The small towns in Connecticut receive relatively little aid from our state government, unlike the cities, but that disparity can be made up in part if state grants are made for town projects. Some people may think of these grants as "pork," but I view them generally as good pork benefiting our towns and giving us a greater share of the state budget. For that reason, I have become a believer in state grants, and the following grants for my Senate district were expressly approved by the state legislature last June and were, I was told, included in the final state budget which was also approved by the legislature and the governor:

• For Madison, a girl's softball field and state funds for the expansion of the Scranton Library.
• For Guilford, the testing of and a dredging plan for Lake Quonnipaug, and a grant for the Shakespeare on the Green program.
• For Branford, traffic improvements in the Short Beach area, football field bleachers, renovation of a World War monument, and a fire training tower.
• For Killingworth, improvements to Town Hall.
• For North Branford, development and improvements to Swajchuk and Highland Parks.
• For Connecticut Hospice, a major grant to reduce its capital deficit.

State Representatives Pat Widlitz, Deb Heinrich, Peter Panaroni, Brian O'Connor and Bob Ward sponsored these grants with me for the towns they represent within my Senate district. The total approved state grants across the state are approximately 3% (exclusive of school and college construction) of the $15 billion state budget, and they arise in the context of a current budget surplus of about $650 million.

After approval by the legislature, state grants require approval by the State Bond Commission, which is controlled by the governor. This gives the governor significant power, and so I recently talked to Governor Rell about grants for my district which have been approved by the legislature but not by her Bond Commission. That conversation proved helpful in gaining approval of several grants, although the grant for traffic improvements in the Short Beach section of Branford did not gain approval until a 4-year-old boy was hit by a car last month at a dangerous intersection.

I look forward to offering a new set of proposed grants for the new fiscal year which starts on July 1, 2006. Perhaps some of you have a good idea that you would like to pass on to me. Grants in the range of $25,000 to $250,000 that are strictly related to town capital projects seem to have the best chance of approval.

Town of Killingworth
Notice of Special Town Meeting
Monday, March 27, 2006, 8:00 p.m.

All electors and persons qualified to vote in town meetings of the Town of Killingworth, Connecticut, (the "Town") are hereby notified that the Board of Selectmen of the Town are convening a Special Town Meeting to be held at Killingworth Elementary School, Killingworth, Connecticut at eight o'clock on March 27, 2006 for the following purposes:

1. To consider, discuss and vote upon, an appropriation of the Town in the sum of $100,000 for the cost of the purchase of a roll off truck (in addition to the amount approved in the 2005-2006 budget), as well as temporary and permanent financing cost and all other costs associated therewith (the "Project"), and to meet said appropriation and in lieu of a tax therefor, bonds of the Town be issued pursuant to Chapter 109 of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended, the Town Charter or any other provision of law thereto enabling, in an amount not to exceed $100,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary after deducting grants or other sources of funds available therefor and the First Selectman and the Treasurer be authorized to issue and sell bonds or temporary notes of the Town in an amount not to exceeds $100,000 in anticipation of the receipt of the proceeds from the sale of such bonds and to determine the amount, date, date of maturity, interest rate, form and other details of such bonds or notes and to do all things necessary or appropriate to issue such bonds or notes.

2. To consider, discuss and vote upon a Revised Fee Schedule recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission at their meeting held on January 17, 2006 and accepted at a Board of Selectmen Meeting held on February 14, 2006.

3. To consider, discuss and vote upon an Ordinance Regarding Private Drinking Water Supply Testing For New Residential Construction as approved by the Board of Selectmen at their meeting on February 27, 2006.

The full texts of these resolutions are on file and open to inspection at the office of the Town Clerk.

The Haddam-Killingworth Recreation Department is offering a trip to the new CNN Tour on Saturday, April 29. Go behind the scenes with CNN, the world's news leader. This brand new New York City attraction entitled Inside CNN will provide you with an up-close, in-depth view of round-the-clock global news coverage in the making. Highlights include the CNN studios and operations, how a control room operates, ingoing and outgoing satellite feeds for CNN and CNN international, CNN news gathering process, television technology and a look at the newsroom.

Inside CNN is located in the brand new Time Warner Center at Columbus Square and near Central Park. Lunch will be at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. In the afternoon, you'll visit the Museum of the City of New York. This interesting museum focuses on the history of New York City and always has interesting exhibitions and ongoing displays. The fee is $96 Adults / $90 Children 12 & under. The bus departs HK High School at 7:00 am and Killlingworth Elementary School at 7:15 am. The bus returns at approximately 7:00pm. Fee includes Deluxe motorcoach transportation, Admissions wherever applicable, lunch at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, and a Getaway Tour Director.

The Essex Winter Series 2006 is presenting the last of this years concerts on Sunday, March 26 at Valley Regional High School Auditorium, Kelsey Hill Road, Deep River. The performance features The Young Danish String Quartet, gifted students from the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music in Copenhagen. The Quartet is well on its way to establishing itself as a major factor in Danish chamber music. The performance will include works by Haydn, Nielsen and Beethoven.

The concert begins at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, $8 for students, and $5 for children under 12. For information about tickets call 860.767-4904 or 526-9681. Tickets are also sold at the door.

Regional School District 17 recently informed parents and caregivers that it has implemented a new internet-based alert system called Instant Alert^TM for Schools. The Honeywell product will be used for emergency and non-emergency notifications related to the schools and school activities. The system was implemented using federal grant funds available through the Safe and Drug Free Schools program.

According to Schools Superintendent Gary Mala, within minutes of an emergency, school officials can use Instant Alert to deliver a single, clear message to the students' parents or guardians by telephone, cell phone, e-mail, pager or PDA in any combination. Instant Alert can also be used to notify families of a school closing due to inclement weather or everyday activities, such as event times and locations as well as schedule changes.

Instant Alert is internet based, allowing each family to maintain a secure, password protected online profile. Parents can download an information sheet from the Region 17 website that explains how to create and update a profile for notifications.

The system will be ready for use on Friday, April 7. Mala encourages parents and caregivers to take advantage of this valuable school-to-home communication system.

A support group for parents and caregivers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders will be held on March 28, in the community room of the Killingworth Library. The group meets the last Tuesday of each month from 7:00-9:00 p.m. This informal meeting will introduce you to other parents in Killingworth/Haddam area who have similar challenges and some great ideas on helping each other gain knowledge and support. For more information please contact www.autismsocietyofct.org.

Superior Court Judge Robert L. Holzberg sentenced 19-year-old Jason Fillion to a six-month suspended sentence and two years' probation in Middletown, Monday. In 2004, Fillion attempted to pass a box truck on Route 154 in Haddam, along a stretch of roadway where passing is prohibited, and struck 51-year-old William Gates' vehicle head-on. Gates went into cardiac arrest on his way to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Fillion pleaded guilty to a charge of negligent homicide with a motor vehicle. He also must complete 300 hours of community service, get counseling and must not drive for six months. Read more about this in today's Hartford Courant.

Alyson D'Amato

Haddam-Killingworth High School sophomore Alyson D'Amato and Mercy High School senior Patti O'Sullivan have been selected to participate in the 2006 Connecticut All-State Music Festival on March 23 - 25.

Alyson will play first oboe in the All-State Concert Band directed by Dr. Peter L. Boonshaft from Hofstra University. Alyson has been involved in the high school music program for two years, playing oboe in the concert band and pit orchestra for the musical theater production. She is the daughter of Mr.& Mrs. Timothy D'Amato.

Patti plays the flute, and is in the Mercy High School Wind Ensemble, the Mercy Jazz Band, and the Thames Valley Youth Orchestra. She is the daughter of Jan and Dan O'Sullivan of Killingworth.

The All-State ensembles will rehearse for three days culminating with two concerts featuring the All-State Concert Band, Orchestra, Chorus and Jazz Band on Saturday at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. The students were selected by two auditions in October and February at which over 3,000 student musicians from the state competed to be part of the festival.

First Selectman Marty Klein offers his monthly column.

The Budget for fiscal year 2006-2007 is completed. Selectmen Fred Dudek, Ed Sipples, Secretary Carol Gordon, and I spent many hours in deliberation to present a budget that meets the needs of the town with as little increase in the mil rate as possible. We have forwarded our recommendations to the Board of Finance.

The town boards and commissions, all staffed by volunteers, worked diligently and responsibly to update their budgets and their requests were within reason. We are fortunate to have such dedication among our citizens. The BOS did not treat the representatives from the various boards as adversaries but worked in partnership with the board members to meet the obligations of their organizations. Read more of Klein's column.

Cub Scouts Pack 18 held its Annual Blue and Gold Dinner on Sunday in the HK High School cafeteria. The troop welcomed Boy Scouts of America East Field Director Dirk Smith who spoke about how important scouting has been in his life, his roll in encouraging boys to join scouting, and his work in guiding the troops in the East region.

The afternoon featured several awards presentations, a pot-luck dinner, a skit from the scouts, lots of paper airplanes and the Buddy Bake-Off. This annual parent-child culinary activity is always popular with the scouts. The best scouting themes among the entries for each level were honored. The cakes were all colorful, imaginative and undoubtedly delicious. For more information on scouting contact Pack Leader Shawn Sodergren at shawnsodergren@comcast.net
Pictured are the winning entries from each scout level. clockwise: Weeblos II, Kaylle Jonas; Weeblos I, Nikolas Franceschi-Hofmann; Wolf, Cody Connell; Bear, Matthew Blewett; and Tiger, Doug Brown.

The Killingworth Women's Organization has created a magnetic white-board, quipped with an erasable black marker to complete all of the pertinent information that your children's (or pet's!) caregiver may need. To order your Board(s) (they make great gifts!) stop by Funky Monkey Toys in the Killingworth Center, Route 81, Killingworth, or send your name, address and $6.00 check payable to the KWO to PO Box 952, Killingworth, CT 06419.

All proceeds from the Boards will fund the Killingworth Women's Organization scholarship, which is being offered to a high school female residing in Killingworth who will attend college in the fall. Applications will be available at the Haddam-Killingworth High School guidance department or by sending a SASE to PO Box 952, Killingworth, CT 06419.

Standing in front of a sea of green-clad students and staff, noted humorist and novelist, Dan Greenburg introduced the KES third, fourth and fifth graders to his new children's book series, Secrets of Dripping Fang. In collaboration with R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, Greenburg entertained the children with his story about the Shluffmuffin twins and their trial adoption with the mysterious Mandible sisters.