta.”

The annual talent show is something camp staff anticipates and looks forward to every year, said Gwudz. More than half of the 30-member staff this year had worked there previous summers, some five and six years, she said. Interviews for next summer’s camp staff will be next March.

Gwudz started out with the program as a counselor thirteen years ago. She teaches second grade in Colchester and is the daughter of Stanley Gwudz, chairman of the Montville Parks and Recreation Commission.

Attendance at Montville’s summer camp program averaged around 200 kids per day this year, according to Jim Butler, Parks and Recreation Director. Particularly in this economy, the camp was one of the best deals in town, at only $10 a week, he said.

“There were a lot of nice activities every day for the kids,” Butler said. “We did quite a few trips this year and the kids really enjoyed it.”

This included field trips for bowling, roller skating, Mystic Aquarium and a day at Ocean Beach. Another big event of the last week was a carnival, complete with a DJ and music, a moon bounce and other activities to keep the kids hopping.

“It’s just a great program; the staff was excellent,” he said.

Parks and Rec Summer Concerts

Butler said about 80 people turned out for the first of Montville’s summer concerts, performed in July. The town is holding up to four concerts this summer for residents as a means of providing some free entertainment and a chance for people in the local community to get together.

Butler and commissioners said initial response to the concert series has been good and they continue to seek community input on future plans, including music and bands. Several people at the first concert requested a Polish band.

The next concert is Tuesday, Aug. 19. Butler said the Kelly Company, a local band that has been around since the 1960s, will be performing. The concert starts at 6 p.m. at Oakdale Pavilion, Route 163. People are encouraged to bring their lawn chairs, pack a picnic or snacks and non-alcoholic beverages.

For more information on Montville Parks and Recreation programs, go to the Town of Montville website at www.townofmontville.org, or call 860-848-3030, ext. 322.

Montville's Jeff Wood is Solving Cosmic Mysteries at the Subatomic Level

2008-08-15T01:14:00Z

Ask Jeff Wood where the universe came from, and you’re likely to get fruit salad. At least he makes weighty, complex subjects like nuclear physics somewhat understandable for the rest of us.

Wood, 29 years old, recently stopped off in Montville to catch up with family and get back on U.S. time after working for two months this summer at the European Center for Nuclear Research in Geneva, the world's largest particle physics laboratory, also known as CERN. He was headed back to Lawrence, Kansas, where he is working on his PhD in nuclear physics at the University of Kansas (KU).

As a teenager, Wood moved to Montville to live with his father, Michael Wood, but finished his high school years at Ledyard High School. His stepmother is Lorraine Desjardins, daughter of Ellen Desjardin, a Montville Parks and Recreation commissioner, an appointed post.

For three summers, Wood has spent several weeks in Geneva, working with other researchers and students on projects related to the gigantic supercollider, known as Large Hadron Collider. The supercollider, set to launch in September, could change fundamental knowledge of the universe.

According to the university, the CERN supercollider is designed to create conditions that existed in a wisp of time following the “Big Bang” that some say created the universe. Wood and other scientists are searching for answers to questions such as “How does energy work?” and “Why did atoms survive the Big Bang?”

Wood is involved with the world of heavy ion physics. He’s helping to bring online a new detector designed and built at KU, the Zero Degree Calorimeter (ZDC). It will help physicists monitor collisions of particles in the supercollider. Those collisions will occur at 40 million times per second. The KU research is funded by a U.S. Department of Energy grant.

He described how the supercollider work is centered around a tunnel built underneath the outskirts of Geneva. The tunnel is large, spanning the French-Swiss border, so the researchers and continually crossing international borders to do their work.

“What most people don’t realize is that underneath the ground, about 100 meters (or about 100 yards), there’s a huge ring,” he explained. “This is where the particle beams are.”

The ring is where the two particle beams cross and make a whole bunch of new particles. Wood’s equipment, the ZDC, will “grab” some of those particles.

“You’ve heard that you shouldn’t mix apples and oranges together. We’re smashing apples and oranges together all of the time, to figure out what the universe is all about,” he explained to the Montville Times. “We basically are taking two apples, smashing them together, to get oranges, bananas, raspberries, blueberries, a whole fruit salad of stuff. Hopefully, we’ll see particles we’ve never seen before, and they will tell us something new about the universe.”

As Wood puts it, the harder a couple of atomic particle-sized apples are smashed together, the more “fruit salad” and scientific discoveries.

“The harder you smash those apples together, you might get new particles – like watermelons, cantaloupes – the real big stuff, things we haven’t seen before,” he said.

By “big,” he’s still referring to really small things; pieces of atoms. Sometimes they smash together whole atoms, technically ions because the electrons have been removed. These are heavy ions, or nuclear physics.

“Nuclear physics has the richest physics in it,” said Wood. “There are a lot of different forces in nature. It basically describes the majority of them. The only one we haven’t been able to figure out on the small scale is gravity. Every other fundamental force of nature is something we’ve been able to figure out by utilizing particle beam collisions. By ramming these tiny, tiny apples together, and getting fruit salad, we’ve been able to figure out almost everything – except for gravity.”

Wood and others working on the ZDC particle collider hope it will give them insights on particles that react gravitationally strongly enough to show the impact of gravity.

Since last year, Wood’s quest has taken on more personal significance. His younger brother, David, passed away at age 25. The two were very close. Wood was in Europe when he learned of his brother’s death. David was very much into kinesiology and how it applied to athletes. The loss makes Wood strive harder in his quest. He admits that keeping busy with the project has been a way to cope.

“At least I can feel like enough living can be done for the both of us,” he said. “The work is very exciting, but it also keeps you very busy.”

Music also is a big part of his life and it was while he was growing up back here. Although he doesn’t have time these days to be in a band, he enjoys escaping to play his guitar, almost daily.

“You can’t do physics all the time, because it will drive you crazy. You need to have other things to do to bring you back into sanity.”

“It’s great to have him home for a while,” said his father, Michael, an engineer at EB. “He’s been talking over my head for several years now.”

Wood was born in Lawrence, Kansas. It turns out that he lives a few blocks away from the townhouse that his father, Michael, and his mother lived in. The townhouse is still standing, so on a recent visit, Michael snapped photos of his son in front of it. Wood’s mother, Sandi Shimkus Wood Eilenberger, who lived in Ledyard, passed away in 2004.

While he enjoys the cultural differences of his international experience and describes Switzerland as more laid back and steeped in history, he likes being home.

“It’s a change of pace,” he admitted. “We have a whole aisle (of the grocery store) dedicated to cereal; they have a whole aisle of wine.”

There’s no shortage of an opportunity to hear opinions of others in such a multinational setting.

“You’re supposed to learn that America is not the best when you go somewhere else, but I think it really is,” he said. “I’m very much an American, I feel that every time I come back through Newark Airport and see the “Welcome to the United States of America,” it feels good to see all the signs in English again, see all the might and the security of our country.”

There is the potential that Wood may head back to CERN as part of his doctoral studies. For now, it’s back to Kansas to work on his thesis.

For more about the KU research program, go to www.ku.edu and for CERN go to http://public.web.cern.ch/Public/

Cutting the Ribbon and Tying the Knot - Joe and Gina Say “I Do” at Pennell's Auto Openhouse

2008-08-07T21:13:00Z

Auto garages are special to Joe Pennell and Gina Fontaine. They met in one about 17 years ago. In June, they closed the deal to buy one together in Montville. So it seemed only fitting for the two to exchange their wedding vows in it.

On Sunday, July 27, the advertised grand opening of Pennell’s Auto Center, at the corner of Routes 63 and 32 in Uncasville, became a wedding ceremony. It’s just that barely anyone invited, not even family, knew what they were in for.

In spite of severe thunderstorms, more than 200 people showed up to wish Joe and Gina well in their latest venture. The two have been together, as a couple, raising eight children together from previous marriages, and in business for 17 years. People came to enjoy the advertised food, fun, DJ music and a live remote by Kevin O’Connor of Wolf 103 FM.

They might have noticed Joe was a little nervous before events got underway and he exchanged his typical tee-shirt for a buttoned-down blue dress shirt. That seemed appropriate for the ribbon cutting ceremony, which included Gina’s five and Joe’s three children, ranging in age from 27 to 18, and two grandchildren.

When questions by DJ Fran Gagnon, Plainfield, to Joe and Gina took a certain direction, and the call went out for a justice of the peace in the crowd, it caught even Gina’s mother, Pat Fontaine-Berube, Plainfield, by surprise.

It was as if the thundering heavens approved, with well-timed crashes of thunder, as New London Probate Judge Matt Greene, a friend and business associate of the family, officiated. He wisely decided to modify the ceremony to accommodate a higher authority.

“By the powers vested in me...and the man upstairs,” Greene said, after being interrupted by a crashing thunderclap, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

Lisa Stanavage, Salem, Gina’s cousin and one of her closest friends, floated through the crowd, handing out commemorative tins of mints and bubbles to blow on the newlyweds. She and Shannon Stewart, Joe’s cousin and another close friend, had helped the bride get ready upstairs above the shop and office. Stewart served as ring bearer, pulling the wedding rings out of her purse on cue.

“It feels awesome,” said Gina, after the ceremonies and first dance as a married couple. Meanwhile, the wedding cake, which had been hidden at Friendly’s Pizza next door, was brought out.

“They’re good people,” said Skip Hoy, Oakdale, of the newlyweds, as he gave Gina a hug. Hoy, Joe’s cousin, and Shannon’s father, knew his daughter was busy planning festivities for the grand opening. This included collecting food for the food pantry maintained by Montville Social Services for families in of emergency assistance.

“A customer came in and mentioned the increased need for food donations in this economy,” Gina said, “so I decided we could give everyone who donated non-perishable food a free Pennell’s Auto Center tee-shirt.”

She also went around to area businesses and sought donated items to make gift baskets that were raffled off Sunday afternoon.

Instead of departing for a honeymoon on Monday, the newlyweds took the many bags of donated food and $1,000 to the Montville food pantry.

“We heard that the food bank was really hurting, especially in the summertime, when kids aren’t getting fed at school,” Joe said. “There was a need, and we’re giving back to the community. We figured we’d tie everything in.”

“We’re giving back instead of giving to ourselves,” Gina added.

How it All Began

Pennell started out at Waterford Tire and Auto, across from Waterford High School. Gina, then a local sales rep for Comcast Cable, approached him to buy some television advertising. Within six months, they were going out.

Pennell continued in the business, with Waterford BP. The couple combined households, raising their children together. Gina’s father passed away and her mother remarried. Joe lost his father, too; his mother, Carol Pennell, lives in Montville.

Most recently, the couple ran the Shell station about 1 ½ miles away in Quaker Hill.

They decided to get married about three weeks beforehand, as they planned their business grand opening.

“We were talking about the garage and the open house,” said Gina, who now goes by the last name of Pennell. “I joked around and said we should just get married there.”

Joe thought she was serious, and he was. He decided it would be perfect to stage the event in the garage that they owned together.

Family members present at the ribbon cutting and wedding included Gina’s children Derek Tourangeau, 27, and his wife, Theresa, Michael, 26, twins Andrew, 25, his wife Maggie, and Christopher, 25, his wife, Gina, and their children, Olivia, 2 and Christopher, 8 months, and Adam Fontaine, 18, and Joe’s children, Jared Pennell, 25, Nicholas Pennell, 22, Caylee Pennell, 19 and her fiancé, Phil Heiner. Mothers of the bride and groom, listed above, also were present.

About the Business

Pennell’s Auto Center is a full-service mechanical and repair shop. Most recently, Joe and Gina ran the Shell station in Quaker Hill. They decided to expand the business and selected the site of the former Montville Auto.

“We do everything here, all your mechanical work, basic oil changes, emissions, diagnostics, brakes, shocks, everything except body work,” Joe said.

The shop has four bays, one dedicated to emissions work. It is a certified emissions repair garage.

“If you fail your emissions test, we’re allowed to repair the system,” he said.

Pennell’s employs two full-time mechanics, a full-time emissions specialist and Joe. All are ASE-certified. Gina’s in the office. Her son, Michael, is one of the mechanics.

In the few weeks since relocating to Montville, business has nearly doubled, Gina said.

“It’s location, location, location,” she said.

Volunteers Needed Aug. 9 at Mohegan School to Complete Everybody Plays Playground

2008-08-07T21:11:00Z

It’s been eight long years, but the dreams of a group of Montville volunteers to build a playground for children with almost all ranges of abilities is almost completed. What they need now is some additional elbow grease.

The Everybody Plays group is looking for more volunteers to help assemble several last components of equipment at the playground at Mohegan Elementary School, 49 Golden Road, Uncasville, on Saturday, August 9. Work will get underway at 7 a.m. and run until 2 or 3 p.m., according to Kathy Demurs, project chairman.

As of late July, Demurs said the group was looking for another 20 volunteers for Saturday. They don’t need to have any particular construction skills, she said, or tools beyond a screw driver, gloves and maybe a power drill and bits. Both men and women are welcomed. They will assemble and install the component pieces and pour concrete in post holes to anchor the equipment.

This work will complete the last two phases of the work on a playground designed for children of all ages and just about all capabilities. Seventy percent of the equipment, or components, are considered handicapped-accessible, providing access for children to play together, regardless of their physical limitations.

When all construction is done, she said, there will be almost 50 play structure components, on 10,000 feet of play space. These include slides with special handrails, ladders and climbing components, decks that are large enough for wheel chairs to turn around on so the kids can play on panels. There are wind chimes, a Braille alphabet, talking tubes and other sound/sight activities for children with different sensory abilities.

A Sway-Fun glider, which looks like a boat, allows kids of all ages and abilities to play together on it, she said, with room for wheel chairs and sitting benches.

Once the concrete is poured, the playground will not be usable for 72 hours to let the cement cure, she said. Beyond that, it should be ready for all to enjoy.

The Everybody Plays group started about eight years ago, when Demurs and others joined together with a school administrator who wanted to build a new playground at the elementary school. When the school employee moved elsewhere, the volunteers continued their quest.

The committee of about 13 members, some who have been involved from the start, includes Betty Waselik, a nurse; Kathy Hansan, a physical education teacher; Barbara Gaudette, a kindergarten teacher; Ashley Wollschlager, a special needs advisor from Mohegan Elementary school, and Wayne Thompson, whose wife runs a day care center in town, as well as parents.

“It was a great project and I wanted to be involved, I wanted to get it moving, and I wanted the children to be able to play on something that was up to safety codes,” said Demurs, who had two young children in the school system, neither with special needs, when she got involved.

John Heller, P&H Construction in Montville, has been the “main man” behind the project, she said, donating his time, as well as company equipment and resources to do the heavy work.

“At the time, there was no handicapped playground in Southeastern Connecticut region,” she said. Since then, at least two have been installed, one at Camp Harkness in Waterford and the Tercentennial Legacy Playground in Groton.

What is different about this playground, Demurs said, is that it is set up like a big horse-shoe, giving kids a unique play experience.

“You can get on one end and actually go, without turning around, 10,000 square feet and come off a completely different end. You can go from component to component, you really feel like it’s going on forever.”

With the mix of components, she said the playground is designed for youth of all ages, she said, from just beginning to walk to full-grown.

Total project cost is around $150,000, most of it paid for by fundraising by the community and children at the elementary school. Phase one went up about three years ago.

“The community has really pulled together,” she said, noting the success of the Montville “M” stickers seen on cars around town. These have been sold at the town’s volunteer sports leagues games.

A grant of $50,000 from the state, secured with the help of state Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, made completion of the playground possible.

“If it wasn’t for Senator Prague’s help, we wouldn’t be building this playground,” said Demurs, adding that groups and individuals can still make donations to help with final expenses.

“We’re asking the southeastern Connecticut community to come and use this playground,” she said. Although it is at a school, because it is on town property and designed for handicapped-access, she said families will be able to use the facility during school hours. As with other town parks and facilities, the playground closes at dusk.

To volunteer for Aug. 9 or make donations, call Kathy Demurs at 848-0300.

Academics and Athletics at St. Bernard - July 21 Golf Tourney a Bit Hit

2008-08-01T18:46:00Z

Bill Buscetto has big plans for St. Bernard School’s athletics program. That’s to be expected from the school’s athletic director and baseball coach. But it’s as much about how the student athletes play the game as it is about winning.

“We’re trying to bring St. Bernard back to where it was in its hey-day,” said Buscetto, a 1991 graduate of the school. That included pulling off a a golfing tournament to benefit the school’s athletic department and programs.

On July 21, more than 130 golfers showed up at the Pautipaug Country Club in Baltic. Buscetto estimated the total donations to be close to $15,000.

“I can’t thank the sponsors, local businesses and individuals enough for their support of this event,” he said. Buscetto has been organizing golf tournaments for ten years. Jean Finnegan, the school’s associate director of advancement, helped him with this one.

Among the many sponsors and donors, he acknowledged Rich Radicioni, whose son, Richard, Jr., was an All-State basketball player and graduated from the school in 1985, for $2000. His brother Michael Buscetto III gave $1500. Donors contributing $1000 include Matt Kobyluck and Kobyluck Trucking, Mike Satti, Dairy Queen of Pawcatuck, Matt McBride, Dime Bank Foundation, Dr. Mark Kozlowski, Mohegan Tribal Nation and Mashantucket-Pequot Tribal Nation.

The Next Level

Buscetto was hired last August, after a turn as head baseball coach at Stonington High School from 2001 to 2007 and athletic director for Stonington Community Center. He also has run the Batter Up Baseball Camp in Stonington for 15 years.

“We were always very successful with our sports program. We always won and played the games with class,” he said. “Not to say that they got away from that in recent years, but it wasn’t the level we’re looking to reach now. We’re trying to set the standard for all teams and programs in the area, as far as how an athletic department is run. We want our kids to be competitive but we also want them to play with sportsmanship and pride in their school, and represent their school and their family, as well as themselves.”

Since August 2006, the diocesan Catholic co-educational St. Bernard School has encompassed grades six through twelve, dropping the former “Academy” for the middle school.

William McKenna, Headmaster, who also assumed his role in August 2006, said he was looking for a high energy person, someone who could lead an athletic program inclusive of sixth through eighth grades, as well as ninth through twelfth grades.

“I remembered Bill and his brother Michael as athletes here when I was a vice principal at Xavier High School in Middletown,” he said. “Now that we have this new identity, looking at ourselves as one entire school, I was looking to start working toward the development of a league system, interscholastic athletics in a variety of areas that haven’t been tapped at this point. We thought this would be a great time to get started on that.”

The school offers its 375 high school students 24 different varsity sports, from soccer, football, cross country and cheerleading in the fall to basketball, fencing, wrestling and indoor track in the winter, and baseball, softball, track, lacrosse and golf in the springtime.

“The great thing about St. Bernard’s is there’s an opportunity for every kid,” Buscetto said. “Ninety-seven percent of our kids participate in interscholastic athletics. They play at least one sport.”

McKenna said the goal is to have St. Bernard School be recognized not only as a good academic college preparatory school, but also one that provided athletic outlets for a good number of youngsters. There are approximately 125 middle school students, too.

The school is on the mend from what he refers to “two bumps in the road” in the past couple of years. Mike Garvie, the former athletic director and baseball coach, recently received a probationary sentencing for teen-enticement. He led the 2007 baseball team to its state title. There also was the first-degree larceny conviction of former school employee Salvatore Licitra in 2007 for embezzlement of more than $800,000 of school funds over several years.

“From the very beginning, we cooperated fully and exposed the problems as soon as we learned of them, and immediately turned them over to the proper authorities,” McKenna said. “Since that time, my encouragement to the staff has been ‘that’s a bump in the road that is lamentable. Our job is to attend to the present and the future and we’re going to do just that.’”

One milestone is the preliminary notification of new accreditation the school received from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) for sixth through twelfth grades. McKenna got the news in late June. Mrs. Mary Dillman, middle school principal, and Mrs. Debbie Fitzgerald, vice principal of academics, co-chaired the school’s year-long effort to apply for this.

“I think the faculty and staff feel that they have real ownership in the school, perhaps more than they had for a long time,” he said.

As for the athletic department, McKenna said Buscetto has come on board and totally assumed the role of athletic director in the past year.

“I’ve never seen a person become as acclimated to the job as quickly as Billy,” he said.

Future Plans

The funds can be used for new uniforms and equipment. Longer term, he hopes to give the girls softball team a home field. The school and the Town of Montville have agreed to swap facilities over the years; the girls have been playing home games at Camp Oakdale in the spring while the town’s youth basketball program uses the school’s gym in the winter.

“Our girls’ softball team has never played a home game at St. Bernard’s, in 40 years,” he said. “Camp Oakdale is a great facility, but my goal is, if not this year, next year, we clear out some land and build these girls a nice softball field here on campus.”

While Buscetto is looking out for his department, he urges parents to just let their kids be kids on the sports field and to aim for academic scholarships.

“Kids can’t play sports uptight and nervous. If you play nervous, you don’t play as well as you can. You need to be able to relax,” he said. “The kids feel that pressure more from their parents than from themselves. We go to away games, when there aren’t as many of their parents there, and typically the kids will play better, they’ll have more fun, they’ll be looser than at a home game where mom or dad are yelling at then from the bleachers or the stands.”

Instead of spending thousands of dollars on batting lessons or a personal trainer for the kids, he recommends parents invest some of it in academic tutors. Odds are, the return will be better.

“It’s a nationwide epidemic, where a lot of parents are very misinformed. They think taking their kids of to every Amateur Athletic Union team and travel team for every sport increases their chance for a college scholarship,” he said. “This is with every sport – soccer, basketball, baseball, softball. In reality, they should be focusing on academics because the academic money outweighs the athletic money for scholarships by about five to one.”

Buscetto is the son of Nancy de la Cruz, a Montville Parks and Recreation commissioner. He graduated from University of New Haven, where he was an All American baseball player. The Day and the Norwich Bulletin both named him 2008 Coach of the Year.

He and his wife Diana live in Stonington. Their daughter, Jordan, 14, will attend St. Bernard School as a freshman in the fall, and son Billy, 13, will start 7th grade there.

“The school is doing great and we’re looking forward to bigger and better things out of St. Bernard’s,” Buscetto said.

For more information, see www.saint-bernard.com

Seventh Annual Cruise to Cure Melanoma Aug. 2 - Remembering Kathy Domijan

2008-08-01T18:39:00Z

The seventh annual Cruise to Benefit Melanoma Research Foundation is Saturday, Aug. 2, 12 to 5 p.m., at Don Mallon Chevrolet-Cadillac, 774 W. Thames Street, Route 32 in Norwich.

The event is held in honor of the late Kathy Domijan, who lost her battle with melanoma in October 2001 at 45. She married John “Jack” Domijan, had one daughter, Barbara, and became step-mother to Jack’s four children, Loreen, Keith, Brian and Beau, who lives in Uncasville.

Beau’s wife, Karen, continues to organize the event, which has grown over the years, involving cruising cars, many from members of the Norwich-based Dream Machine Car Club, which Kathy and Jack belonged to. Kathy served as club treasurer.

This year’s festivities include an extensive display of classic autos, Karen said, as well as live entertainment, activities for families, a DJ playing rock and roll favorites, an auction and basket raffle and free food. There is no admission charge for the cruise, but donations are accepted. Raffles prizes will be given away throughout the afternoon.

In the past six years, the annual cruise has raised upwards of $80,000 for melanoma research. All proceeds go to the Melanoma Research Foundation in Princeton, New Jersey, the largest private, national organization devoted to the disease.

Plus, the William Backus Hospital Cancer Mobile Unit will again be on location, providing free skin cancer screenings. No reservations are needed.

“The screenings are really important,” Karen said. “We heard from last year’s event that several people were referred to specialists as a result of the screening for more check-ups and biopsies.”

She estimates that hundreds of people have benefited from the mobile unit screenings at the annual cruise.

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, according to the Melanoma Research Foundation. It also is the fastest growing cancers in the United States and worldwide.

The most common cancer in young adults 20-30 years old, it is the primary cause of cancer death in women 25-30 years old and second only to breast cancer in women 30- 35 years old, according to the foundation.

The majority of melanoma is caused by exposure to UV light and sunlight and most melanoma can be cured if detected early. Unlike many other cancers, skin cancer and melanoma are visible on the skin, making it easier to detect in early stages. The foundation recommends people protect their skin from the sun, avoid excessive sun exposure and sun burning and cover up with clothing and hats. It advises wearing sunscreen with sun protective factor (SPF) of 15 or higher, with both UVA and UVB protection.

Rain date for the Car Cruise is Sunday, August 3. For more information, contact Karen Domijan at 860-857-9267. For more information about melanoma, see www.melanoma.org

This August 2, 2007 article tells more of Kathy's story:

Cars Cruise to Beat Melanoma Cancer

Car enthusiasts have the chance to get up close and personal with classics, street rods and even a couple of local race cars this Saturday, August 4, at the 6th Annual Cruise to benefit the Melanoma Research Foundation.

The event, held 12 to 5 pm at Don Mallon Chevrolet-Cadillac, 774 W. Thames Street, Route 32 in Norwich, is a mixture of motors, music, food and fun activities for kids of all ages. The dealership clears its lot of new cars to make room for the antiques, collectables, muscle cars, custom jobs and motorcycles. There also will be “funky cars” that belch fire or bounce. The race cars of Foxwoods driver Mickely Smallridge and Mohegan Sun driver Paul Athey will be on display, too.

There is no admission, but donations are accepted. Raffles prizes will be given away throughout the afternoon. All proceeds go to the Melanoma Research Foundation in Princeton, New Jersey, the largest private, national organization devoted to the disease.

The event is held in honor of the late Kathy Domijan, who lost her battle with melanoma in October 2001 at 45. Born in 1954 in San Diego, she moved to Connecticut in the late 1970s and met her future husband John “Jack” Domijan. They were married in October 1980 and had one daughter, Barbra, who lives in Norwich. Kathy also became step-mother to Jack’s four children, Loreen, Keith, Brian and Beau, who lives in Uncasville.

Jack and Kathy were active members of the Norwich-based Dream Machine Car Club, where Kathy served as treasurer.

“They were always known for their 55 Chevy,” Beau said. “It was really a nice car.”

Beau’s wife, Karen, said the couple would go to car shows every weekend. Club members often took their cars to benefit events that raised money for many other functions and organizations.

After Kathy lost her battle to melanoma, Jack put his energies into a car cruise to raise funds to find a cure for the disease. Karen, who had known Kathy since 1997, got involved, seeking donations and sponsors, distributing flyers and advertising the event.

“The generosity of our donors, volunteers and attendees has helped us raise more than $65,000 so far,” said Karen.

Equally as important, she said, hundreds of people have received free skin cancer screenings at the event from Dr. Douglas Tanksley, M.D., in the William Backus Hospital Cancer Mobile Unit. No advance reservations are needed, she said.

Kathy Domijan’s cancer was particularly frustrating, Beau said, and shows the need for people to have screening and check-ups and for continued research to find a cure.

In the 1990’s, doctors removed a cancerous mole from his step-mother’s calf. They gave her an okay after some lymph node tests came back negative.

Five years later, when her bronchitis symptoms wouldn’t go away after some antibiotics, chest x-rays showed cancerous spots in her lungs.

“Within 60 days of discovering these spots, she was gone,” he said. “The cancer had spread to every major organ in her body. Melanoma is the fastest forming and most lethal form of cancer.”

Kathy got to see two of her grandchildren, Beau’s and Karen’s children. Aubrey, 9, was 3 when her step-grandmother passed away. She remembers her grandma and understands why the family is raising funds for cancer research, her mother said. Johnny, 7, is beginning to understand. Barbra’s daughter, Isabella Scott, 3, never got to meet her grandmother.

“We do the best we can,” Beau said of the fund raising and awareness campaign. “Kathy was a wonderful lady. Anyone who knew her was touched by her kindness, her beautiful spirit. She was always giving, always kind to children and animals. She was just a great person.”

Volunteers Make It Happen for Montville's Youth Football League

2008-07-24T20:01:00Z

Montville loves its sports. When it comes to youth football, everyone in town is a Montville Indian – the name all of the teams use in the Montville Youth Football League (MYFL).

The football league is one of those things that define Montville. The non-profit, all-volunteer youth sports organization has been around for close to forty years, according to members of its board of directors.

“I played in the league when I was a kid,” said John Hagerman, league president, who’s 37. “It had been around before that.”

Between 250 and 300 young boys, from age 7 to 13, participate in the football league each year, Hagerman said. They play on one of five teams, from instructional, micro, junior and senior categories, based on size and weight.

For girls, there’s the cheerleading program; last year, Montville’s girls won their conference competition last year in Waterford.

The MYFL mission is to provide the eligible children of Montville the opportunity to enjoy football and cheerleading at the youth level. The senior, junior and micro A teams of the MYFL are members of the Southern New England Youth Football Conference and are subject to its rules, regulations and schedules.

The SNEYFC is comprised of 14 regional communities and is very competitive, according to MYFL’s website. The conference has a nine-game regular season with top finishers qualifying for a post-season tournament.

The all-volunteer league fills a void in football sports for Montville’s middle schoolers. Without an organized public school football program, the league prepares seventh and eighth graders for Montville High School football.

“We’re the feeder program for Montville High School’s football program,” said Hagerman, who has been involved with league coaching for eleven years. “When you get to sit down and watch a high school game, kids you’ve coached or helped get through the program, to see these young athletes become young men is probably the most you get out of it.

Hagerman estimates there are at least 50 volunteers in the league. It’s easier to fill coaching positions, he said, because parents like to work with the kids. Staffing the concession stand, an important fundraising activity, is tougher. That responsibility falls to his wife, Tina, Auxiliary Director for MYFL for two years.

“Everyone volunteers for what they can do, and then we try to get new parents to step in as children grow up,” Tina said.

Then there are the parents who never leave the league, which isn’t a bad thing.

“My youngest kid is going to be 21 years old,” joked Nefty Sostre, vice president, and I’m still there.”

With three sons who have played in the league, he’s been a coach for at least 10 years.

“I love the game and showing the young, impressionable kids about it. Hopefully what we teach carries them through to the next level, whether it’s high school, college or whatever,” he said.

Plus, it also makes him feel good when former players, now grown adults, still call him “Coach,” and bring their own kids into the program.

“We kind of reminisce, and they get a chuckle out of it when we throw back things at them from when they were playing football as kids,” he said. “It’s kind of unique - none of us juniors coaches have any kids in the league any more. We just love coaching. We have good camaraderie, we communicate well.”

Rob Amanti, the league’s football director, and Sostre have been coaching together for the last ten years, and went to school together before that. Tom Kelleher, whose son graduated last year to high school football, continues to coach.

It takes a lot of time and effort, Sostra said, both pre- and during the season.

“We’re here at least four hours a night for practice, not including games,” he said.

The league plays its home games at Camp Oakdale. The town cuts the grass and lines the field, but volunteers are expected to maintain the inside and outside of the field house and the grounds around it.

Fans will notice some extra sparkle and shine at the football facilities this year. Thanks to the efforts of league board members and other volunteers and local businesses in collaboration with Montville Parks and Recreation Department, the football field is sporting new goal posts, a new scoreboard and fresh paint or stain on the field house.

As with any volunteer organization, the league’s strengths and contributions of board members change over the years.

Hagerman calls the current league board a “team of go-getters,” who get out there to do the best thing for the kids and the league.

In the past year, the league has pushed to upgrade the playing field, adding new goal posts, thanks to the generosity of Kobyluck Trucking in Uncasville, and a new score board.

“We really appreciate what Kobyluck has done for us,” said Sostre. “They delivered and installed the goal posts, dug the holes, provided the cement.”

Board member Bill Clark has organized the collection of donations to put up a new scoreboard, which costs around $8,000.

“We’ve had great support from Jim Butler (director of Montville Parks and Recreation),” Hagerman said. “He orchestrated a lot of the support for getting the building stained this year, running the football camp with Coach Grove and Montville High School.”

Board members showed up on Fourth of July weekend to help spruce up the place. Their goal is to get concessions and the field ready for the July 28 kick-off of a Youth Football Camp for sixth, seventh and eighth graders, sponsored by Montville High School.

Player registration fees and fundraisers go to cover ongoing league expenses.

“Every year over half of the equipment has to go out and be recertified for safety,” said Rich Huston, assistant equipment director. Getting helmets and pads refurbished can cost $2000 – 3000 per year, Tina Hagerman added.

Huston, who grew up in Montana, where he could participate in public school youth sports programs starting in junior high, has had three children involved in the MYFL. Ryan, 12, plays football and his twin sister, Heather, is a cheerleader; Tyler, 14, has moved on from the youth program.

“It helps a lot with their teamwork and attitude and all-around better health,” he said.

Sign-ups This Week

Sign-ups for this fall started July 21 and run through the 24th, 6 – 8 p.m. at Camp Oakdale. Season practice starts on August 4. August practice is Monday through Friday, 6 to 8 p.m., during school it shifts to Tuesday through Thursday, and coaches can call optional practice on Fridays, Tina Hagerman said.

On August 23, the Lions will host a Jamboree at Camp Oakdale, putting on half-field exhibition games with players from three other area towns. Those games start at 2, 4, 6 and 8 pm.

Official playing season starts August 31st and runs through the middle of October, with a super bowl in November for the older boys, Tina Hagerman said. Competition games are played on Saturdays and Sundays.

Cheerleaders are practicing at the same time, but usually move their practice sessions inside starting in October, as they prepare for conference competition, too.

Upcoming Fundraisers

For its annual fundraiser, the league is holding a walkathon at Camp Oakdale on August 16. Proceeds of this go for equipment and uniforms.

“The kids will walk up to five miles that day – football players and cheerleaders,” Tina said. “They go out ahead of time and get pledges from grandparents, parents and friends.”

The adults are organizing an annual golf tournament on September 19. Watch the Montville Times for more information.

Anyone interested in supporting the volunteer efforts by the league can contact John Hagerman at HAGE415@aol.com

MYFL registration forms are at the league’s new website, www.montvillefootball.com

Montville Honors its WWII Veterans with State Public Service Awards to “The Greatest Generation”

2008-07-24T19:59:00Z

Connecticut’s Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz is in a race against time. The daughter of a World War II veteran, the state official has decided to pay tribute to every living WWII veteran that her office can find in the state.

On Tuesday, July 15, it was Montville’s turn. Bysiewicz and town officials invited all area WWII veterans to Tyl Middle School Auditorium to be honored at a Public Service Awards ceremony.

“After summoning the courage to defeat tyranny, you had courage and strength to change our country for the better,” Bysiewicz told the fifty-plus veterans and a crowd of 250 people. “You did it without great fanfare – without seeking recognition – never asking to be honored. Today we salute you as the greatest generation.

“Serving your country is what America is all about,” she said. “Each person here is a testament to the civic pride and involvement that is the foundation of our civic life.”

It isn’t easy to track down all veterans, admitted Av Harris of the Secretary of State’s office in Hartford. Voter registrations don’t capture military service, so the department works with local elected officials and tax assessors, American Legion posts and VFW chapters.

The search turned up 148 men and two women, WWII veterans, living in Montville. Of these, 72 served in the Army, 54 men and one woman served in the Navy, nine served in the Coast Guard, five men and one woman were in the Air Force and five in the Marines. The branch wasn’t identified for eight more.

All of the vets will get certificates, Harris said, regardless of whether they could come to the recognition ceremony. Those who attended each will receive photos of themselves with Secretary Bysiewicz and local officials. A group photo snapped at the event will be sent to the Town of Montville for display.

The public service awards program was started by Secretary Bysiewicz in 2001, Harris said. Since then, the office has honored more than 16,000 people in the state for their commitment to public service, including elected officials, professional firefighters, volunteer coaches, community and youth volunteers, board and commission members, emergency service workers and elections officials.

Montville’s tribute was the 37th such event since the veterans recognition was started last year. Town Clerk Lisa Terry helped organize the town’s event. It is the goal of the Office of the Secretary of State to reach all municipalities in the state. Close to 60 municipalities have been covered so far, Harris said.

Harris urged any veteran who did not receive an invitation to their home town event to contact him at the Secretary of State’s office so they can be recognized and receive a certificate. If veterans miss their local town ceremony, they can attend a future tribute scheduled in a neighboring town. Contact him at 860-509-6255 or email him at Av.Harris@po.state.ct.us

Montville Boy Scout Mounts Clothing Drive - Help for New London County Homeless

2008-07-22T14:28:00Z

Matthew Fitzgerald has a mission. The 16-year-old has set out to make a difference in the lives of homeless people in New London County. A member of Boy Scout Troop 93 in Uncasville, he decided to make it his Eagle Scout project to collect clothing and other items and get them into the hands of the less fortunate in the community.

On Saturday, July 5, Fitzgerald organized fellow scouts for the first of six collections of new and gently used clothing, shelter and personal care items. For three hours they accepted donated items from people in front of Beit Bros. Supermarket in Uncasville.

“There are tons of things just sitting in people’s closets and basements that could be used to help people who can’t afford things that we take for granted,” he said.

For the next two Saturday afternoons in July and three more in August, the scouts will be in front of the grocery store from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

The scouts are looking for new and used jackets, pants, shirts, footwear and undergarments for men and women, as well as non-perishable food items, toiletries, can openers, tents, sleeping bags and backpacks. The outer clothing and equipment must be in good usable condition; undergarments and personal items should be new.

Fitzgerald has teamed up with Malta Incorporated, a faith-based charity, based out of the non-denominational Pleasant Valley Church in Groton, to collect and distribute the collected items. Malta provides street ministry and support to homeless. On Friday nights, teams go out in Groton and Norwich to take food, clothing and bibles to people living on the street.

“There is always a need for men’s jeans, white sox and underwear,” said Pamela Michaud, Malta Inc. “So are backpacks. If the homeless don’t carry their prize possessions on them, these get stolen. Sometimes, the entire backpack gets taken and it and the contents need to be replaced.”

It is important to Fitzgerald to do more than collect and distribute items to the homeless in the area. He also wants to make other people more aware of the local problem and need for assistance. So he sought out the Montville Times, looking for coverage.

“We’re very proud of him, he wants to do something to help the homeless in the greater New London community, and he felt his Eagle project could make a difference in the lives of these people,” said his mother, Mary, who is troop leader for Junior Girl Scout Troop 3033 in Montville. His sisters, Megan 15, and Suzanna, 11, also are in scouts. He has a younger brother, Kevin, 12. His father, Thomas, was a scout.

There are 40 scouts in Boy Scout Troop 93 in Uncasville, ranging from 11 to 18 years old. Becoming an Eagle Scout requires earning 21 merit badges, being a life scout, have had two positions of leadership before completing a community service project, Fitzgerald said.

Most people don’t realize how big of a process an Eagle Scout project is, said Duane Kelly, troop scout leader for past 4 years.

“It’s a very grilling process. They have come up with a viable, substantial project, with a complete write-up of who, what, when, where, why, how, and who’s going to pay for it,” he said. “As Scout Master, it’s my job to coach them before the project.”

That coaching includes raising different scenarios and what-if’s along the way, from organizing who is going to do what, to anticipating and addressing safety considerations. In the case of Fitzgerald’s plan, that included traffic flow and congestion around Beit Bros. and the shopping plaza.

Once the scout master approves it, Kelly said the Eagle Scout proposal gets reviewed and ultimately approved by the Mohegan District of the Connecticut River Council of the Boy Scouts.

When the project gets underway, Kelly said, he and the other scouts will be looking to the aspiring Eagle Scout for leadership, organizational skills and guidance.

“It’s a different role then,” he said.

Once the project is completed, the scout has to write up a final report, addressing if, why and how changes were made from the original plan. All in all, it’s a valuable tool for any young person, preparing them for the working world, Kelly said.

“If their employer says ‘hey, let’s figure out how to make better widgets,’ the Eagle Scout is going to know where to start,” he said.

Tim Plourde, the son of Dawn and John Plourde, Uncasville, recently completed his Eagle Scout project, landscaping at Oakdale School. Kelly said another scout is in the process of getting his project approved.

Fitzgerald is organizing other scouts to help with the collections. They also will help Malta volunteers with the sorting donations, assembling and delivering them to people in need. This includes going along on the Friday night Malta missions.

There’s also the question of where and how to store six Saturday’s worth of donated clothing, equipment and items in the interim. He has arranged for warehouse space at ACME Wire in Mystic. His mother is president of the family business.

Fitzgerald enjoys camping, hiking, boating and fishing. The junior at Montville High School plans to go into the Coast Guard or Air Force and eventually becoming a commercial airline pilot.

Upcoming Help the Homeless Collections are 12 – 3 p.m., Saturdays, July 12 and 19, Aug. 2, 9 and 16, in front of Beit Bros., 601 Norwich New London Tpke, Uncasville. Contact Matthew Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald22422@aol.com

Helping the Homeless in New London County

Malta, Inc., based in Groton, has been ministering and assisting the homeless community in New London for several years. The charity is so well known on the street, Pamela Michaud said, that homeless people will help each other by writing down and turning in requests for specific items or sizes of clothing from one week to the next.

“Brand new socks and underwear are at the heart of our ministry,” states the Malta Inc. website. “Having new socks and underwear helps people to retain dignity and where there is dignity there is a better sense of self-esteem and hope.”

Last year, the organization distributed over 2400 pairs of socks to men and women in Groton and New London. With the addition of its Norwich outreach this year, it expects to distribute closer to 4000 pairs.

Malta also has a transitional living center on Hynes Avenue in Groton that currently houses single men. Applicants must have a referral by their pastor or church, Michaud said.

“When they come into our transitional living center, they go through an interview, drug and alcohol and background tests,” she said. “We pay for all of this to be done. They also have to sign a form, committing to help out around the house and to actively search for a job.”

During their stay, Malta coaches the men on life skills, things like opening a bank account and setting aside savings. There generally is not a fee to stay at the house, she said, but men who arrive with a job are asked to contribute a nominal fee.

The center had housed a family for about a year, following Hurricane Katrina, and helped them get back on their feet and move to Rhode Island for a full-time job. It currently has only 3-4 openings for single men, she said.

“We’re getting so many calls now from men who have lost their jobs or their wife has kicked them out of the house,” Michaud said. Malta refers these immediate needs cases to homeless shelters.

Malta’s experience is that it takes at least a year for the men to get a good paying job, set up savings and prepare to pay rent. Goals are set and reviewed.

There is not a set time period for them to stay at the center; in fact the center’s current manager was one of the early-on success stories. He stayed at the house, later got married and now is the facility manager, getting the residents involved in maintenance and upkeep. The four-unit apartment building was built in 1910.

“We’ve had many more success stories than not,” she said. “They definitely have to be willing to abide by the rules of the house, or they will be asked to leave.”

The charity also accepts monetary donations. Its biggest fund-raiser is the Samaritan Swim each January at Eastern Point Beach in Groton.

For more information, see www.maltaministries.org

Summer Fun with Montville Parks and Rec - Concert Series Starts July 29

2008-07-22T14:18:00Z

Looking for some family fun and entertainment this summer? Montville’s Parks and Recreation Commission encourages residents to check out some expanded activities. This includes the town’s first summer concert series at the Oakdale Pavilion kicking off at the end of this month.

Jim Butler, Parks and Recreation Director, has lined up The Shoreline Connection to play on Tuesday, July 29. The Higganum-based group plays a wide range of forgotten favorites from the 60s and 70s, from Elvis and the Eagles to Santana. The Kelly Company on Tuesday, August 19, is a soulful blues/rock and punk band. Butler is checking with other bands for future dates.

The Commissioners decided in March to give the concerts a try. The Mohegan tribe donated $1,000 to help get the program off of the ground, according to Stanley Gwudz, Commission chairman.

“We are really looking for a way for the residents of Montville to come together,” said Dorothy “Dot” Murtha, one of the seven appointed commissioners. “It is our goal to provide recreation to all ages at a little or no cost to them. We have a wonderful pavilion and it's great to be able to put it to good use this summer for the outdoor concerts.”

The goal is to bring in four bands on different evenings and invite people to bring their lawn chairs, pack a picnic or snacks and non-alcoholic beverages for a relaxing evening of music.

“Most people think Parks and Rec is all about sports and all about the younger generation,” said Nancy delaCruz, Commission secretary. “That's why were are trying these concerts as something new. With the economy the way it is, these activities are for the whole family, free of charge, and in our backyard.”

DelaCruz said the concerts also are a good way to meet new people in town in a relaxing atmosphere and not have to travel very far.

“We are trying different types of bands to appeal to various age groups. We can only try and learn from it,” she added.

Murtha said she also is researching how to put on a Teen BandJam for the first time this summer.

Gwudz said that if the concerts go over well, the department might increase it to one every week next summer.

The commission is continuing to figure out what the populace of Montville wants and can afford from its town in the way of community activities. Earlier this year, it conducted a limited survey of town residents.

“The purpose of the survey was to incorporate the feedback of the taxpayers of Montville and to provide services they are looking for,” said Eileen Cicchese, another commissioner. She and deLacruz compiled the survey results.

The survey was offered online and could be picked up at town hall and at least one area merchant. Only 70 people responded, Gwudz said, hardly a statistically valid reading of town sentiment.

“I don’t know if we don’t do a good job of marketing or the people of Montville are just too busy to give us the input,” said Gwudz, who noted that only 8 percent of residents showed up to vote in 2007 on a proposal to renovate Fair Oaks School, steps that could have led to a community center for the town. That $2.8 million proposal was defeated 643 to 146.

One of the things the commission is working on is to come up with a consistent method of evaluating programs and seeing what people like and don’t like, Cicchese said.

At its July meeting, the commission will appoint a parks and recreation assessment subcommittee for programs and activities.

“We’ll take it a step further to find out what the townspeople are really looking for,” Gwudz said.

The commission has already implemented at least one piece of advice from respondents, she said, by coordinating with Adult Education Department, Youth Center and Senior Center to put out one brochure, in color, that lists all programs offered by the three departments. The coordination also minimizes duplication of offerings.

“We have some new commission members who are working with the more experienced members,” Cicchese said. “Together we’re coming up with good ideas and there’s a lot of energy and interest.”

The schedule of Parks and Recreation Commission monthly meetings and minutes of past meetings are posted on the town website, www.townofmontville.org

Summer Camp!

For anyone with young kids, July in Montville is synonymous with Summer Camp. This year’s program at Fair Oaks School got underway on June 30 for Montville children ages 5 to 12 and will continue through July 31. Camp session runs Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and children can attend one or five days a week for the $10 weekly fee.

Butler said families can still sign up for camp by contacting the parks and recreation department.

The camp can run anywhere from 100 to 300 kids on any given day, Gwudz said, because of other family commitments over the summer and the popularity of specific events.

The chaperoned field trips range from bowling and roller skating to a day at Ocean Beach, Mystic Aquarium and a Connecticut Defenders game. Additional fees for entrance to the activities are posted on summer camp schedule on the department website.

“We’re trying to do more field trips this year, which are always popular,” he said. A second field trip bus, added this summer, is expected to do away with the field trip wait list of past years.

Summer camp activities also include an Olympic sports competition with track and field events on Thursday, July 24, camp carnival day on Monday, July 28, and the ever-popular camp talent show on the last day, Wednesday, July 30 at Leonard J. Tyl Middle School. Throughout the camp, adult and teenage counselors introduce the children to a wide variety of team building exercises and foster social development through age-appropriate games, challenges and play activities.

For adults, there is a new co-ed softball league. The free, pick-up style games are on Sundays in July and early August. Laura Tanner, an Oakdale resident, is helping organize the program.

“There has been a great response and I feel that it will most likely grow in the next years,” Murtha said. “Laura has been eager to get this going for some time.”

The twenty-first annual masters road race, a 6.2 mile race sponsored by the Montville Parks and Recreation Department and Rotary Club, was Sunday, July 20. The race is open to men and women 40 years and older.

For more information about these and other Montville Parks and Recreation programs, registration and fees, go to www.townofmontville.org or call the department at 860-848-3030, ext. 322.

Summer Concerts at Camp Oakdale Pavilion
Route 163
Town of Montville Parks and Recreation
Tuesday, July 29 Shoreline Connection 6:30 – 8 pm
Tuesday, August 19 The Kelly Company 6:00 – 8 pm
Other dates and bands to be announced

Sizzling Summers: Senior center barbecue fund-raisers make town programs possible

2008-07-11T19:25:50Z

Montville’s older residents who are looking for a social outing, a dinner with friends, and some entertainment need look no farther than Montville’s Senior Center.

The first of three summer barbecues, all comfortable indoor events, was held on June 25. Two more are scheduled for July 30 and Aug. 27, the last Wednesday of each month. All are from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the center at 12 Maple Avenue. A donation of $4 is requested.

Each event features live entertainment. Vocalist Casey Clark sang a variety of popular show tunes, from Sinatra to Doris Day and Karen Carpenter, at the June event. The Willimantic resident, who also is a social worker, performs at senior centers and community concerts in the region. Upcoming events include Mr. Magic and another performer to be announced.

The senior center has been holding the summer barbecues—fund-raisers for its activities year round—for at least 12 years, according to Kathleen Doherty-Peck, director of senior and social services.

“We take our dinners seriously,” she said. The June dinner menu included grilled chicken, pasta salad, baked beans, and dessert. Doherty-Peck and her staff are certified food handlers, and the senior center has a food service license.

Thanks to ongoing donations of food and cash by area businesses, organizations, and seniors themselves, she said the center is able to put most of the contributed ticket sales from the barbecues toward programs for seniors. This means the center’s programs are offered free of charge, she said. There may be incidental charges for equipment and supplies, such as materials the seniors use in the painting classes.

At a time when all town budgets are under scrutiny, following the public referendum on July 1, when residents sent the town budget and increased mill rate back to Town Council, she said the senior center is doing its part to control rising costs.

“The Senior Center is cutting the gas usage and overtime for bus drivers on the weekends, shutting off unused lights during the day and limiting off-hours at the center by not being open on Sundays and Monday nights, and limiting Senior Club meetings to once a month,” she said in a recent statement.

Doherty-Peck said the seniors themselves are some of the best contributors and frugal savers.

“Many of the donations that I receive actually come from our seniors who know that our dinners are our fund-raisers,” she said. “Lots of times our seniors will go to the store and get the ‘buy one get two free’ sale and bring the free ones down to us. We collect donations on almost a daily basis.”
Seniors also run active raffles during the barbecues to win gift baskets donated by town businesses.

The center also has a dinner and a movie event once a month, always on Tuesdays, usually the second Tuesday of the month at 3 p.m., for a $4 donation request.

“You can’t beat that,” Doherty-Peck said.

For a full listing of senior center programs, go to www.townofmontville.org or call the center at 848-0422. Advance sign-up is requested for the upcoming fund-raiser barbecues.

By Suzanne Thompson
Times Staff Writer