The Haddam-Killingworth High School teacher arrested for drug possession has been suspended from his teaching position. According to the Hartford Courant, William Wilkin, 39, was a teacher for seven years at HK High School. He was charged Thursday with cultivating marijuana, possessing more than 4 ounces, possessing drug paraphernalia and risk of injury to a minor, police said. The last charge stems from the presence in the home of his 5-year-old son.

Superintendent of Schools, Gary Mala, said Wilkin has been placed on administrative leave pending completion of the district's investigation.

•Monday, March 21:
8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. Youth and Family Services
10:00 a.m. & 9:00 p.m. HKHS HKMS Winter Choral Concert
•Tuesday, March 22:
8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. Board Of Education Meeting Taped 3/15/05
10:00 a.m. & 9:00 p.m. TBA
•Wednesday, March 23:
8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. Burr 6th grade Concert Live
10:00 a.m. & 9:00 p.m. Volleyball Game HKHS vs. Hale Ray
•Thursday, March 24:
8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. Youth and Family Services Community Night
10:00 a.m.& 9:00 p.m. HKMS Class night
•Friday, March 25:
8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. HK Morning Mix Segments
10:00 a.m. & 9:00 p.m. HKHS Lip sync 2005
•Saturday, March 26:
8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. HK Morning Mix Segments
10:00 a.m. & 9:00 p.m. HKHS Lip sync 2005
•Saturday, March 27:
8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. HK Morning Mix Segments
10:00 a.m. & 9:00 p.m. HKHS Lip sync 2005
information provided by HKTV

According to WTNH.com, William Wilkin a 39-year-old History teacher at Haddam-Killingworth High School has been arrested for drug possession.

The report says Wilkin was growing marijuana at his home in Clinton and faces a number of charges including risk of injury to a minor.

The Lions Club Spring Egg Hunt planned for tomorrow has been postponed until Saturday, March 26 at 11:00 a.m. due to the threat of more snow. It will be held as planned at the KES rear field.

The Congregational Church in Killingworth will hold Palm Sunday services, March 20 at 8:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.; Maudy Thursday services, March 24 at 7:30 p.m.; Good Friday services, March 25 at 12 Noon. The sanctuary will remain open for private prayer and meditation.

Annual Community Good Friday Observance
Experience the last hours of Jesus' earthly life through readings and role-play. Join with others in the towns of Haddam/Higganum and Killingworth on a 2 hour observance taking place in six successive locations beginning at noon on Friday, March 25.
First Congregational Church of Haddam, and concluding at the Congregational Church in Killingworth.
Easter services, March 27
6:00 a.m. Sunrise Service in Outdoor Chapel - weather permitting
8:30 a.m. Early service of Word and Communion
10:00 a.m. Service of Word and Communion

For more information call the church at 663-1789

An Open Space Planning Meeting, sponsored by the NEMO program of the University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension System, is scheduled for Monday, March 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the all-purpose room at Killingworth Elementary School. Killingworth is participating in NEMO's Municipal Initiative, a series of educational programs on land use planning and implementation. This meeting was originally scheduled for Feb. 21.

The meeting will provide instruction on how to coordinate a Town Open Space Plan, which will guide Town open space priorities and be included in the next revision of our Town Plan of Conservation and Development. Members of Killingworth's land use commissions will be present, and all town residents are welcome and encouraged to attend.

NEMO stands for Non-point Source Education for Municipal Officials. Killingworth was selected for the Municipal Initiative last summer, and has participated in four educational programs to date. These include Linking Land Use To Water Quality; Reducing Runoff; Conducting a Community Resources Inventory, and Fees In Lieu of Open Space.

The Municipal Initiative is being coordinated by the Board of Selectmen and the Planning and Zoning, Inland Wetlands and Conservation Commissions. The educational programs are being provided by NEMO staff free of charge, in return for the Town's promise to utilize this information in new planning and regulatory documents and policies.

Leading the Open Space Planning meeting will be Jim Gibbons, a Land Use and Natural Resource Program Coordinator with the University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension System. Mr. Gibbons is a professional land use planner who has been on the University of Connecticut faculty for the past 28 years. Gibbons served on the Durham Planning and Zoning Commission for 14 years. In 1996 he was asked by Gov. Lowell Weicker to serve on the Connecticut Greenways Committee. He has also served on a number of state advisory boards dealing with open space and natural resource protection.

For further information on the meeting, please contact Conservation Commission Chairman David Gumbart at 663-2425.

Higher Ground, an internationally known men's vocal group from Nashville whose focus intensely accentuates praise & worship, will perform at Living Rock Church on March 20 at both 10 a.m. & 7 p.m. All are welcome & there is no charge for admission. Living Rock Church is located at 138 Route 81 in Killingworth. For more information please call 663-2069 or www.living-rock.org.

The HK High School Boys Basketball season came to an abrupt end last night with a decisive 37-60 loss at the hands of the No. 1 seed Old Saybrook in the Div. IV quarterfinal game of the CIAC State Tournament. Old Saybrook will take on Hyde Leadership in the semifinals on Thursday. Read all about the game in today's Middletown Press.

I have been looking forward to telling you about the legislative process in Hartford. The legislative session is scheduled to end this year on June 8. We are half way through the session, and yet we have only been in our chamber to pass one non-controversial bill. Obviously, everything is going to be loaded up toward the end of the session, resulting in a rush which may give insufficient time for analysis of the bills, consultation with constituents about those bills, and deliberation generally.

The Judiciary Committee, of which I am a member, has taken up two major issues. The first is civil unions among people of the same sex. I voted in committee for that bill because of my belief that all couples whose relationships are based upon love and commitment, heterosexual or same sex, should have the same legal rights, for example, to visit each other in the hospital, to inherit from each other without estate taxes, to file joint tax returns and to obtain health insurance coverage. The civil union bill passed with both Democratic and Republican support, and Governor Rell stated that she is not opposed to the concept.

The Judiciary Committee also took up the elimination of the death penalty in Connecticut with the maximum punishment to be life imprisonment without possibility of release. I voted for that bill which again had bipartisan support and was approved in committee by a vote of 25-13. The death penalty is imposed in our country by only a few southern states and in the rest of the world by a few countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq and North Korea. It has proven not to be a deterrent, costs our state about $2 million per death penalty inmate and takes about 20 years of legal proceedings, which is tortuous for the families of the victims. The fact that Michael Ross would prefer the death penalty over life imprisonment demonstrates that life imprisonment without possibility of release is often the more complete punishment.

Now, we will see how civil unions and the death penalty fare on the floor of the two chambers.
Senator Edward Meyer, 12th District

According to a report in the Hartford Courant, Essie Spencer, Director of Haddam & Killingworth Youth and Family Services, is no longer employed by the agency. It was not disclosed whether she was fired or stepped down. Spencer had been placed on administrative leave by agency officials, who refused to disclose why she was being disciplined.

Cub Scouts Pack 18 held its Annual Blue and Gold Banquet on Sunday that included the Buddy Bake-Off, a slideshow and entertainment by Piare the Magician. This marks the 75th year of Scouting. For the bake-off, the boys and a parent collaborated on a cake with a scouting theme. The Judges were Rev. Edward Cornell, KillingworthToday Publisher Peg Scofield and long-time scouting supporter John Sodergren. The Judges Award went to Gavin Figurelli; Special Merit to Cody Connell; Best Theme to Mitchell Raudat; Best Name to Jarrett Gallagher and Most Original to John Insall. The winners in each age-group were: Figurelli for Tiger Cubs; Garrett Mazziotta for Wolf; Raudat for Weeblos I and R.J Kasper for Weeblos II. The Bear winner was titled 'Spring' but was not labeled.

The Killingworth Lions Club will once again sponsor a "Spring Egg Hunt" for the children of Killingworth. The event begins promptly at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 19 at the KES rear field. Rain date is the same time on March 26. All children, Pre-K up to and including the 4th Grade, are welcome. Please bring a bag or a basket to collect all the eggs!

Additional prizes will be awarded to some lucky children. A special appearance by the "Easter Bunny" has also been arranged.

The KES-PTO sponsored a cultural arts presentation of Motoko: Folktales from Asia, yesterday afternoon at the elementary school. Motoko has a charming sense of humor and tells delightful, funny and interesting stories about her family, Asian legends and customs, and Japanese folktales. She was dressed in a traditional Japanese jacket called a "haori" and Tatami sandals. Her program also included folktales from China, Korea and Southeast Asia, songs and mime. Her performance credits include festivals all along the East Coast, an educational video by Harcourt and an appearance on "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood".

Haddam-Killingworth High School students, Ben Baxley and Alyson D'Amato, have been selected to participate in the 2005 Connecticut All-State Music Festival on March 17-19.

Ben, a junior, will sing tenor in the All-State Chorus under the direction of Kevin Fenton from Florida State University. Ben has been involved in the high school music program for three years, singing in the concert chorus and chamber choir. He is the son of Mr. & Mrs. Richard Baxley.

Alyson, a freshman, will play oboe in the All-State Orchestra directed by Anthony Maiello from George Mason University. Alyson has been involved in the high school music program for one year, playing oboe in the concert band and pit orchestra for the musical theater production. She is the daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Timothy D'Amato.

The ensembles will rehearse in Stamford for three days culminating with two All-State concerts on Saturday at the Westin Hotel. The students were selected by two auditions in November and February at which over 3,000 student musicians from the state competed to be part of the festival.

The Pay As You Throw Committee submitted this letter dated March 12 to the Board of Selectmen. The Committee said it was important information to residents and asked that it be published here. In response, the Selectmen have set an April 14 meeting date to properly discuss the report.

Killingworth's Pay As You Throw Committee (PAYT) has spent two years and hundreds of volunteer hours of research, study and meetings looking at ways to address problems, concerns and challenges related to the town Transfer Station. We, the members of PAYT, would now like to publicly express our extreme disappointment and dissatisfaction with the Board of Selectmen, their disregard and apparent lack of interest in our efforts, recommendations, and our overall final Transfer Station report.

After a half dozen requests over three months to discuss our report, aside from Selectman Lou Annino's meeting with us, there has been no response from the board and the First Selectman. Each request to the First Selectman has been met with silence. Why does the First Selectman seek volunteers to undertake the needs of a growing town with limited government resources, only to repeatedly ignore the volunteers' efforts as if their time doesn't count and their recommendations don't matter. Some might call the lack of response short-sighted, others might call it inconsiderate, and still others might call it rude. We come with no hidden agenda. Our only goal is to foster efficient use of town resources and effective use of the taxpayer's dollars.

With the Transfer Station and town waste disposal as one of the largest expenses of Killingworth's town operations, this lack of response and apparent disinterest from the Board results in an unnecessary use of tax dollars as the Board of Selectmen allows Transfer Station abuse, misuse, and loose management to be subsidized with taxpayer money. By ignoring our final PAYT report and its numerous recommendations for improved operations and cost-efficiency, we believe the Board of Selectmen continues insensitivity to immediate Transfer Station needs.

Whether the Board agrees or disagrees with the PAYT's findings and recommendations, don't we deserve a response as volunteers and taxpayers? We can only wonder if this inaction is an example of how our chief elected officials are answering to the taxpayers and voters to whom they are supposed to be accountable. We believe Killingworth deserves better and maybe the first step in that direction, at least on this Transfer Station issue, is a prompt response from the Board of Selectmen as to when it will join the PAYT in a meaningful discussion that can only benefit the town, its residents, and yes, maybe even the Board of Selectmen itself.

We look forward to your timely response. Thank you.
Killingworth PAYT Committee members:
Steve Hollander, Jeff Reisman, Amy Roberts-Perry, Peter Venuti.

The HK High School Boys CIAC quarterfinal game against Old Saybrook will be played at Waterford High School at 7:00 p.m. tonight.
Direction to Waterford High School:
Take I-95 North to Exit 75, Route 1, (Boston Post Rd) Continue on Rt. 1, at the fifth light turn right onto Avery La. (Silva's Package Store on the corner), continue to the next traffic light (Rt. 156/Rope Ferry Rd.). Take a left at the light, Waterford HS is 4/10's of a mile on the right.

The Killingworth Library Association invites the citizens of our town to a Tea on Saturday, March 19 from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. at the Library. Please join us in wishing Ginny Chapman the best of adventures on her retirement and in welcoming Tammy Eustis to her new job as Head Librarian. Be a part of an afternoon of well wishing and reminiscing!

A Killingworth resident looks for signs of Spring after Saturday's snowfall. Sunday, March 20 is the first day of spring but you would hardly know it by the amount of winter still apparent.

The Killingworth Youth League will hold tryouts for boys minor and major level teams on Friday, March 18 at the KES gym.

Tryouts are open to all 8-year-old boys wanting to play at the Minor level and all 10-year-old boys wanting to play at the major level.

Tryouts for 8-year-olds will be held from 6-6:30 p.m.; and tryouts for 10-year-olds will be held from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.

For more information, please call Bill Silas at 663-3996. More information about the Killingworth Youth League can be found on the web at www.kylbaseball.org Please check this site for upcoming news about player clinics.

Exploring Stone Walls: A Field Guide to Stone Walls
by Robert Thorson
ISBN: 0802777082

Thorson begins his look at stone walls in New England by first examining the stones themselves, discussing the types of rock found in the region, and how weather and plant life of this area affect stone over time. He also looks at the size and natural shapes of stones, from quarried slabs of granite in Connecticut to large round boulders in Arcadia, Maine.

Well-illustrated with black and white photos, this book provides interesting examples of many styles of stone structures including sea walls, jetties, barn ramps, railroad bridges, and mailboxes, as well as the classic field walls of New England. The final section of the book is a guide to "walls to visit" arranged geographically by state for Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York.

Robert M. Thorson was awarded the 2003 Connecticut Book Award for the related title Stone by Stone: The Magnificent History in New England's Stone Walls. Thorson is a geology professor at the University of Connecticut.

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

The HK High School Boys Basketball team continue its run with a, 74-62, win over Seymour last night in the second round of the Division IV CIAC Tournament. Despite suffering from a stomach virus, senior Ryan Murray came through as he has all season with an outstanding performance. Last night he put up 22 points and pulled down 20 rebounds. Brett Zanardi also had a strong outing putting up 19 points including three from beyond the arc. Perry Pratt scored 13 points and Anthony Andeen scored 10 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. The Cougars will face top-seed Old Saybrook on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. at a neutral site to be determined. Read more about the game in today's New Haven Register.