Youth & Family Services of Haddam-Killingworth awarded five mini-grants on Tuesday morning to community members who proposed projects aimed at building developmental assets in our communities' youth. These assets, according to Search Institute are "concrete, common sense, positive experiences and qualities essential to raising successful young people". The mini-grants were made possible by a Community Impact Grant from the Middlesex United Way.

Youth and Family Services awarded these $200-$250 grants to help young people build internal assets like reading for pleasure and caring about their school as well as external assets like developing adult relationships, empowering them by showing they are valued and giving them useful roles in the community. The grants were awarded to Babe Ruth Baseball Coordinator Hilary Kumnick, Reg. 17 Drug & Alcohol Counselor Catherine McGuire, HKHS Media Center Director Dave Matthews, Haddam Youth Center Director Deb Whitely and Killingworth Women's Organization's President Joan Wilson.

The research shows that the more assets young people have, the less likely they are to engage in high-risk behaviors. Assets promote academic success, divert youth from risky behaviors and increase civic engagement. They also give young people the strengths they need to make positive choices in life.

Kumnick said he will use the grant to help fund the Babe Ruth summer baseball program for 14-19 year-olds. Prevention Coordinator Amy Mueller said the project was chosen because of the youth to youth mentoring aspect and the constructive use of time. McGuire will use the grant to fund Friday afternoon "Drug & Alcohol Prevention Bingo" at the high school and middle school to help young people resist peer pressure, plan ahead and make good choices. Matthews asked to update the furniture in the high school media center to promote reading for pleasure. Whitely will use the grant to host a Guinness World Record inspired challenge day for 5th-8th graders at the Haddam Youth Center. Her program looks to build optimism and show young people they are valued. Wilson and the KWO look to construct a sign in a visible area in Killingworth that will promote events and student achievement at the high school. By highlighting activities and individuals, the KWO hopes to better connect Killingworth residents with the positive things going on up at the high school.

Mueller said Youth & Family is very excited about the five projects and hopes to award similar grants in the future. She said anyone interested in applying for a grant may contact her at 345-7498 or amelia@hkyfs.org

Grant recipients (standing) Catherine McGuire, Hilary Kumnick, KWO Vice President Andrea Schull, (seated) Deb Whitely and Joan Wilson.

The Congregational Church in Killingworth recently announced the publication of History of The Congregational Church in Killingworth, Connecticut by Town and Church Historian Thomas L. Lentz. The Church will host a book signing this Sunday, March 4 at 11:00 a.m. after the service in the Parish Hall.

This comprehensive history begins with the first settlement of the town in 1663 and the first establishment of the church in 1667. In 1735, the General Assembly passed an act dividing Killingworth into two ecclesiastical societies and in 1737 granted permission for the establishment of a church in the Second Ecclesiastical Society, now present-day Killingworth. From that point, the history is that of the church in the Second Society to the present time.

The book is divided into sections describing the events in each century over a period of nearly 350 years. For each century, the pastors and other famous people, the meetinghouses, and society houses are described. There are chapters on church groups and activities including the diaconate, singing and music, pews and slips, the bell, the parsonage, the Agricultural Hall, women's organizations, missions, Christian education, and country church fair. Because the church and town were nearly inseparable in early times, much of the book is also a history of the Town of Killingworth. The church in Killingworth also experienced and participated in the broader events taking place in Congregationalism, so that the book is also a reflection of the history of Congregationalism in this country since its establishment by the Pilgrims and Puritans in the seventeenth century.

Lentz, who also authored A Photographic History of Killingworth, available from the Killingworth Historical Society. He is the Historian of the Congregational Church and the Killingworth Municipal Historian. The book is hardcover, 181 pages, and has numerous illustrations. The book is published in a limited edition of 500 copies by Gateway Press, Inc. It can be purchased from the church Secretary in the Parish Hall for $35. The Secretary's office is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays. All profits from the sale of this book go to the support of The Congregational Church in Killingworth. For more information contact the church at 663-1789.

Alyson D'Amato, a junior at Haddam-Killingworth High School, has been selected to perform the oboe in the All-Eastern Honors Orchestra. She was chosen to perform in the 2007 Music Educators National Conference All-Eastern Honors Music Festival based on her 2006 All-State audition score. D'Amato is a very talented oboe student who has studied privately with Kathryn Giampietro of New Haven for six years. She has participated in five Southern Region Festivals, two All-State Festivals and is also scheduled to perform in the 2007 All-State Orchestra on March 31st at CCSU. Alyson is the daughter of Timothy and Joanne D'Amato.

More than 650 musically talented high school students in the Eastern region of the United States will spend three days rehearsing with one of four prominent conductors during the Eastern Division Conference of MENC (The National Association for Music Education) in preparation for performances on March 11. The biennial event will conclude with a concert featuring performances by the four Honors Ensembles including a symphony orchestra, concert band, mixed chorus, and jazz ensemble.

The 2007 MENC All-Eastern Honors Ensembles will perform for an audience of thousands on Sunday, March 11 at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts Mortensen Hall in Hartford.

Youth and Family Services of Haddam and Killingworth will host a discussion on suicide on Thursday, March 22 from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Killingworth Library. The presentation will examine facts and fables related to suicidal behavior, how suicidal feelings may develop, risk factors and warning signs associated with a suicidal individual, basic Do's and Don'ts when working with individuals who are contemplating suicide, coping as a survivor and available community resources.

The presentation will be made by Mary Drexler, MSW, who serves on the Board of Directors for Youth and Family Services. This program is free and open to the public. Please pre-register by calling Youth and Family Services at 345-7498.

Approximately 75 residents turned out to last night's Town Meeting and voted to approve the Open Space Agreement that will allow the transfer of the State's $500,000 Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grant to fund recreation fields on the 143-acre Wettish property. The Town's Park & Recreation Commission will have access to the funds when a formalized plan for fields is brought to a Town Meeting for approval.

The STEAP program funds economic development, community conservation and quality of life projects for localities. The grant was originally applied for to fund a Town Center project, but after the Wettish property on Parker Hill Road Extension was acquired, First Selectman Marty Klein requested that the money be transferred for use in building recreational fields.

The Park & Recreation Commission's preliminary plan proposes five multi-purpose fields be constructed on the two north pastures of the property, an access road to a parking area off Parker Hill Road Extension, and an emergency egress from the parking area. In the next few months, the Commission will start soil testing and other preliminary work required before the number, type and location of the fields can be finalized. Only 16.23 acres may be developed with this particular STEAP grant. Additional grants can be requested to further develop this or other areas of the property.

Residents also approved the appropriation of $18,600 for additional engineering services for the replacement of Reservoir Road Bridge. On Friday, Klein will sign the contract with Cardinal Engineering, the firm chosen to oversee the repair work on the small bridge. According Ed Coppola, the Chairman of the Reservoir Road Bridge Committee, Cardinal will begin immediately to collect enough information for the Town to determine if it can repair the bridge itself by sleeving the existing pipes or whether it will have to undertake the much longer process of repairing the bridge with federal funds. Committee member Paul McGuinness said the contract states that Cardinal has two months to perform the first series of surveys and the hydrology report, but expects it will not take that long. With a favorable hydrology report, the Town may be able to repair the bridge before the end of the year. Klein cautioned that the State would still have to approve any steps taken in the repair.

Haddam and Killingworth residents are invited to kickoff the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life of Haddam and Killingworth on Thursday, March 8 at 6:00 p.m at Haddam-Killingworth Middle School. This kickoff celebration is open to anyone who wants to learn more about the Relay For Life and how to get involved. There is no admission charge and anyone is welcome!
Relay For Life is a community event, which honors cancer survivors; anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer - and their caregivers. The Relay also pays tribute to those who have lost their battle with cancer. The Relay event itself is an overnight community celebration where individuals and teams camp out, barbecue, dance, and take turns walking around a track to raise funds to fight cancer. At nightfall, participants will light hundreds of luminaries around the track in a moving ceremony to honor cancer survivors as well as friends and family members lost to the disease. The Relay is scheduled for June 1 - 2 at Haddam-Killingworth High School.

For more information about the American Cancer Society, call 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org. To RSVP for the March 8th kickoff event please contact Alexis Begin at 203.379.4827 or Alexis.Begin@cancer.org

"It is time to address Killingworth's growing mountain of bulky waste being dumped at the town's Solid Waste Transfer Station and the resulting cost to taxpayers," said the town's Pay As You Throw committee making recommendations about Transfer Station use. Bolstered by recent survey results, the PAYT is recommending that steps be taken to cut back on the increasing amount of costly bulky waste being dumped at the Transfer Station. The PAYT presented its recommendations at Monday's Board of Selectmen's meeting.

"The steadily increasing volume of bulky waste is being generated by only a small fraction of the town's taxpayers," reported PAYT. According to PAYT, that statement is supported by the recent survey that shows half of all respondents only use the bulky waste disposal on a yearly rather than weekly or even monthly basis. Yet PAYT points to overflowing bulky waste bins weekly and even daily. "It indicates to the committee, that there is too much commercial and abusive residential use". "It's just unfair to most town taxpayers who are paying for this use by a relative few."

PAYT recommended that the availability of bulky waste disposal bins at the Transfer Station be cutback to one week a month as a way to better manage the demand, abuse, and cost to taxpayers. PAYT believes that limited availability of bulky waste disposal will effectively address improper homeowner and contractor use of the bulky waste disposal. Of the nearly two hundred respondents to the PAYT survey, 77 dispose of bulky waste yearly, 25 do it monthly and only 1 reported weekly use. 48 respondents use bulky waste services other than weekly, monthly or yearly.

First Selectman Marty Klein said he would take the recommendations under advisement, but would not immediately act on the recommendations. Selectmen Fred Dudek and Ed Sipples said the first step was to enforce the current use rules of the transfer station. Dudek said he would speak with the transfer station crew about denying access to vehicles without a current transfer station sticker. The PAYT survey shows that residents overwhelmingly oppose use of the Transfer Station by those without valid entry stickers. 148 respondents disagree with vehicles entering the Transfer Station without valid stickers, while only 14 say they should be permitted, but only under limited special circumstances.

The PAYT survey also shows that town residents are pleased with the recently instituted cardboard and newspaper compacting program. An overwhelming 155 of those answering the survey expressed satisfaction with the five month old program, while only five survey respondents were not satisfied. The compacting was instituted to save the town money being spent with additional hauling costs.

PAYT said it's pleased with the large number of residents who replied to the Transfer Station survey taking such an active role in voicing concerns and opinions about this town service.

When Gayle Byrne and I took a long look around the Killingworth Library children's room one afternoon, we realized the place needed a face lift. The room has a wonderful supply of books for the young reader, but its bare white walls were less than inviting.

The library's budget is tight and doesn't have much leeway for renovation work. We wondered if local businesses might be interested in donating their time and supplies for this project to benefit our children. Just a few phone calls later it all came together. Randy Davis of Off the Wall Murals was asked if he would be willing to paint "Just a sky and a few clouds" on the dome. He was more than willing to do so, only he didn't stop with the sky. There are autumn leaves in an array of colors, a hot air balloon with a wonderful message, wood beams for an atrium effect. He also put together a color palette for the rest of the room. John Wills, a Painting Contractor here in Killingworth donated an entire week of his time, plus two of his crew, to paint the room... many colors, many hours. They did an excellent job.

The Cost Family of Killingworth True Value generously donated all the paint (some 14 gallons worth). The bookends of this effort are the two men who donated many weekend hours to take down and then painstakingly reassemble the room's shelving and books, no easy task. That credit goes to John Byrne and Bob Bellonio.

Please stop by, at your convenience, to see the wonderfully painted children's room, especially in this chilly weather; it will warm your heart. (It is open again as of Tuesday.) A huge THANK YOU to Randy Davis of Off the Wall Murals, John Wills Painting Contractor & crew , Killingworth TrueValue, and to our work crew, John Byrne and Bob Bellonio for the beautiful renovation. It would not have been possible without their generous spirit.

The Fitness Connection's Late Winter Strength and Conditioning Class session begins the week of March 5th. The classes will be held at The Fitness Connection studio and will meet for 1 hour. It's affordable at $155 for 2 classes a week for 6 weeks, you will learn to perform a total body workout and most importantly, you will love the results. There are still spots open in the Tuesday/Thursday 2pm and 4pm Circuit Training classes. For details or to reserve a spot, call 860-663-0326. Get connected with The Fitness Connection and spend the best summer of your life...feeling great about yourself!

The Tuesday Book Discussion Group will meet on March 13th to discuss Jeannette Walls' memoir, The Glass Castle. Walls describes an achingly poor, nomadic childhood. Her youth and that of three siblings was supervised by a brilliant but alcoholic father and a childish mother who almost defies understanding. The discussion begins at 1:00 p.m. in the Killingworth Library's meeting room and newcomers are always welcome.

Sunday February 18:
• 2:46 PM: Medical emergency, Woodland Trl
• 4:58 PM: Medical emergency, Woodland Trl
• 9:00 PM: Chimney fire, Burr Hill Rd
Monday February 19:
• 7:40 AM: Fire alarm, Buell Hill Rd
• 4:51 PM: Medical emergency, Hilldale Trl
Thursday February 22:
• 3:49 PM: Medical emergency, Route 148
• 10:23 PM: Motor vehicle accident, Route 148 near Bunker Hill Rd
Friday February 23:
• 1:58 PM: Wires down, Route 81 north of Rte 148
Saturday February 24:
• 9:40 AM: Medical emergency, Livemore Trl

Agenda
Regular Meeting of the Board of Selectmen
Tuesday, February 26, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.
Town Office Building

1. Call to Order
2. Approval of Minutes of Special Meetings held February 14 and 21, 2007
3. Visitors:
4. Tax Abatements & Refunds
5. Appointments/Vacancies:
6. Old Business:
    1. Sludge Lagoon Bid - Update
    2. PAYT - Dec. Survey Results
7. New Business:
    1. Revised Bidding Procedures Presentation - Attorney Michael Wells
    2. BOS Approval of Extrememan Triathlon 9/23/07
8. MK Announcements
9. Selectmen's Concerns
10. Adjournment
Agenda as of 1:50 p.m., Friday, 2/23/2007
Printable version

HK Sports
The HK Boys Basketball team was knocked out of the Shoreline Tournament by Coginchaug last night, 27-36. The score was tied at eight at the half but Coginchaug pulled away in the fourth quarter hitting 9 of 10 free throws. Steve Landell led HK with 11 points followed by Dan Wendt with 7. The Cougars are 9-12. Read more about the game in the Middletown Press.

Serving in their role as Knights of the Blind, the Killingworth Lions Club has undertaken a new and challenging project, the sponsorship of a Fidelco guide dog. The Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Bloomfield, Connecticut, that breed, raise and train German Shepard guide dogs for placement with the visually impaired throughout the United States and Canada. The cost to the organization of breeding, training, placement and the on-going contact with the Fidelco client for the eight to ten year service life of a guide dog is approximately $26,000. In view of this lofty goal, the Lions see this project as a multi-year undertaking.

To raise the funds to support this project, the Killingworth Lions Club will conduct a raffle with prizes we feel will be attractive to the homeowners of our community. First prize is a Husqvarna tractor with a snow blade, wheel weights, chains, mowing deck and a dump cart having a retail value of approximately $2300. Second prize is an Ariens snow thrower with a retail value of $1100 and third prize is a Husqvarna back pack blower with a retail value of $500. This equipment has been acquired through the Killingworth True Value Store and the Lions thank the Cost family for their help and support.

Tickets will be on sale Saturdays, 8AM - 12PM during the months of March, April and May. On Saturday mornings, the prizes will be trailered to Compactor Way, the Killingworth Country Market and Killingworth True Value on a rotating basis where tickets will be available for purchase. The raffle is limited to 250 tickets at $50 each. The drawing will be held at noon on Memorial Day, May 28th, at the Platt Nature Center. Winners need not be present to claim the prize.

The Lions have paid for the prizes and the raffle expenses up front, meaning that 100% of the cost of a ticket goes toward the sponsorship of the Fidelco guide dog. We are counting on your support.

The Killingworth Library invites 4th-7th graders to join the discussion of Bridge to Terabithia on Tuesday , February, 27 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. Bring your appetite for great books and great food! Food provided by Apizza Tuscana.

Don't forget that the Library's Spring Program registration opens on Thursday, March 1. Storytime is for chidren 3 & 4 on April 4, 11, 18 & 25 from 10-10:30 a.m.; Terriffic Twos is for children beteewn 24 & 36 months every Wendesday morning in May: 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 from 10-10:30 a.m. and Music with Margie is for children 2½ and older, Tuesdays from 10:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.. Spring session starts March 6. Sign up in person or by phoning 663-2000. Killingworth residents are given priority.