The HK High School Girls Basketball team defeated Morgan of Clinton, 46- 39, Friday night. Read all about the game in today's Middletown Press.

The HK Boys Swim team lost to Middletown, 99-71, in a duel meet Friday. The Blue Dragons of Middletown are undefeated in dual-meets this season. Read more about the meet in the Middletown Press.

To the Editor:
Years ago, the Open Space Committee targeted properties considered key to Killingworth and worth pursuing for purposes other than residential development. The Wettish property was one on the top of the list.

The State of CT DEP made an unsuccessful bid back then to buy it. Unbelievably, the property remained untouched and unsold for the next several years. Now we again have a chance to save and use this wonderful piece of land.

It not only provides an important greenway (a worthy goal in itself) because of its long, uninterrupted boundary with state land and forest; but also lends itself topographically to meeting the town's immediate need for grassy playing fields.

A second chance is a rare thing in this life and I encourage you to stand and be counted in favor of the purchase.

Sue Davenport
Former chair of the Open Space Committee

The Region 17 Board of Education Facilities and Transportation sub-committee met Thursday evening to discuss the busing needs and challenges of the new Intermediate/Middle School on Route 81. Sub-committee members Mark Almeida and Jo Ferjak reviewed the logistics of opening the new school with Director of Transportation Michael Zanelli, Director of Building and Grounds Michael Distefano, Superintendent Gary Mala, and Director of Finance and Operations Gary Shettle. The timing of the bus routes will have a direct effect on the opening and closing times of the five district schools.

The school's construction remains on schedule and Mala's plan is to pick up the 7th and 8th grade classes from the current middle school and drop them in-place at the new school in early January 2007. The 5th and 6th grade classes will follow in the Fall of 2007. The challenge is to set start and end times for the school day that can be synced with a bus schedule.

Zanelli said he is in the process of inputting the current bus routes into the new software, designed to help create the most efficient routes for the District buses. After those routes are in the system he can start to design the routes for the new school. Mala said the District would like to use its current bus drivers and buses to man the new school routes from January '07 through June of '07, thereby saving the cost of sub-contracting out the routes. Shettle said the District has requested bids for contracting out both a September start as well as a January start.

The problem is time and distance. If the same buses are used for high school and middle school students, the drop-off time must accommodate students dropped off at the middle school on the way to the high school from Killingworth routes and yet also accommodate buses that have already dropped off their Haddam high school passengers and continue to the middle school. Almeida said one of the biggest challenges is getting the buses out onto Route 81 after leaving the high school. Mala said he would bring it up with the State Police to see if during that timeframe the traffic light could be manned, but he was doubtful they would accommodate the request.

Mala said he has to consider adjusting all the start times of the three school levels just for the January-June 2007 timeframe. Almeida said he would also like to see the cost of sub-contracting out the route from the new school's opening day, so as not to disrupt the high school and elementary school start times. Once the extent of the routes are determined and the bids come in for the sub-contracting of the routes, the District will have a better idea of how to proceed.

The Board of Selectmen's Meeting for Monday January 23 has been cancelled

Agenda
Special Meeting of the Board of Selectmen
Saturday, January 21, 2006 at 2:30 p.m.
Town Office Building

1. Call to Order
2. Approval of Minutes of Meeting held January 9, 2006
and tabled minutes of Dec. 12 and 19, 2005.
3. Visitors: Ruth Patrick, Daryl Smith
4. Tax Abatements & Refunds
5. Appointments/Vacancies:
    1. Timothy N. Elliott, Mark S. Clifton, Derrick Schull - Land Use
    2. Open Space/D. Gumbart, S. Davenport, C. Martens, T. Berman
    3. Ingrid Balck-O'Donnell - Public Health
    4. Justice of the Peace Vacancies (2)
6. Old Business:
    1. Reservoir Road Bridge
7. New Business:
    1. Town Counsel Appointment/Michael Wells
    2. Set BOS Budget Meeting Dates
    3. Wettish Property - To consider, discuss and vote upon a resolution to set the time of the referendum to be held February 15, 2006 to begin at 6:00 a.m. and end at 8:00 p.m.
    4. Discussion of Time Clocks
    5. Helping Hands (capacity)
    6. Hazardous Waste
    7. Testing Wells
8. Authorization of Town Meeting for the following;
    3) The re-appropriation of $50,000 for Region District #17 Building Fees
    4) Authorize the overexpenditures in excess of $10,000; Town Counsel, Town Engr, Med. Ins., Snow Rem., Tax Refunds, Misc. Grants=$281,777
    3) to authorize the appropriation of $30,784 from the General Fund Undesignated Fund Balance to fund overexpenditures of less that $10,000.
9. MK Announcements:
10. Selectmen's Concerns
11. Adjournment
Agenda as of 3:45 p.m., Wednesday, 1/18/06
Printable version

The Haddam-Killingworth Middle School Baseball Coaches will hold a baseball clinic on Tuesday, February 21 at the high school fieldhouse.

Session I is for ages 5-9 and will run from 9:00-11:30 a.m.

Session II is for ages 10-15 and will run from 12:30-3:30 p.m.

The cost of the clinic is $25.00 with all proceeds going to the HK Baseball Team.

The clinic will cover throwing, fielding, hitting, catching and base running. Please register early: the clinic will fill up quickly. First come, first serve. To request a registration form, call Kirk Morgan at 860-663-3975 or 860-663-3343 or email him at npcpartsrollers@msn.com

First Selectman Marty Klein informed the Board of Selectmen at the last meeting that the sludge lagoons, used to dispose of residential waste pumped by septic tank servicing companies, are over-filled and can no longer remain open. Klein said the lagoons have a capacity of 350,000 gallons and are currently at 500,000 gallons. He said by keeping them open, the Town risks being fined by the State, and having the lagoons shut down.

The Town must look into alternatives for residential waste disposal as well as the costly environmental process of closing the lagoons. The State no longer allows sludge lagoons to be developed for waste disposal but has allowed existing lagoons to remain open. According to 05-06 budget, the Town allots $55,980.00 to lease and maintain the lagoons. Without the lagoons, Killingworth residents will have to pay for the waste to be hauled to treatment plants in Deep River or Cromwell. Selectman Fred Dudek said the Town will have to look into the increased cost of pumping. Klein said he plans to check the equipment and environmental records of the pumping companies and post a list of recommended haulers.

According to the Hartford Courant, The Board of Selectmen will discuss the matter Saturday, at a special meeting, with members of the water pollution control authority and the town's consulting engineers, Nathan Jacobson Associates of Chester.

The Killingworth Nursery School will have registration for the 2006 - 2007 school year. Registration for the currently enrolled students will be on January 30 and 31 from 9:00 a.m. - to 10:30 a.m. at the school. Alumni registration will be February 1 and 2 at the same times.

On February 4, there will be an open house at the nursery school from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. with registration opened to everyone.

The school has classes for 3-year-olds on Tuesday and Thursdays from 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. or 12:15 - 3:00 p.m. The 4-year-olds met on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at same times.

Terrific Tots class for two-year-olds with a caregiver will be held on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday mornings from 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. for a 10 week session.

The Killingworth Nursery School is a unaffiliated, nonprofit cooperative nursery school, housed downstairs in the Killingworth Congregational Church, 273 Route 81, Killingworth, CT. For more information please call the Killingworth Nursery School at 663-2950.

The HK Middle School Girls Basketball team defeated Westbrook, 55-16, yesterday on the road, improving their record to 5-1. Maura Calamari was the high scorer with 15 points; followed by Danielle Machold with 10 points; and MaryKate Murray with 8 points. Emily Anderson had 6 points; Carley Mooney had 4 points; Meryl Gerz and Sam Camoli had 3 points each; and Cara Webber, Meghan Wright and Lauren Muse had 2 points apiece. The next game is Monday, January 23 at John Winthrop Middle School.

The Reg. 17 School District watched its pennies this year, made some prudent decisions and all told, implemented more than $248,000 in cost-saving measures. According to today's New Haven Register, $125,000 of that savings will be used to cover the shortage in funds budgeted in this fiscal year for heating oil.

The HK High school Girls Basketball team defeated Valley Regional last night, 51-47. The Cougars led at the half, 21-17 and maintained the small lead throughout the final half. HK was led by Megan Murray and Michelle Fillion with 13 each. Shelby VanHuysen, who had a strong outing the Junior Varsity win earlier in the evening, tallied 8 points in the varsity game. The Cougars take on undefeated Morgan on Friday at 7:00 p.m. at the HK Fieldhouse. pictured: (l-r, t-b) Ashley Smith, Megan Murray, Jenna Loos and Ali Rand.

State Sen. Edward Meyer and state Reps. Deborah W. Heinrich (D-Madison) and Patricia M. Widlitz (D-Guilford) recently unveiled a legislative proposal that they will introduce next month in the Environment Committee to reduce or eliminate the state excise and petroleum gross earnings taxes on environmentally friendly biodiesel fuel, as well as providing state help for the local production of such fuels.

"It's time for Connecticut to join the 21st century and start encouraging the use of environmentally friendly biodiesel fuel while cutting taxes and helping state businesses at the same time," said Sen. Meyer, who is vice-chairman of the Environment Committee. "There are 16 states in America that currently offer such tax and investment incentives for biodiesel use and production. If Arkansas and Iowa can do it, so can the wealthiest state in the nation."

"It is critical that we as a state support an energy policy that moves us away from dependence on other countries and finite fossil fuels and moves us toward renewable, environmentally responsible energy sources that we can supply right here," Rep. Heinrich said. "Biodiesel offers us these benefits. Plus, this legislation will help Connecticut support a new industry in the region which translates to new jobs. It is a win-win all around." Read more

"I Must Go Down to the Seas Again"
Many of us learned early the opening lines of John Masefield's famous maritime poem, "I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky. And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by..." In the spirit of that enchantment, the Killingworth Library is presenting an exciting four part series of book discussions titled "Voyages: Stories of Men, Women and the Sea."

The series is sponsored by the Connecticut Humanities Council and is free to the public. Discussions will be led by Mary Bercaw Edwards of the Mystic Seaport Museum. Edwards is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Connecticut, and a published author on Herman Melville. She is also a teacher for the Maritime Studies Program at Avery Point.

"Voyages: Stories of Men, Women and the Sea" will explore the attraction the sea has had for so many men and women throughout history. It will also look at the terrifying power the ocean can exert over those who do go down to the seas. Participants will read and discuss: the story of a father and son journeying around Cape Horn, the ultimate test for any sailor; two tales of fishing the North Atlantic, a most dangerous occupation; and the story of the whaling ship, Essex, rammed by a whale in 1820, and the subsequent battle for survival of eight crewmen.

Multiple copies of the books are available at the Killingworth library. Each discussion will be held on a Thursday evening from 7:30 to 9:00. The dates and book titles are as follows:

February 2, 2006 (snow date: Feb 9) My Old Man and the Sea by David and Daniel Hays
February 16, 2006(snow date, Feb. 23) The Perfect Storm, by Sebastian Junger
March 2, 2006, The Hungry Ocean by Linda Greenlaw
March 16, 2006, In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

You may register for the series in person or by calling the library at 663-2000.

HK High School 9th-grade science teacher Heather Ferrer assigned her students a 'Big Book Project' last fall to help the students learn and share topics in the science curriculum. The students' final assignment with the project was to present the science books they created to first through fifth graders in the three elementary schools. On Friday, the group of 22 students traveled to Killingworth Elementary and each made a presentation to several classes.
pictured: (top-bot) Lindsey Griswold and Colleen Phelan; Nicole Dansereau and Emma Cizek; Jeff Roberge and Jason Jansak.

• Monday, January 16:
8:00 a.m. HKTV Fall Magazine Show
10:00 a.m. Boys Basketball: HK v. Hyde (1/12)
7:00 p.m. Special Olympics Promo
9:00 p.m. Shoreline Idol Auditions
• Tuesday, January 17:
8:00 a.m. Special Olympics Promo
10:00 a.m. Shoreline Idol Auditions
7:00 p.m. Special Olympics Promo
9:00 p.m. Shoreline Idol Auditions
•Wednesday, January 18:
8:00 a.m. Board of Ed Meeting (1/10)
10:00 a.m. Shoreline Idol Auditions
7:00 p.m. Board of Ed Meeting (1/10)
9:00 p.m. Shoreline Idol Auditions
•Thursday, January 19:
8:00 a.m. Board of Ed Meeting (1/10)
10:00 a.m. Shoreline Idol Auditions
7:00 p.m. Board of Ed Meeting (1/10)
9:00 p.m. Girls Basketball: HK v. Morgan (1/18)
•Friday, January 20:
8:00 a.m. Board of Ed Meeting (1/10)
10:00 a.m. Girls Basketball: HK v. Morgan (1/18)
7:00 p.m. Wake Up HK! Morning News (12/10 - 1/10)
9:00 p.m. Girls Basketball: HK v. Morgan (1/18)
•Saturday, January 21:
8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. Wake Up HK! Morning News (12/10 - 1/10)
10:00 a.m. & 9:00 p.m. Girls Basketball: HK v. Morgan (1/18)
•Sunday, January 22:
8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. Wake Up HK! Morning News (12/10 - 1/10)
10:00 a.m. & 9:00 p.m. Girls Basketball: HK v. Morgan (1/18)
information provided by HKTV