The Haddam-Killingworth Recreation is offering a Driver's Ed program this winter. Participants must be 16 years old before the start of class. There is a 38-hour program that includes 30 hours of classroom including the safe driving and alcohol program along with 8 hours of behind-the-wheel. The fee is $500. Participants also have the option of taking the Safe Driving and Alcohol Program alone, which is the 8-hour course that fulfills the requirement of the State of Ct for license applicants who took a Home Training Program. New this year - this course is required for all drivers, including those who are over the age of 18. The fee for this course is $125.

Participants can choose to attend lasses will be held Mondays or Wednesdays, 6:30 - 8:30 pm, January 12 - March 11 (no 1/19, 2/16, 2/18) or Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3 - 5 pm, January 13 - March 19 (No 1/20, 2/5, 2/17, 2/19), plus orientation on January 12th. All students and parents must attend an orientation on Monday, January 12th at 6:30 pm in the HK HS Lower Media Center. Regular classes will be held in the HK HS Rm. C-220. Students will not receive a certificate unless they attend. The Safe Driving dates are M/W, January 12, 14, 21, 26 or T/Th, January 13, 14, 22 plus orientation on Monday January 12th. There will be a special weekend session of the Safe Driving Course as well on Sat. and Sunday, February 7th and 8th from 12 - 4 pm. Parents must attend that orientation from 12 - 2 pm on 2/7 if student is under 18. To register, please call the HK Recreation Dept. at 345-8334.

The Madison Youth Wrestling Club, formally The Connecticut Hurricanes, recently took several area wrestlers to the Bristol Holiday Tournament held on December 28th. MYW had five wrestlers place in the medal rounds. Matthew and Michael Elias took home gold, while John Ruggero and Zack Roth earned silver medals. Joey Ciotti and Peter Elias both received bronze. Roth is from Killingworth and also wrestles for the newly formed HKMS wrestling team. MYW Clubs next tournament will be held on Sunday January 4th in Southington.

The Town Offices will be closing early today, Wed., Dec. 31, at 12-noon due to the Snow Storm and closed Thursday, Jan. 1, 2009, New Year's Day. Town Offices will be OPEN on Friday, Jan. 2, 2009.

Registration for the Killingworth Youth League 2009 spring baseball and softball season will be held on the following dates:

• Saturday, January 10: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at H-K Middle School, Rt. 81

• Wednesday, January 14: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Killingworth Fire House, Rt. 81

• Saturday, January 24: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at H-K Middle School, Rt. 81

Boys and girls ages 6 to 16 are eligible to play.

For details and the registration form, go to www.kylbaseball.org. If you have questions, please email KYL at info@kylbaseball.org. Anyone interested in serving as a volunteer should go to the volunteer section of the KYL website, print out the volunteer form, and bring completed form to the registration with a photo ID.

"The March" by award winning author E. L. Doctorow is the novel selected for the January 12th meeting of Killingworth's Tuesday Book Discussion Group. It paints the canvas of General Sherman's 1864 march with 60,000 troops from a burned Atlanta east through Georgia and into the Carolinas in both broad and fine strokes. A New York Times reviewer wrote of Doctorow that he managed "to weld the personal and the mythic into a thrilling and poignant story."

Discussion begins at 1:00 in the Killingworth Library meeting room. Newcomers are always welcome.

The Killingworth Library will be closed on Wednesday the 31st and Thursday, January 1st. We are open Tuesday until 8pm - stop by for movies and stock up on good reads. Snow is coming! Also, if you received a post-Christmas gift that you want to reciprocate, check out the library items for sale: mugs, totebags, stationery, and (new item) collectible library cookbooks. The library will be reopen with regular hours on Friday. Happy New Year!

New Zoning Regulations

The Planning and Zoning Commission has passed some new zoning and subdivision regulations effective January 1, 2009. A complete text of the regulations can be seen in the Town Clerk's office. The most important are summarized here.

        1. Retirement Housing Subdivision. This regulation is designed to provide convenient housing for persons over age 55 and is modeled after the current Conservation Subdivision regulation. It permits variations to conventional subdivisions in density and residential use facilities in order to promote the development of housing for older persons and to provide incentives for the preservation of open space. It has the potential to increase the tax base without the associated costs of education. Over age 55 housing is recommended in the 2008 Town Plan of Conservation and Development and by the Housing Partnership.

        2. Outdoor Wood-Burning Furnace. With the increased costs of fuel, these have become popular as an alternative form of heating. While they can reduce heating costs, they also have the potential to cause severe air pollution and to adversely affect neighbors from smoke. This regulation is designed to minimize pollution and annoyance of neighbors by outdoor wood-burning furnaces. They are based on provisions already enacted by the State of Connecticut and set standards for setbacks, height of chimneys, and for particulate and visible emissions. Anyone wishing to install an outdoor wood-burning furnace must get a permit from the Zoning Enforcement Officer.

        3. Tree Preservation Plan. The purpose of this regulation is to preserve the wooded nature of Killingworth by minimizing the loss of trees from development and to reduce storm water runoff. In most developments, the land is clear cut resulting in unattractive loss of trees and the potential for severe storm water runoff with pollution of adjacent streams and wetlands. The Tree Preservation Plan describes procedures to identify, protect, and preserve specimen and significant trees. The plan is required under Zoning Regulations for special exception applications and under Subdivision Regulations for subdivision applications.

Killingworth Planning and Zoning Commission

HK Sports: The HK Girls Basketball team fell to the St. Bernard Saints, 36-25, last night in the championship game of the 2nd Annual DeRita Construction Holiday Classic. The Cougars were led by Shelby Van Huysen's 14 points and Allie Rand's 8 rebounds. Van Huysen was named to the All Tournament team. The HK JV team also played for the championship, losing to Guilford, 48-24. HK's Cloe Savino was named to the JV All-Tournament team.

HK senior tri-captains Shelby Van Huysen, Deanna Loso and Allie Rand accept the runner-up trophy for the Cougars' second place finish in the DeRita Construction Holiday Classic. Photo courtesy E. Anderson

SAGE American Grill
a WISE choice for all seasons
129 West Main Chester
860-526-9898
www.sageamerican.com

Cuisine: ** Service: ***
Ambiance: ** Price Range: $$
Wine Menu: sensible selections compliment the food; over 30 wines by the glass are global choices from California, Chile, Italy or France at $ 7.00

Cross the covered foot-bridge spanning Pattaconk brook and step into history. The 1800's grist mill morphed into a factory for wooden skate-blades, then horse hair brushes, a place for welding, and finally in the 1960's into a succession of restaurants.

An overture of water-music thunders from the falls. Through lattice work the mind's eye will see a waterwheel no longer there. Brightly colored flower pots framing small courtyards invite to intimate al fresco dining during the warm season. Winter slows the brook to a whisper beneath a sparkling dome of ice reflecting the golden glow of the beckoning hearth inside.

Enjoy happy-hour hospitality offerings while sipping cocktails or fashion Martinis ($5.95-9.40) in the living-room-ambiance bar where wingback chairs and love seats relieve stress, and boulders tumbling through the wall attest that this place was built on granite. Read more

KillingworthToday proudly announces the addition of a new monthly feature. R.C. Bruckner-Bock will provide entertaining and informative guides to our local restaurants. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome to the editor@killingworthtoday.com

Sunday: December 21:
• 02:50:09 Mutual Aid Fire Standby, Clinton HQ.
Wednesday: December 24:
• 02:35:13 Medical Call, Hemlock Drive.
• 08:17:49 MVA, Route 148 & Roast Meat Hill Road.
Thursday: December 25:
• 15:49:35 Medical Call, Woodland Trail.
Friday: December 26:
• 08:04:50 Medical Call, Grouse Court.
Saturday: December 27:
• 08:25:37 Medical Call, Green Hill Road.

HK Sports: The HK Girls Basketball team defeated Valley Regional on Saturday, 65-20, in the first round of the 2nd Annual DeRita Construction Holiday Classic. Junior Jordan Shultz led the Cougars in scoring with 16 points. Eight other players scored including Shelby Van Huysen with 10, Allie Rand with 8, Emily Anderson with 7, Deanna Loso, Shaina Rowley and Cloe Savino with 6 each, Lauren Muise with 4 and Ashley Cook with 2. Other notable statistics included Loso's 5 steals and Anderson's 4 assists. The Cougars will play for the tournament championship on Monday evening at 7:30 p.m. against St. Bernard's. The HK junior varsity also beat Valley Regional, 51-21, and will face Guilford in the JV championship game at 3:30 on Monday afternoon.

On behalf of the Killingworth Lions Club, I thank all the individuals who donated food, cash, and gift certificates during our collections at the compactor site in November and December. Special thanks to the man (name unknown, possibly Santa Claus incognito) who gave $250 in Roberts Food Center gift cards on November 1. All items were turned over to Helping Hands of Killingworth. A great many family's holidays were enriched by your gifts. As always, our projects succeed due to the generosity of the residents in our town.

Terry Doyle,
President Killingworth Lions Club