The Lion's Club Annual Egg Hunt is TODAY at 11:00 a.m. sharp at the rear field at Killingworth Elementary School. If you come a little early, you may be able to see the Bunny delivered by the Killingworth Fire Company. Bring your basket; All children, Pre-K through 4th Grade are welcome. Additional prizes will be awarded to a lucky few who find 'special' eggs.

Forgotten Felines has dozens of wonderful cats waiting to be loving, adorable companions. They come is all shapes and sizes and like the people looking to adopt them, each one has its own unique personality. We also have many "special needs" cats. When a cat has special needs, whether because of medical or behavioral issues, even the most loving one is often overlooked.

Charlie has been one such cat for a long time. Many of the Forgotten Felines volunteers wonder why he hasn't found a home yet. The answer to that question lies in the fact that Charlie is FIV positive, a fact that has stopped many people from giving him a home even though he is the most loving, loyal cat at the shelter.

FIV is not necessarily a death sentence for cats. They can lead long, healthy lives even when exposed to the virus, which cannot be spread to humans, dogs or other pet species. Other cats would have to receive a deep, penetrating bite from an FIV positive cat in order to contract the virus, and as Charlie is one of the least aggressive cats we have seen, he would never dream of biting. In fact, when he was rescued, he had many scars from being picked on by other cats in the neighborhood.

Charlie is currently living in the administrative office of the Forgotten Felines shelter, and craves attention whenever someone walks in. He has never known what it is like to have the "run of the house", as he has always been confined to one room, whether in the foster home he lived in or at the shelter. Charlie would be a great cat for a single cat home or as a companion to other FIV positive cats.

To schedule an appointment to visit Charlie or any other Forgotten Felines cat, please call our Adoption Center at 860-669-1347. Many of our cats available for adoption can be seen on our web site www.forgottenfelinesct.org .

Over the last few weeks Girls Scouts across the nation have been celebrating, 'Girl Scouts Make the World a Better Place Week'. The event marks the 95th Anniversary of Girls Scouts USA, founded by Juliette Gordon Lowe. Killingworth Brownie Troop 2311 joined the Board of Selectmen at its meeting on Monday evening to receive a proclamation from First Selectman Marty Klein. Troop 2311 is comprised of first and second graders from Killingworth Elementary School.

Girl Scouts USA is the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls. There are 3.7 million Girl Scouts throughout the United States, including U.S. territories, and in more than 90 countries through USA Girl Scouts Overseas. Nearly 50 million women grew up participating in Girl Scouts. In partnership with committed adult volunteers, girls develop qualities that will serve them all their lives, like leadership, strong values, social conscience, and conviction about their own potential and self-worth.
(pictured top-bot; l-r) Troop Leader Robin Duffield, Casey Szeglowski, Julia Duffield, Sarah Porter and Emily Mednick; Mary Pizzuto, Kate Porter, Alyx Stevenson. Photo courtesy R. Duffield

At a town meeting on February 28th, the STEAP Grant (Small Town Economic Assistance Program) from the State of Connecticut for the development of multi-purpose recreational fields on 16.23 acres of the town-owned Wettish property, was accepted and approved. The grant is now at the State DEP for final signatures.

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, engineering test holes were dug on the site. According Chris Kelly, who is heading the Wettish sub-committe of the Killingworth Park & Recreation, "preliminary results are better than expected". In addition, a Request for Statements of Qualifications from firms for the design of the fields has been prepared by the KP&RC Design sub-committee and is expected to be posted next Tuesday, April 3rd. The deadline for responses will be two weeks from that date. As work progresses on the fields, the KP&RC will keep everyone posted.


Photos courtesy S. Cumpstone

Want to go to prom but don't want to spend tons of money on a dress? Come to the 'Dress for Less' Sale to find dresses at a low cost. The sale takes place at the Old Haddam-Killingworth Middle School Gym on Little City Rd. in Higganum. The sale starts on Saturday, March 31 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and ends on Sunday, April 1 from 12:30p.m. to 4:00 p.m. This is for a senior project. All money goes to a Breast Cancer Foundation.

State Sen. Ed Meyer expressed his opposition to a proposed eminent domain bill that is now before the Judiciary Committee, saying it does nothing to prevent private homeowners from having their property taken in exchange for other, more lucrative private development.

"Nearly two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court set a horrible precedent in its Kelo v. City of New London decision by expanding the definition of 'public use' in federal law to include generating more local jobs or taxes from some new, private investment. And our proposed fix here in the current session of the Connecticut General Assembly does nothing to overturn that calamitous decision," Sen. Meyer said. "Like 12 other states, Connecticut should draw a bright line which unequivocally protects a person's land and home from being taken by the government for private gain."

Sen. Meyer said the bill before the Judiciary Committee, S.B. 1446, "An Act Concerning the Use of Eminent Domain for Economic Development Purposes," makes an attempt to address the Kelo decision with new language prohibiting a development agency's taking of an owner-occupied real property consisting of four or fewer dwelling units if the development project will be under the sole ownership or control of a private enterprise.

"The problem with that language is that there are myriad ways to legally get around the intent of these proposed fixes," Sen. Meyer said. "Individuals who have bought real estate for investment purposes, or as a second home or a vacation home or as a rental property, are not protected. Courts could parse the definition of 'dwelling unit' to mean that a four-bedroom home with a basement living area can be taken by eminent domain. And 'private enterprises' could conceivably include quasi-public state or city agencies."

"What the legislature needs to do instead of nibbling around the edges is to address the fundamental question of, what is public use? Once we define that more narrowly than the federal government has - and as the U.S. Supreme Court has suggested that states do - only then will Connecticut residents be truly secure in their homes," Sen. Meyer said.

Resident Jan O'Sullivan joined 703 competitors at the Stamford Marriott last weekend to determine who was the very best at solving crossword puzzles. The 30th Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament is directed by Will Shortz, the crossword editor at the New York Times and was recently brought to the screen in the movie, Wordplay. O'Sullivan finished 105th overall, and 11th out of the 274 first-time entrants. She said, "more satisfying than doing well was experiencing the competition, meeting the "stars" and director of "Wordplay", and many other really nice people".

O'Sullivan said she first put the competition on her "radar" when she started doing The Times puzzle regularly ten years ago. She said she will definitely return in 2008 when the competition, which has outgrown its accommodations in Stamford, moves to Brooklyn.

O'Sullivan has been doing puzzles since her early teens and has competed in the Canton Library competition the last two years. She does The Times puzzle every day and also enjoys Merl Reagle's Sunday puzzle in the Hartford Courant.

In the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, solvers tackle eight original crosswords created and edited specially for this two-day event. Scoring is based on accuracy and speed. Prizes are awarded in more than 20 categories, including a $5,000 grand prize. Tyler Hinman, 22, defeated eight-time finalist Al Sanders for the top prize this year. For an audio slide show of the final round, visit the Stamford Advocate.

According to the New Haven Register, the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority plans to buy 3,000 acres of watershed land over the next 10 years, in 16 towns including Killingworth, to protect the area's water supply. It will also give municipalities the first chance to purchase some 900 acres that are not necessary to the authority's operations.

The Board of Selectmen voted last night to award Luba Construction LLC of Bristol the contract for cleaning and filling the 2-acre, four-pit sludge lagoon site off of Tower Hill Road. The lagoons were closed last April and the State Department of Environmental Protection has specific requirements for remediation of the land.

If approved by the Board of Finance and at Town Meeting, the Town will pay Luba Construction $68,600. There will be an additional $11,862 for lab testing, $26,000 for soil removal and approximately $10,000 for engineering oversight and surveying for a total cost of approximately $116,000. First Selectman Marty Klein said he hopes the soil testing comes back clean so the soil removal is minimal. If tests reveal that the soil is contaminated, the Town may have to spend an additional $80,000 to remove the contaminated soil. Luba will start the cleaning within 10 days of approval and has 180 days to complete the project. Klein said with a dry summer, the project may be finished by the end of the year.

To the Editor:
As a member of the Haddam Board of Selectmen, I look forward to meeting with the Killingworth and Haddam Boards of Selectmen, and the Killingworth and Haddam Boards of Finance at Youth and Family Services of Haddam-Killingworth, Inc. office on Tuesday, April 3 at 7 p.m. to discuss our shared communities' needs.

YFS-HK will present to the elected officials, the public and the press the current state of YFS-HK, its services it provides to our two towns, and their need of our support so they can better serve our communities. YFS-HK has requested $95,000 from each of our two towns this budget season for the 2007-08 fiscal year.

As taxpayers, we need to listen and discuss how to best dispense town dollars where they are needed. YFS has demonstrated that they are feeling the frustrating effects of trying to serve our residents with counseling services and preventive programming with minimal staff and an inadequate budget. Read more

Sunday March 18:
• 12:30 AM: Fire alarm, Fritz Rd
• 8:06 AM: Medical emergency, Bridlepath Trl
• 9:11 PM: Mutual Aid to Durham, Structure fire, Hickory Hill Dr
Monday March 19:
• 8:45 PM: Motor vehicle accident, Route 80 near Hemlock Dr
Wednesday March 21:
• 6:04 PM: Motor vehicle accident, Route 81 and Stevens Rd.
Friday March 23:
• 4:28 PM: Medical emergency, Iron Works Rd
Saturday March 24:
• 8:52 PM: Medical emergency, Swan Lake Trl

Since 1993, Killingworth's own Connie Bombaci as been a guardian angel and advocate for deaf dogs all over the world. The former teacher and administrator at Haddam-Killingworth High School has been teaching and speaking in an effort to help people understand and communicate with their deaf canine friends. She has appeared on numerous television shows including Dateline, Oprah and Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures and was recently featured in The New York Times.

Bombaci, with help of her Dalmatians Georgia and Hogan, has helped change the way people view deafness in animals. Her success in teaching her dogs sign language has allowed dogs that would otherwise be isolated and discarded to have a full and happy life. She said in the NYT piece that her immediate goal is for fewer dogs to be euthanized because they are deaf. In the long term, she hopes for something more. "I want people to see beyond their limitations". Lean more about Bombaci on her own website, wwwDeafdogs.com and get a glimpse of her with her dogs in the video below.

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

1. Call to Order
2. Approval of Minutes of Special Meeting held March 13, 2007
3. Visitors: Chris Kelly
4. Tax Abatements & Refunds
5. Appointments/Vacancies:
6. Old Business:
    1. Approval by BOS to appropriate additional funds for Remediation of Septic Lagoon Closure and to go before the BOF for approval of same and then Town Meeting
    2. Wettish Property Multi-Purpose Recreational Fields and Support Facilities - Invitation for statement of Qualifications for Professional Design Services
7. New Business:
    1. Girl Scout Week Proclamation - 2007
    2. Charter Revision Committee
8. MK Announcements
9. Selectmen's Concerns
10. Executive Session:
    1. Strategy - Property Foreclosure Concerns
    2. Employment - Public Works Foreman Position
11. Adjournment
Agenda as of 11:40 a.m., Friday, 3/23/2007
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