The Congregational Church in Killingworth will offer a 6:00 a.m. Sunrise Service in the Outdoor Chapel - weather permitting; 8:30 a.m. Early Service of Communion and 10:00 a.m. Service of Word and Communion. Child Care will be provided. For more information please contact the church at 663-1789.

Agenda
Meeting of the Board of Selectmen
Monday, March 28, 2005 at 7:00 p.m.
Town Office Building

1. Call to Order
2. Approval of Minutes of Meeting held March 14, 2005 and Special Meeting of March 17, 2005
3. Visitors: Ruth Patrick, Rich Cabral, Linda Remington, The Guardian
4. Tax Abatements & Refunds
5. Appointments/Vacancies:
    1. Killingworth Library Assoc. (vac)
    2. IWWC & WPCA (vac)
    3. Health & Safety Comm./ Helen Mahoney
6. Old Business:
    1. Update/Employee Pension Meeting
    2. Charter Revision
    3. Pension Presentations
7. New Business:
    1. Employee Pension: Presenter/Linda Remington, Eagle Strategies
8. DLD Announcements
9. Selectmen's Concerns
10. Executive Session: Land Negotiations, KMEA Negotiations
11. Adjournment
Agenda as of 2:40 p.m., Wednesday, 3/23/05
Printable version

The Killingworth Lions Club Spring Egg Hunt previously reported as postponed has been put back on schedule for tomorrow, March 26. Organizers have decided to have a chocolate egg give-away from 10:00 a.m-12:00 noon with the opportunity to take pictures with the Easter Bunny! Location will be the front parking lot of KES.

The New Haven Register reported that 44-year-old logger Mark Perkins, who was killed Wednesday afternoon, was very safety-conscious and was wearing his safety gear, including a helmet while harvesting timber in Cockaponset State Forest. The State Medical Examiner's office determined the cause of death was blunt trauma to the head and chest. State Police reported he was struck by a tree and his death was accidental.

In an effort to improve students' test scores, Region 17 Schools have initiated practice exams for ninth-graders and the CAPT Academy, a Saturday program to help students with math, science, interdisciplinary and response to writing. There is also an after school program at the middle school and programs in the works for the three elementary schools. Read more about these initiatives in today's Middletown Press.

Kayaking: Workshops for the novice as well experienced kayaker.
I: Rolling and Rescue workshop is designed for the non-rolling kayaker as well as those who need to sharpen their technique. The rescue part of the workshop will teach you how to react with confidence in adverse conditions. This session will be held on Monday and Thursday, March 21 and 24.
II: Quick Start: brush off the cobwebs, refresh your strokes and get ready for the season. This session will be held on Monday and Thursday, April 4 & 7.
III: Intro. To Kayaking: learn the basic paddling strokes and enjoy an outside Saturday paddle. This class will meet on Thursday, April 28 and Saturday, April 30. Classes will be held from 7:30 -9:30 pm at the HK High School Room C-110 and pool.

Hatha Yoga: Session II will be on Tuesdays, March 22 - May 3 (No class 4/19). Session IV will be held from March 23 - May 4 (No class 4/20).

Hip Hop Dancing: Class will be offered on Mondays, April 4 - June 6 (no 4/18) at the HK High School Cafeteria. Children in grades 1 - will meet from 4:00 - 5:00 pm and children in grades 4 - 8 will meet from 5:15 - 6:15 pm.

Intro to Fencing: Fencing will be held on Tuesdays, April 4 - June 6 (No 4/18) at Burr Elementary School from 7:30 - 9:00 pm.

Music Together: Class is for children ages newborn - 5 and will be held on Tuesdays, April 12 - June 21 (no 4/19). Participants can sign up for either 9:30 - 10:15 am or 10:30 - 11:15 am. Classes are held at the Haddam Youth Center.

Mad Scientists: The class will be held on Thursdays, April 7 - May 19 from 3:15 - 4:15 pm at the Haddam Elementary Library, Burr Elementary Library and the Killingworth Elementary School Library.

Chris Corkum's Baseball Clinic: Baseball Clinic for boys and girls ages 8 - 12 years old on Friday, April 22 from 9:00 - 12:00 p.m. at the HK High School Fieldhouse

Golf Classes: Classes held on Tuesdays. The dates are from April 5 - May 3. Class will be held from 5 - 6:15 pm at Haddam Meadows (HS Fieldhouse: rain location).
An Intermediate class for adults (ages 15 and up) is from 6:15 - 7:30 PM at Haddam Meadows (HS Fieldhouse: rain location).

Canine Obedience Classes: Basic Dog Obedience will be held on Thursdays, March 31 - May 19 from 5:30 - 6:30 pm and is for Dogs ages 5 months and up. Class will be held in the HK High School Parking Lot (near the Tennis Courts).

For information on fees or how to register, please call the HK Recreation Department at 345-8334 or visit www.hkrec.com.

Haddam-Killingworth Middle School Principal, Miriam Furey-Wagner, recently released the honor roll listing for the second marking period of the 2004-2005 school year. Middle School Honor Roll

As the Killingworth Democratic Town Committee seeks to broaden and engage its base, we send out this invitation for energized involvement. Anyone interested in being considered for Democratic endorsement to current or future town appointed volunteer positions or elected municipal positions is invited to attend one of our meetings.

You may also contact the Nominations Committee Chair: Ed Sipples at 663-2785; Michael Sanders at 663-1231 or Jamie Young at jamie.young@aya.yale.edu.

If you are a registered Democrat and interested in occasional employment working the polls at the November elections or future referendums, please contact the Democratic Registrar, Betty Dennis, at her home 663-0204 or office 663-4048.

In addition, the Killingworth Democratic Town Committee will hold its next monthly meeting on April 3 at 7:00 p.m. at the Killingworth Library. The meetings are usually scheduled the first Sunday night of each month. Democrats and Independents interested in participating in the Democratic Town Committee are invited to attend.

Breaking News: WFSB Channel 3 reported tonight that emergency personnel were called to Cockaponset State Forest this afternoon after a man, who was assumed to be logging in the area, was found off Fire Tower Road. The man was pronounced dead by EMS personnel.

Update(11:15 p.m.):The logger has been identified as 44-year-old Mark Perkins of Plantsville. The report said he was working alone in the forest at the time. He was reported missing when he did not check in with his family. Authorities believe he was working under contract to thin the trees in that area and a tree may have fallen the wrong way and killed him.

The Burr Spring Concert has been postponed until Monday, March 28 at 7:00 p.m. in the HK Auditorium.

Family, friends, classmates, and supporters turned out yesterday at the Copper Skillet Restaurant to raise money for KES fifth-grader Christopher Lewis. Lewis underwent liver transplant surgery a short time ago with an organ donation from his mother Karen at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City. The Copper Skillet offered to donate all of the day's funds to the Christopher Lewis Fund to help with his family's medical expenses.

According to his sister Cheri Green, Chris and Karen are both doing well. Chris has had a difficult time but Green said she expects him to be transferred to a rehabilitation facility in Connecticut soon. Green is an employee at the Copper Skillet. She said Chris is a regular at the restaurant, often helping out behind the scenes. Outside the restaurant, Lewis' classmates and their parents held a raffle to raise money and help publicize the family's need.

If you would like to donate, a fund has been set up with the help of the Living Rock Church at BankNorth. Checks should be made out to the Living Rock Church with a notation to the Lewis Fund. Checks may be sent to The Christopher Lewis Fund c/o BankNorth, P.O. Box 610, Killingworth, CT 06419.

The Arts Center at Killingworth will feature an evening of Jazz with headliner pianist Mike LeDonne and his trio at the Living Rock Church on Saturday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m. Jazz trumpeter Max Darché of Madison and bass player Vince Guarna and guitarist Tom Guarna of New York will kick off the evening. The show will be held in a café-style environment with food and beverages available. Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors; $15 for students, $10 for children under 12. To order tickets, please call (860) 663-5593.

Bridgeport native Mike LeDonne has performed with the Benny Goodman Sextet, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Ron Carter and Joshua Redman. LeDonne has played concerts and clubs around the world since 1981. He has recorded several CDs on Criss Cross Jazz and on Doubletime Records. His "OBout Time" was named "Record of the Year" by the Jazz Journal Critics Poll, and "Feeling of Jazz" chosen as one of the "Top Ten Records" of 1991 by the Jazz Times. LeDonne's tribute to Milt Jackson, "Bags Groove" received four stars in Downbeat magazine. He is the co-author of Jim Snidero's Jazz Conceptions for Piano and a faculty member of the Jazz Division of the Juilliard School of Music.

Accompanying LeDonne will be bassist Ben Wolfe and drummer Carl Allen. Wolfe, who toured with Harry Connick, Jr. for 8 years, has also performed with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. He has recorded with James Moody, Branford Marsalis, and Eric Reed. He has toured with Diana Krall and played on many of her recordings, including the Grammy Award winning CD, "When I Look In Your Eyes." Carl Allen has played and or recorded with many greats including Woody Shaw, Lena Horne, Dizzy Gillespie, Branford Marsalis, Kenny Burrell, Freddie Hubbard, and Herbie Hancock.

In 2002, Max Darché received the Connecticut Association of Schools Arts Award, and won the only award presented for Outstanding Trumpet Soloist at Lincoln Center's High School Jazz Band Competition. Vince Guarna currently leads a jazz trio in New York and recorded with Rodney Holmes of Santana on a soon to be released solo record. Tom Guarna, who toured extensively with Blood Sweat and Tears and recorded "Bloodlines" with David Clayton Thomas, is a member of the Rodney Holmes Band. Tom recently completed his first solo record "Get Together," to be released on Steeplechase Records.

The Killingworth Lions Club recently named long-time residents Florence and Robert Broach the 2004 Citizens of the Year at the club's Senior Dinner. According to the Clinton Recorder the Broaches are actively involved in the Killingworth Historical Society, the Conservation Land Trust, the Platt Nature Center, the Congregational Church and the Evergreen Garden Club. John McMahon praised the Broaches for the quality and energy of their volunteer work and said "over the past 30 years, [they] have made our town a better place to live and raise our families."

Haddam-Killingworth senior Ryan Murray has been named to the Connecticut High School Coaches' Association Class M All-State boys basketball team, and was chosen the Middletown Press 'Player of the Week' for last week's gutsy performances in state tournament play. He scored 59 points for the Cougars over the three games. Murray finishes his basketball career as the third leading scorer in Cougar history with over 1,100 points. Read what Coach Paul McCormick had to say in the Middletown Press. Read about the Cougars' final win against Seymour in the Pictorial Gazette, and the final game to eventual CIAC Class M Champion, Old Saybrook in the Middletown Press.

This week, Killingworth Democratic Town Committee and RSD 17 Building Committee member, Rick Berzon encourages residents to "get involved and voice your opinion". He says, "The divisiveness that the new intermediate/middle school generates within the community even now, subsequent to passage of the referendum authorizing its construction - continues to surprise me" . Read his complete remarks here.

The Killingworth Evergreen Garden Club cordially invites you to attend "The Managing and Controlling of Invasive Plant Species", at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 22 at the Congregational Church in Killingworth. The guest speaker for the evening is Dave Gumbart, a long time Killingworth resident and Assistant Director of Land Management for Natures Conservancy. Gumbart's presentation will cover an interesting array of topics; including how to keep invasive plants from taking over your yard as well as your natural habitat areas. He will also be touching upon the new planting legislation that not only affects nurseries, but also individual home owners as well. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the door. Ticket price $2.00. There will be a raffle as well as refreshments.

Transfer Station Hours
The Transfer Station will be closed on Thursday, March 24 because the Connecticut Resource Recovery Authority (where all Killingworth refuse must be transported) will be closed on Friday, March 25. This leaves Killingworth with no means to dispose of its garbage in advance of Saturday's regular dump hours. This closure is for Thursday, March 24 Only. In its place, the Transfer Station will be open on Wednesday, March 23 from 2:00-7:00 p.m.

A Starter Garden: The Guide for the Horticulturally Hapless
by Cheryl Merser
ISBN: 0060969334

Cheryl Merser has written a gardening book "for those who have a yard, but want a garden, and want one without having to master Latin, geometry, and calculus". Merser writes on practicality of both time and money spent in creating a beautiful garden.

The book's introductory section helps the aspiring gardener to assess his or her area, defines gardening terms, and describes essential gardening tools. A Starter Garden is further divided into sections on planning, planting, and tending the garden. The planning section takes into account the amount of light in the garden area, how to build and use walls in the garden, and how shrubs and bushes enhance the garden. The planting section focuses on parts of the planted border, with separate chapters on herbs and growing roses. The section on tending the garden looks at the annual rituals of gardening season by-season.

Merser also includes a helpful section entitled "Plants at a Glance" which lists more than 150 plants, with information on where best to plant them, and how to care for them.

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

Killingworth Library's Head Librarian, Ginny Chapman was honored with a reception on Saturday afternoon. The meeting room was crowded with residents wishing Ginny well on her retirement. She and her husband plan to travel across country this summer. Assistant Librarian Tammy Eustis has been promoted to Head Librarian and the new assistant is Lauren Davis. Please read the Library Board's Tribute to Chapman.