Property transfers as reported by the Killingworth Town Clerk's office for the period January 1- January 31, 2006:
• Michael C. Allegra & Mary T. Allegra to Daniel D. O'Brien & Dana E. Townsend, Lot# 5 Indian Springs & parcel for $520,000.00.
• Hammonasset River Estates LLC to Andrew Pighills & Michelle Becker, Lot#1 Hammonasset River Est.for $285,000.00.
• Richard A. Berzon & Irene M. Vangsness to Alan Abrahamsson & Fay Abrahamsson, Lot#31 Cow Pen Hill for $490,000.00.
• Billie A. Brown Exec.; Margaret A. Herdman to Melanie Abbott, 1968 Mobile Home 9 Beechwood for $30,000.00.
• Mathew D. Falvey to A Forrest King, Fire Tower Road for $1,041.67.
• Donald J. Falvey to A Forrest King, Parcel B Fire Tower Road for $2,083.33.
• Edward G. Kronberg to Ronald M. Amato & Rosalie T. Amato, Route 81 for $250,000.00.
• Barbara Lingane to Peter Cohen, Lot#12 Bonnie Brook Acres for $255,000.00.
• William E. Mitchell & Kathleen A. Mitchell to Carlos R. Zapata, Lot #19 Brook Wood Est. for $1,200.00.
• Deer Lake II LLC to Charles C. Caldwell & Anne C. Caldwell, Lot#63 Ridges at Deer Lake for $168,000.00.
For previous property reports, click here.

Killingworth Youth League will conduct its final registration this morning, from 9:30 - 1:00 p.m. at Killingworth Elementary School, for spring softball, baseball and T-ball. Registration forms are available from the KYL website. Please bring 2 completed copies of the form to registration.

Former Madison Boy Scout troop leader and retired FBI agent, William Hutton of Killingworth has been indicted on charges he engaged in sexual activity with one of his Scouts in the mid-1990s according to the New Haven Register. According to U.S. Attorney Kevin J. O,Connor, Hutton is accused of traveling from Connecticut to Maine in 1994 and 1995 to have sex with a member of his troop.

Hutton was released on $200,000 bail under special conditions, including prohibiting him from having any unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 years old and turning in any weapons and his permit to carry a firearm.

He is also banned from loitering near playgrounds, schools, arcades or any place children gather.

The HK High School Girls Basketball team fell to conference rival Coginchaug, 42-49, last night. The Cougars kept it tight most of the game but could not get more than a few points ahead in the first half before trailing at the break. HK made a run at the end of the game but came up short because of missed shots from the charity stripe. HK was led by two freshman: Shelby VanHuysen (pictured on right) with 14 points and Michelle Fillion (pictured on left) with 9. Read more about the game in today's Middletown Press.

The HK Wrestling team lost to New Haven on Thursday, 58-18. Jim Haring and Daryl Destefano won their matches and Christopher Yankura won by forfeit.

The word came from Gobbler's Knob that Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow. According to legend, we are in for six more weeks of winter.

Phil's official forecast as read 2/2/06 at sunrise at Gobbler's Knob:

It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Around the country there are many imitators of me.

In Harrisburg there is Gus who appears on TV
working for the lottery.

Then all around town,
Cute groundhog statues abound.
They all look like me, I found.

Today on the Knob as I'm doing my job,
I don't like this likeness of me.

It's my shadow I see. Six more weeks of mild winter there will be.

photo and prognostication courtesy groundhogday.org

The Killingworth Lions Club, which has donated over $300,000 and innumerable hours of service since 1971, presented its annual Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award while celebrating 35 years of service on January 28 at the Clinton Country Club. Alan Chapman was invited under false pretenses to the Lions' anniversary dinner where he was surprised with the distinguished Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award and a Town Proclamation of Monday, January 30, 2006, as Alan T. Chapman Day. pictured: Selectman Ed Sipples (left) reads the proclamation of Alan Chapman Day. Read more.

State Sen. Edward Meyer recently lent his support to a proposed bill that will ban the sale of soda and other sugary drinks in Connecticut schools while simultaneously providing a financial incentive to serve healthier meals and snacks.

The proposed bill, titled Act Concerning Healthy Food and Beverages in Schools, was introduced by state Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn) and has the support of Governor M. Jodi Rell and State Department of Education Commissioner Betty J. Sternberg.

"This bill is going to change the lives of young people in Connecticut, no doubt about it,' said Sen. Meyer, who is co-chairman of the select Committee on Children. "At the end of last session, when a similar school nutrition bill failed, people came to me and said, 'You did the right thing - stay with it.' And we did."

Sen. Meyer added that he also hopes to address the need for more physical activity among school-age children. "I'm hopeful that an exercise component will be included in the 2006 legislative session," he said. "I have already had a discussion with education Commissioner Sternberg on how that can come about."

Highlights of the proposed bill include:
Beverages: Effective July 1, 2006, it will be the only law in the country that applies equally to all public schools-high schools, middle schools and elementary schools - that restricts vending machine sales at all times, both during school and after the end of the regular school day.
• It bans the sale of all types of soda (both regular and diet) and electrolyte replacement drinks (Gatorade, Powerade, etc.) to students in public high schools, middle schools and elementary schools, with a very narrow exception for sales from concession stands at school-sponsored events occurring on the weekends or after school.
• Only the following beverages would be allowed for sale to students: 1- and 2-percent milk and nonfat milk; non-dairy milks such as soy or rice milk; 100 percent fruit juice or vegetable juice; and water.
Food
• School districts will be allowed to choose whether or not to offer only healthy a la carte and snack items for sale to students.
• Each school district participating in the National School Lunch Program must certify each year to the state Department of Education whether or not all food offered for sale to students, from all sources and at all times (other than food purchased as part of the school lunch or breakfast program, or offered at concession stands at school sponsored events), will comply with the state's new groundbreaking, published nutrition guidelines.
• Districts that so certify will receive an additional 10 cents per lunch on top of the approximately 5 cents per lunch received currently-a substantial incentive to make the healthy choice.

Killingworth Fire Marshall Ray Clark recently announced that Megan Neely and Emily Darin were named the local winners of this year's Connecticut Fire Prevention Poster Contest held at Killingworth Elementary School. Neely, a fourth grader and Darin, a fifth grader, both have Ms. Kelsey as their art teacher.

The first place posters for the fourth and fifth grade students are submitted for judging on the county level. Two county winners from each grade will be chosen and a state winner will be chosen from this competition. The state winner's poster will be used to promote fire prevention throughout the State of Connecticut and will be the Official State Poster.

All winning posters on the county level will be exhibited at the State Capitol during the month of October. The county winners will be awarded $200 savings bonds, and the state winner will receive a $1,000 savings bond.

This Connecticut Fire Prevention Contest is a cooperative effort of the Office of State Fire Marshal, the Connecticut Fire Marshals' Association, Connecticut Fire Chief's Association, State Board of Education and the Connecticut FAIR Plan (representing the insurance industry).

Fire Marshal Ray Clark thanks the KES administration and all the fourth and fifth grade students for their enthusiastic participation in this important program.

The Killingworth Library is offering a knitting group called 'Winter Woolies' on Tuesday evenings from 6-7:30 p.m. Amy Nixon (pictured top left) is teaching and encouraging knitters of all ability levels aged 8 to adult. There has been an excellent turnout so far and Nixon, who has volunteered her time for the program, is considering another session. For more information, please contact the library at 663-2000. photos by H. Mahoney

According to today's New Haven Register, Killingworth residents Jerry Vissers and Patrick Reilly were on the prosecuting team of Our Lady of Mercy School's mock trial team that won the annual competition sponsored by the Connecticut Bar Association and the Connecticut Consortium for Law & Citizenship Education.

The competition involved teams of middle school students from 67 schools statewide. Our Lady of Mercy faced Canton Middle School in the finals at the New Britain Superior Court on January 25. Our Lady of Mercy has won the competition three years in a row. The CCLCE middle school mock trial program is in its seventh year. There is also a high school program that will hold its competition in May.

Graduation will be here before you know it! The tentative date is June 20, 2006. Preparations have begun to make this a memorable night for the Class of 2006, but WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!!!!!!

Please consider donating some time, services, or a monetary contribution to this worthwhile event. Keep our kids safe on Graduation night.

Call the committee members below to participate in this Graduation Night function:
Chairperson: Nancy Bradley - 663-2485 or Vice Chairperson Laura Dowd - 345-3109

If you are interested in joining a committee, please attend the next meeting scheduled for Tuesday, February 14, 2006, in the Lower Media Center of the High School at 7:30 p.m.

This week, Killingworth Democratic Town Committee member Kathleen Amoia talks about opposing the Broadwater liquefied natural gas facility, proposed for Long Island Sound.

The Killingworth Board of Selectmen recently voted unanimously to approve a resolution opposing the industrial complex proposed by Broadwater Energy for Long Island Sound. They thereby joined a growing list of shoreline towns and political officials speaking out against the project.

Pat Smulders, a member of the Killingworth Democratic Town Committee brought the issue before the Board of Selectmen after attending a meeting of the Shoreline League of Democratic Women. This was an informational meeting at which Attorney General Richard Blumenthal addressed the dangers the facility would pose to the region. full story.

• Tuesday, January 31:
8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. BURR Winter Concert Dec. 05
10:00 a.m. & 9:00 p.m. Fashion Show
•Wednesday, February 1:
8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. Youth and Family Services Community Night with Chef Pam Simmons
10:00 a.m. & 9:00 p.m. Youth and Family Services Community Night 05
•Thursday, February 2:
8:00 a.m. Youth and Family Services Community Night with Chef Pam Simmons
7:00 p.m. Youth and Family Services Community Night #2 04
10:00 a.m. & 9:00 p.m. Youth and Family Services Community Night 05
•Friday, February 3:
8:00 a.m. Youth and Family Services Community Night #2 04
10:00 a.m. Youth and Family Services Community Night 05
7:00 p.m. Shoreline Idol Concert 06
9:00 p.m. HKHS Lip Sync 2005
•Saturday, February 4:
8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. Shoreline Idol Concert 06
10:00 a.m. & 9:00 p.m. HKHS Lip Sync 2005
•Sunday, February 5:
8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. Shoreline Idol Concert 06
10:00 a.m. & 9:00 p.m. HKHS Lip Sync 2005
information provided by HKTV

The Killingworth Land Conservation Trust and property owner Bob Wettish hosted walking tours on Saturday of the 143-acre Wettish property the Town has a preliminary agreement to purchase. Approximately 90 residents turned out to tour the Parker Hill Road Extension property and hear about possible locations for ball fields and parking.

Bob Wettish said the property was originally purchased in the 1930s by his Great-Uncle. He said the 30 acres of open fields that line the road have been used as hay fields for the past several decades. The land is approximately ½-mile deep and abuts Cockaponsett State Forest to the east. (satellite map) The road-front of the parcel is less than a mile from Pattaconk Reservoir, where swimming is allowed. KLCT Board Member Bruce Dodson said there have been informal discussions on the best placement of soccer and baseball fields, but no formal cost estimate or recreation plan is in place. He said the purchase price does not include any development of the land.

The Board of Selectmen entered into an agreement in December with the Wettish family to purchase the property for 2.45 million, contingent on a satisfactory Phase I survey, wetlands flagging and Town approval at referendum. If passed, the Town will issue and sell bonds in the amount of 2.65 million to cover the purchase, plus fees and contingencies.

The BOS has called a Special Town Meeting for Tuesday, February 7, at 8:00 p.m. at Killingworth Elementary School to discuss the purchase. At the conclusion of discussions, the meeting will be adjourned to a referendum on Wednesday, February, 15. Voting will take place from 6:00 a.m.- 8:00 p.m. at the elementary school.

The Land Trust has offered to host another day of tours on Saturday, February 11 from 9:00 a.m to noon. Residents interested can meet at 14 Parker Hill Road Ext.

The HKMS Girls Basketball team picked up their eighth win on Friday, by defeating Hale-Ray, 61-25. The Cougars quickly took the lead scoring over 20 points in the first quarter. Danielle Machold was the high scorer with 21 points (including a 3-pointer), followed by Maura Calamari with 20 points. The rest of the team spread the points: Alexis Bowen had 10 points, Carley Mooney had four, and Erin Murphy, Sam Camoli, and Lauren Muse had two points each.

The next game is scheduled for Tuesday, January 31 at home against the undefeated Old Lyme squad. The Cougars' only loss this season was to Old Lyme.

The HK Boys High School team defeated North Branford, 57-52, Friday night. Tyler Riordan had a huge night, leading the Cougars with 36 points including the go-ahead 3-pointer. HK was behind 28-22 at the half and scored just 9 in the third quarter. Read more about the Cougars' comeback in the Middletown Press.

The Shoreline League of Democratic Women (SLDW) is hosting a free-to-the-public forum "Health Care and Connecticut Families: Cost, Coverage and Complexity" on Wednesday, February 1, 2006 at 7:30 p.m., at the Nathanael Greene Community Center in Guilford, CT. The event will feature a stellar lineup of professionals who work to improve the quality of Health Care for Connecticut's residents, including State Comptroller Nancy Wyman, State Representative Melissa Olson, Dr. Kate Wessling, and Health Care Advocate Gretchen Vivier. The Public is invited to learn about the state of health care and health coverage for Connecticut citizens.