The 14th Annual HK-TV Holiday Show Telethon, held yesterday morning at the HK-TV Studio, was a great success and a wonderful holiday celebration. The money raised from this year's show will benefit the Connecticut Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The show featured many live musical performances from individuals and groups, live interviews, as well as videos produced by the HK-TV crew and the MS Society. Dozens of students and staff, under the direction of teacher Chuck Lewis, worked for weeks to organize and develop this year's philanthropic effort. The tally at the end of the 4-hour telethon was approximately $9,990.

MS Society Communications Director Kara Preston said the money raised is wonderful, but the greatest gift from the students and staff is the gift of awareness and education. She said this was an amazing opportunity for the students to become educated on Multiple Sclerosis, spread the word about the disease, and help the Society find the cause and a cure. Preston said she was very impressed with the generosity, energy and support of the students and thanked them for choosing the MS Society as this year's telethon fund recipient. The cause hit close to home this year as students recently learned that one of their teachers was diagnosed with MS.

Though the telethon and auction bring in a sizeable portion of the money raised, student activities also add to the total. HK Middle School students conducted its annual 'Penny War'; This year the 7th-Grade class raised $239. and the 8th-Grade class raised $341. The Middle School Student Council raised $610 with its Holiday Dance; The HK Chapter of SADD raised $125. from its bake sale; The High School Culinary Arts students donated three gingerbread houses to the auction; The KES 4th-Grade Snack Cart donated $150.; The KES 5th-Grade Student Council presented $75. from the election day bake sale, and Superintendent Gary Mala presented the students with a check for $300. from the HK teachers and staff. Local businesses in Haddam and Killingworth also generously contributed cash, as well as items for the auction and prizes for contributors.

Local celebrity, Kathy Poulin showed up on the set with her seven-week-old daughter Madison to present a $200. check from Bob's Discount Furniture. Poulin appears in many of the Bob's commercials and was a teacher at Killingworth Elementary. Also on hand was MS Ambassador Karen Smith. Smith, who was diagnosed with MS 14 years ago and is confined to a wheelchair, participated in the MS Society's 115-mile bike trip with her dog Dakota.

If you didn't have a chance to call the telethon, you can still make a tax deductible contribution. Checks may be sent to Haddam Killingworth High School, P.O. Box 569, Higganum, CT 06441: Please make checks payable to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
For more of a look behind the scenes at the telethon, visit the photo gallery.

The Girls HK High School Basketball Team defeated Westbrook, 58-35, yesterday in a Shoreline Conference win. Senior Kristen Hetsko tallied a game-high 25 points including two 3-pointers. The Cougars begin play in the Liberty Bank Tournament, Monday at Coginchaug.

The Reg. 17 Board of Education recently announced its position on the use of canine sweeps in the District schools. The Board said, that while it is opposed to the possession, use, and distribution of drugs and alcohol in the school, it would not adopt a formal policy that includes canine sweeps. The Board will continue to use current preventive measures, enforce a zero tolerance policy, and will consider additional deterrents.

The Board said it based its decision on the fact that there is no statistical evidence that sweeps act as a deterrent; incorrect identification can have irreparable consequences, and locker sweeps merely encourage drugs to be kept on the person. The Board said it believes that alcohol is a more prevalent problem, and the use of canine sweeps may send an erroneous message to the community that the problem is worse than it is.

Instead of the canine sweeps, the Board said it would take a positive approach through education and prevention: The schools currently use a revised Board of Education policy on Drugs and Alcohol that includes a mandatory expulsion hearing; The high school maintains a substance abuse counselor; The schools conduct substance abuse assemblies, and information on abuse issues is included in the K-12 curriculum. The District also participates in the Mentor Program with Youth & Family Services, has internal security personnel at the middle and high school, and maintains direct communication with the State Police.

The Board plans to work with the HKYFS Prevention Council to expand its assembly program, arrange small group presentations to grade 10 students, pursue faculty, staff and student mentor programs, and expand prevention communications with the State Police.

The Congregational Church of Killingworth, will offer a "Blue Christmas Service" today, December 23 at 7:00 p.m. This service of selected readings and gentle music is especially meaningful, and is offered to those who find the holiday period an especially distressing time.

The Church will hold its traditional Christmas Eve Services on Friday, December 24. The 7:00 p.m. service will be lessons and carols. The 11:00 p.m. service is the Candlelight and Communion service. For additional information call the church office at 663-1789.

The Haddam-Killingworth High School Boys Basketball team opened its 2004-2005 season with a 60-49 win over North Branford last night. Senior Brett Zanardi led the Cougars with 24 points, followed by Ryan Murray with 15 points and 15 rebounds, and Tyler Riordan with 11 points. The Cougars play again on Thursday at Hale-Ray.

The Board of Selectmen voted, Monday, to send an ordinance extending the tax exemption for low-income veterans to a Town Meeting next year. Assessor Donna Shanoff said the current tax exemption could be increased from $1,000 to a maximum of $10,000. The exemption is available to individual veterans with an income up to $27,100 per year and married veterans with incomes up to $33,000 per year. The exemption is applied as a deduction from their residential property assessment. There are approximately 50 Town residents who qualify for the exemption. Read all about this in today's Hartford Courant.

The Haddam-Killingworth Girls Travel Basketball team lost, 22-31, Sunday to a feisty West Haven team. Despite West Haven's strong offense, HK held the score to a respectable 12-14 at the end of the first half. After falling victim to injuries in the third quarter, HK fought back with great team work and effort to keep the point spread to 9. High scorer for HK was Alexis Bowen with 8 points. Also scoring were Emily Anderson and Nicole Burkovsky with 4 points and Ashley Cook, Katie Frye, and Shawna Skwarek with 2 points each.

On Monday December 20, the Reg. 17 School District Building Committee and Board of Education approved contract awards for the construction of the $48 million Intermediate/Middle School on Route 81. Building Committee Chairman Kjell Tollefsen said the project is currently under budget and construction should commence in early January following the finalization of local permitting. The project is proceeding on schedule for a late 2006 completion date.

In a press release, Tollefsen said the awards followed "a competitive bidding process that drew numerous contractors from each of the trade areas needed to complete the project. The Project team, including construction manager, architect and engineers thoroughly analyzed and evaluated the bids, and made recommendations to the Building Committee earlier this month. Formal public votes approving each of the individual trade packages were made at the December 14 meeting of the Board of Education."

The team further reported that "the project remains unchanged from the original educational specification, program and overall scope and size anticipated before the February 2003 referendum that approved the project. Based on the bid analysis, the team reported that the project currently stands approximately $139,000 under budget, without having encumbered any of the budgeted construction phase contingency funds."

This week, Killingworth Democratic Town Committee Chairman, Michael J. Sanders reflects on the KDTC's efforts over the past year and its plans for the year ahead. He encourages all residents to join together in the coming year. "Working and joining with us will allow your opinions to be heard and respected. It will afford you an opportunity to be part of a process of making Killingworth better than it is right now." Read his complete remarks here.

This week, First Selectman David Denvir offers a charming version of Clement Clarke Moore's poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" for his Christmas address. Read his holiday greeting and complete remarks here.

Cub Scout Pack 18 celebrated the season Friday, with its Holiday Party at the elementary school. The evening featured a skit from each of the dens and an honored guest.

Eagle Scout Brian Seigel, home on leave from Army basic training in Fort Knox, Kentucky, honored the pack by stopping by the party. Siegel, who graduated from HK High School last year, was awarded the highest honor in scouting last June. Siegel has two younger brothers in scouting as well. One is in Cub Scout Weblos 2 Den and the other is a Boy Scout. A formal ceremony of the Eagle Scout Court of Honor was held in his honor on Saturday, December 18 at the Congregational Church in Killingworth.

The Skits performed were a delight to all. One skit was a puppet show from Weblos Den 1. The den made their own stage and presented 'Kiss the Brown Bunny'. This skit features a dog, who bets a cockroach that he cannot get three people to kiss him. The cockroach disguises himself as a bunny by flipping up his wings to lure his prey. photos by M. Irwin.

The American Red Cross is holding a blood drive at the Congregational Church in Killingworth, Wednesday, December 22 from 1:00-5:45 p.m. The guidelines require that volunteer blood donors provide identification before donating at a blood donation center or blood drive. If a prospective donor is unable to provide appropriate identification, he or she will not be allowed to donate. To schedule an appointment to donate Call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE (1-800-448-3543) or e-mail the Red Cross at CTAppointment@usa.redcross.org. A Red Cross representative will contact you via return e-mail to confirm your appointment.

The HK Middle School Girls Basketball team defeated Westbrook, 60-21, Friday. The team was sparked by the outside shooting of Shelby VanHuysen and Allie Rand, along with the ball handling of Danielle Machold. Center Erin Moriarty and VanHuysen each scored 14 for the Cougars.

The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger
ISBN: 1931561648

Henry is a librarian at the Newberry Library in Chicago. He loves his work, but his job may be in jeopardy because of the day he was found in a locked area of the library stacks wearing no clothing. Clare is an artist and paper-maker who visits Henry in the Newberry when she is twenty and Henry is twenty-eight. They had met when Clare was five and Henry was in his mid-thirties.

This is the love story of Henry and Clare, two unlikely soul mates, made complicated by the fact that Henry has been diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder. In other words, Henry is a time traveler, and moves in and out of Clare's life in abrupt episodes. He may be thirty-five when he suddenly leaves her life, only to be twenty-three when he returns to her. How do two people manage to sustain a long-term relationship while one person's age is constantly fluctuating? Niffenegger has written a fascinating and provocative novel that holds the reader suspended in time from the first page to the last.

The Time Traveler's Wife is Audrey Niffenegger's first novel. She is a professor in the Interdisciplinary Book Arts MFA Program at Columbia College Chicago Center for the Book and Paper Arts.

Susan Miller is the Associate Director of the Arnold Bernhard Library at Quinnipiac University. She holds a Bachelor and Master of Music from Ohio State University and a M.S. in Library Science from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Contact Susan at covertocover@killingworthtoday.com