•Monday, January 31:
8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. "Teen Talk"( Media and Violence)
10:00 a.m. & 9:00 p.m. HKHS Lip Sync XI
•Tuesday, February 1:
8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. HK Boys Basketball game against Hale Ray
10:00 a.m. & 9:00 p.m. Forgotten Heros
•Wednesday, February 2:
8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. 2004 Mr. HK Competition
10:00 a.m. & 9:00 p.m. YFS Community Night
•Thursday, February 3:
8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. High School Bowl
10:00 a.m.& 9:00 p.m. HK Boys Basketball game against Old Saybrook
•Friday, February 4:
8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. HK Girls Basketball Game
10:00 a.m. & 9:00 p.m. HK Middle School Band Concert
•Saturday, February 5:
8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. Girls Basketball game against Old Lyme
10:00 a.m. & 9:00 p.m. HK Middle School Winter Concert
•Sunday, February 6:
8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. Video Postcards
10:00 a.m. & 9:00 p.m. HK Middle School Winter Concert
information provided by HKTV

The Killingworth Volunteer Fire Company will host a pancake breakfast on Sunday, Jan. 30 from 7:00-11:00 a.m. to support the Junior Firefighters Fund. The breakfast will be held at the main Firehouse at 333 Route 81. The junior firefighters are a support group of the Volunteer Fire Company. They are young men and women age 14-18 who respond to all fire and motor vehicle accident calls, and perform many fireground operations. For more information contact the firehouse at 663-1785.

Twenty 5th grade students competed in the annual Spelling Bee sponsored by The E.W. Scripps Company and the New Haven Register at Killingworth Elementary School, Thursday. One by one the contestants were eliminated after misspelling a word, until it was down to the final two - Allie Peplau and Sean Frederick. After a 15-minute back-and-forth, Allie Peplau emerged as the KES winner by spelling 'injunction', followed by 'apprehend'. Both Peplau and Frederick will represent KES at the District contest on February 16 at Burr Elementary School.

KES students competing in the Bee included: Jonathon Casanova, Allie Peplau, Trevor Phelan, Sean Frederick, Megan Tischbein, Bryce Colonia-Hughes, Spencer Gumbart, Shane Kenney, Ian Worrall, Shaina Rowley, Nathan Luther, Sara Auer, Matt Sturman, Brandon Chapman, Chris Lewis, Sarah Goldsmith, Sarah Carpenter, Emily Eldredge, Cameron Gesick and Alex Raccio.

This year marks the 78th year of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. District winners earn a spot in the state-wide competition, and the state champions advance to the finals in Washington, D.C., May 31-June 2. Last year the District Champion was Keith Thomas, then a seventh grader at HK Middle School. The purpose of the Bee is to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts, and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives.

HK Recreation has secured a cross country ski group lesson at Winding Trails in Farmington, CT for Saturday, February 5 (snow date 2/12) from 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (group lesson is at 9:30 am). The trip is ages 5 & up. The fee is $32 for Adults and $24 for children ages 5 - 12. A minimum of 12 is needed to secure the group rate. Come learn the sport that offers both excitement and tranquility. Winding Trails is the perfect setting to go cross-country skiing. Enjoy the pristine beauty of 350 acres of pine woodland, brooks, and spring fed ponds. The wide double-tracked trails will provide the first-time skier with a fun experience. Fee includes 1-hr lesson, rental equipment, and trail fee. Transportation is not provided. Please include height, weight, and shoe size on registration form. For more information or to register, call the HK Recreation Dept. at 345-8334.

Haddam-Killingworth Recreation is offering the American Red Cross "When I'm in Charge" this winter. The one-day course is for children ages 9 and up, and is designed to teach kids how to be responsible when at home. Topics include internet safety, gun safety, family communications, sibling care, basic emergency care and confidence building. The class will be held on Thursday, February 17 from 6:00-8:00 pm at the Burr Elementary School Library. The fee is $25 and includes a manual. Non-residents please add $5.

HK Rec. is also offering "Make-a-Plate" this winter. Kids will design and decorate their very own plate. Choose between a winter scene, St. Patrick's Day or a Spring holiday. The fee is $12 each session (non-residents add $5). The class is for children ages 6- 9. Class will meet on Monday, Feb 14 at Killingworth Elementary, Tuesday, Feb 15 at Haddam Elementary, and Wednesday, Feb 16 at Burr Elementary. All sessions will run from 3:15 - 4:00 pm.

For more information on either of these programs, or to register, call the HK Recreation Dept. at 345-8334.

The Killingworth Youth League will hold registration for the 2005 Little League baseball and softball season on Friday, January 28, 4:30-7:00 p.m. in the main entrance at Killingworth Elementary School.

A second opportunity to register will be Saturday, February 5, 10 a.m. to 12 noon at Killingworth Elementary School.

All boys and girls ages 6-16 are eligible to play (must be playing age by July 31, 2005). First time players must bring an original birth certificate to registration. Player fees are $60 for one player, $90 for a family with more than one player. Fees are due at registration and include uniforms. There will also be a candy fundraiser. KYL requires that each family sell/buy-out one box.

Scholarships are available for any child in need. All calls are strictly confidential. Please call Bill Silas at 663-3996 or Diane Flynn at 663-1273.

Registration forms may be downloaded from the KYL website at: www.kylbaseball.org Please bring 2 completed copies of the registration form.

Registration for students entering kindergarten in 2005 will be held at KES, today, January 27 from 9:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. and Friday, January 28 from 9;00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Children need not be present at the time of registration. If you are not able to come either of the two days, please call the KES office at 663-1121.

To be eligible for Fall 2005 entry, children must reach their fifth birthday by December 31, 2005. A birth certificate must be presented before the student starts school. Please bring it at the time of registration, if possible. Parent orientation and school visitation programs are held in the Spring.

The first Killingworth Library Book Sale of 2005 will take place on Saturday, February 19 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. If you would like to volunteer a couple of hours, please call the Library at 663-2000. Volunteers are needed to set up Friday evening, collect money during the day Saturday, or clean up Saturday afternoon.

The Board of Selectmen, voted Monday, to appoint a Charter Revision Committee to study the Town Charter, last revised in 1997, and facilitate any needed changes. The Selectmen ask that anyone interested in serving on this committee, contact the First Selectman's office at twn.killingworth@snet.net or 663-1765.

Selectman Louis Annino, Sr, said there was a "whole myriad of things to look at" including whether the Town Clerk and Tax Collector positions should remain elected offices or be changed to Board of Selectmen's appointments, and if the First Selectman should have a four-year, instead of a two-year, term in office. Annino said the charter was long overdue for an in-depth review. Town Clerk, Susan Adinolfo, who served on the 1997 revision committee, said she took exception to Annino's remarks. She said the charter was reviewed "line by line; punctuation mark by punctuation mark". She said she fought then to keep the Town Clerk and Tax Collector positions elected offices and would fight the change again, if proposed.

The previous committee began work on the revisions in September 1996. Committee members included: Chairperson, Debra Griswold, Jack Kneale, Charles Lynskey, Amanda Royce-Hale, Peter Melien, Sue Cousineau and Adinolfo. The committee invited all Town boards and commissions to present revisions, and held three public hearings to get feedback and suggestions. The committee met 11 times between Sept. 1996 and May 1997 when they presented the final revisions to the Board of Selectmen. The revisions were voted on, and passed, as a ballot question in the general election that November. The selectmen in 1997 were: First Selectman W. David LeVasseur, Annino and David Denvir.

Some of the revisions at that time were clarifications in language, such as a more defined supervisory role for the First Selectman, and that any reference in the charter to the masculine gender shall be construed to apply to both the masculine and feminine gender. Another significant change required vacancy appointments to serve until the end of the member's term rather than until the next election. Adinolfo praised the work of the 1997 Committee for its hard work and thoroughness. She said she was not interested in serving on the new committee. One item to put forward, she said, was a revision in the bidding procedure for Town office and agency purchases. The charter currently requires purchases over $5,000 be sent out to bid; Adinolfo recommended a $10,000 limit.

Adinolfo said one of the first actions of the committee once appointed, is to hold a public hearing to get the public's input. She said it should be scheduled within 30 days.

The HK Middle School Girls Basketball team won a huge, 68-39, victory over neighboring rival Eliot Middle School of Clinton Tuesday afternoon at HK. Both teams were undefeated going into the match-up, but the Cougars dominated from the tip-off. Great shot-making, passing and rebounding made the game for HK. The team is now 8-0 for the season.

Shelby VanHuysen was the high scorer with 19 points, including two 3-pointers. Erin Moriarty had 13 blocks and 9 points. The rest of the HK team spread the points with Danielle Machold at 12; Kim Peterson with 8; Allie Rand with 6; Maura Calamari and Deanna Loso with 4 each; and Stephanne Frye with 2. The JV was also victorious with a 20-12 victory. The Cougars play again on Friday at Hale-Ray.

Resident Tim Withington discusses why "Old Town Killingworth Style Development" may not necessarily be a good thing. Read his letter here.

The HK High School Boys Basketball team defeated Valley Regional last night, 67-51. The Cougars' Ryan Murray battled with Valley's Jesse Freundlich all night but the depth of the HK scoring put the home team over the top. Murray led HK with 23 points followed by Tyler Riordan with 13 and Anthony Andeen with 9. Freundlich led all scorers with 24. The Cougars are 9-2, and visit North Branford on Thursday.

The Clinton Recorder reported that Walter Adametz, who owns land adjacent to the proposed ball field site on Bethke Road, says the parcel is unsuitable as a recreation site because of the likelihood of sinkholes. His uncle, Jere Adametz, former owner of the property, and Killingworth Land Conservation Trust President Bruce Dodson say the parcel should be fine.

Eric Auer presented the plan to build ball fields on the Land Trust's Bethke property and the town-owned Bosco property at the Jan. 10 Board of Selectmen's meeting. He will present more details on the plan at the Feb. 3 Recreation Fields Committee meeting.

The Regional School District 17 Board of Education has scheduled a Public Input Session for the purpose of soliciting what residents of Haddam and Killingworth believe should be considered as they develop their 2005-2006 budget proposal. This session will be held on Monday, January 31, 2005 beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Lower Media Center of Haddam-Killingworth High School. This meeting was rescheduled from Jan. 19. For more information please contact Gary Mala, Superintendent of Schools or Gary Shettle, Director of Finance & Operations Regional School District 17 Building Committee at 345-4534.

Free, confidential income tax assistance is available in Killingworth and other shoreline communities. Trained volunteers will help persons age 60 and older in preparing their federal and state returns. Volunteers will be at St. Lawrence Church on alternate Tuesdays, 2/8, 2/22, 3/8, 3/22, and 4/5 from 9 am until noon. Note: This year the program will use the meeting rooms of the church building, not the parish hall. For more information or an appointment, call 388-1611.

When you come to your appointment, please bring all your earnings records and year-end tax statements as well as a copy of last year's return. Don't worry if you think you might not have all the forms you might need - the volunteers will have the necessary forms available. There is also additional help and information on the AARP Tax-Aide website.

Four students from Haddam-Killingworth High School participated in the Southern Region High School Music Festival on January 14-15 at Maloney High School in Meriden. Liz Himmelman (2005), Amy Lavorgna (2005) and Ben Baxley (2006) performed in the chorus. Alyson D'Amato (2008) performed in the orchestra. The students were chosen to participate in this festival by audition in November.

Music students from approximately 30 high schools in the southern region of Connecticut rehearsed for two days, culminating in a public concert in the Maloney High School auditorium. Music teachers Tim D'Amato and Marcy Webster accompanied the students to the festival, which is an annual event sponsored by the Connecticut Music Educators Association.

Liz, Amy, Ben and Alyson will now move on to audition for the Connecticut All-State Music Festival.

Killingworth Cub Scout Pack 18 held its annual Pinewood Derby Friday at the Elementary School. Starting with a block of wood, the cub scouts designed and constructed cars then raced them in heats to find the fastest. Cub Scouts range in grade from K-5. Boys interested in joining the scouts should contact the Cub Master at shawnsodergren@comcast.net or 663-3307. photos by M. Irwin

Venetian Stories
by Jane Turner Rylands
ISBN: 0375422323

These elegant short stories of modern day Venice each focus on a different character living within the city, such as a gondolier, an architect, a contessa, the mayor, and a mason. Characters overlap from one story to the next, creating a loosely interwoven tale of a few of the city's inhabitants. Jane Turner Rylands knows the inner workings of Venice well, and clearly depicts modern life within an old city steeped in traditions.

In the opening story, a rather unstable postman goes to his secret hideout at mid-day to tamper with the mail he is carrying. A few of the letters he opens, reads, and then burns - in some cases altering the fate of the intended recipient. In another story, the mason finds "forgotten" windows and doors inside a house his workers are renovating, and in a hidden compartment in a door discovers a string object the he is convinced has the power to either curse or bless him. In the story of the architect, his future path is revealed late one night as he sits in his mother's house listening to conversations at the vaporetto stop just outside.

Venetian Stories is an intriguing collection that is hard to stop reading once you have entered the world created by the author. If you enjoy Jane Turner Rylands' Venetian Stories, you'll be glad to know that a second volume, entitled Across the Bridge of Sighs: More Venetian Stories, will be published in December of 2005.

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