Healthy Communities - Healthy Kids is the Haddam and Killingworth communities' prevention coalition under the auspices of Youth and Family Services of Haddam Killingworth, Inc. HCHK is hosting a Community Discussion, "Is 21 the Answer?" at the Haddam Fire House 1, Route 154, Higganum, on Thursday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m.

The local forum has been organized for the purpose of promoting discussion concerning the legal drinking age. Two groups, one in favor of leaving the drinking age at 21 and known as "Why 21"(www.why21.org), and the "Amethyst-Initiative" (www.amethystinitiative.org ), an organization created to question the wisdom of the legal drinking age, will be represented. The panel will discuss the issues leaving room for questions from the audience at the end of the program.

HCHK has assembled an array of professionals and lay people to serve on each of the two panels. Our "Don't Lower the Drinking Age!" panel will be comprised of a MADD representative, a liquor store owner, a college student, a state prevention official and a pediatrician. This panel will provide information and opinions supporting their position that the drinking age should remain at 21. The second group, "Is 21 Working?" will represent the point of view which maintains that the current drinking age is not effective and might need to be changed. This group will include a college dean, a student, parents, and other professionals who are concerned about the issue.

Local resident Dan O'Sullivan, will act as moderator, explaining that the gathering is meant to be an exchange of ideas and not a debate. HCHK is interested in providing information that will encourage conversation and continued education about the issue of underage drinking. O'Sullivan will introduce three introductory speakers J. Lee Peters, PhD. VP of Student Affairs at the Univ. of Hartford, to explain the Amethyst Initiatve. Connecticut State Police Officer Christopher Bartolotta from Troop F and Elizabeth Prince, from the UCONN Department of Wellness and Prevention Services will also provide perspectives on the drinking age issue. O'Sullivan will then help lead the discussion which will be followed by questions and answers.

The forum will be broadcast later on Comcast Cable Channel 18. Event is free of charge. All are welcome to attend and refreshments will be available.

On February 21st, the Killingworth Lions Club hosted its twelfth Annual Senior Dinner at the Saint Lawrence Church Hall. Over 100 friends and neighbors were treated to a dinner of Stuffed Pork Loin with all the trimmings. The menu included appetizer trays of fresh fruit and assorted cheeses, fruit punch and wine, salad, and a choice of carrot cake or cheese cake for dessert. Before dinner Father Robert Buongirno offered a blessing. State Senator Ed Meyer and State Representative Brian O'Connor addressed the group informing them of the latest happening concerning seniors at the State Capital. Ann Shapiro of Crackerbarrel Entertainments, entertained the dinner guests with her special interpretation of favorite and familiar songs.

At the dinner, Bruce Dodson received the Lions' Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award in recognition of his many years of service to Killingworth. First Selectman Rich Cabral presented Bruce with a plaque, signed by the Selectmen, proclaiming February 24, 2009, as Bruce Dodson Day.

This annual February event is sponsored by the Lions Club to recognize and honor the town's senior.

Madison Youth Wrestling saw enrollment of 40 wrestlers for the 2008-2009 season. Wrestlers came from surrounding towns of Killingworth, Saybrook/Westbrook and East Haven, as well as Madison. Milford was home to the State Qualifier Event. Matthew Elias and Kevin Wivell finished first in the middle school division. Silver medals were awarded to Michael Elias, Will Hendrick and Luke Edwards. Bronze went to Peter Elias, Rex Pardales and Liam Sullivan. Finishing fourth and qualifying for states was Adam Hendrick. Taking home fifth to qualify as alternates were Zack Roth, and Nick Iannuzzi. MYW found themselves with Kevin Wivell and Matthew Elias placing second and third respectively at the state championship finals, qualifying them for the New England Championships. MYW honored the athletes at the annual awards banquet held on March 11th. Receiving the Outstanding Wrestler Award were Matthew Elias and Kevin Wivell. Zack Roth was presented with the award for Best Takedowns. Most Improved was earned by Ryan Vuolo and a Leadership Award was given to Joey Ciotti and Rex Pardales.

In Madison, March 10, Rita Moffitt Harkin, wife of the late Joseph M. Harkin, Sr., passed away peacefully at the Madison House. She was a former resident of Boulder Trail, Killingworth. Mother of Alyce (Dr. James F. Casey) of Milford and Joseph M. Harkin, Jr.; sister of Muriel Treat (Carleton) of Oxford; also survived by 8 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. She was predeceased by a daughter Elizabeth "Betsy" Harkin; a sister, Ursula Walsh and a brother, John J. Moffitt, Jr. Mrs. Harkin was born in New Haven on April 19, 1913, daughter of the late John J., Moffitt, Sr. and Alice Fox Moffitt. She owned the Polka Dot Hat & Bridal Shop in West Haven for many years and was also a fashion coordinator for many area retail stores. She was a communicant of St. Lawrence Church in Killingworth. She will be missed by her family and friends. The family would like to thank the staff at Madison House for their exceptional care and kindness and the Strong House in Madison for their friendship.

Friends are invited to attend a mass of Christian burial at St. Lawrence Church, 7 Hemlock Dr., Killingworth on Friday morning at 11 o'clock. Burial will be private, Arrangements by the Keenan Funeral Home.

HK Sports: The HK Girls Basketball team season ended Wednesday evening with a, 71-47, loss to Berlin in the CIAC Class M state tournament quarterfinals at Middletown High. Senior tri-captain Shelby Van Huysen led the Cougars with 17 points and scored her 1,000th career point, finishing her career with 1,010 total points. Fellow senior tri-captains Allie Rand and Deanna Loso scored 5 and 4 points respectively against Berlin. Rounding out the Cougar scoring were Emily Anderson with 8, Shaina Rowley had 5, Lauren Muise and Carley Mooney each hit a 3 pointer and Jordan Shultz netted a pair. The Cougars finished the season with an overall record of 21 wins and 5 losses and won the Shoreline Conference Championship. Thanks to the many fans who supported the team on Wednesday evening and throughout the season, especially the Cougar Den. Read more about the game in today's Middletown Press.

HK senior tri-captain Shelby Van Huysen celebrates scoring her 1,000th career point with some of her biggest fans on Wednesday evening after HK's game vs. Berlin. Photo courtesy E. Anderson

The Killingworth Evergreen Garden Club presents Anne Duncan: Planning A Herb Garden on Thursday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Congregational Church Parish Hall.

Anne Duncan, a knowledgeable source on herbs and owner of The Salem Herb Farm located in Salem, Conn. will lecture on planning a herb garden. Anne will talk about the benefits of growing your own herbs as well as choosing the type of plants for the New England area. She will address in her speech the cultural care and insects or diseases that might affect your herb garden as well as difficult herbs to grow. Please join us to see this wonderful speaker.

Join the Arts Center at Killingworth on Sunday, March 22nd from 1-4:30pm for this hands-on Mask-Making Workshop with Sculptor Marcy LaBella. Participants will create unique, soulful decorative clay masks, perfect for the garden or home. Hand-building, finishing and texture techniques for life-like expressions will be explored. Armatures and materials including stamps, laces and ware boards will be provided. Finished masks will also be displayed. An extra treat will be a pinch pot to take-home.

LaBella is a studio artist who works in ceramic artware and metal craft jewelry. She is a member of the Wesleyan Potters Craft Guild and has been juried into shows with the CT Women Artists and the New Haven Paint and Clay Club. Workshop fee is $65 and includes all materials. To register call (860) 663-5593 or email artscenterkillingworth@gmail.com. Check out our upcoming events online at www.artscenterkillingworth.org.

Beginning in March and running through June, the Killingworth Library Association is offering a series of nine timely health awareness programs. Free to the public, they will feature speakers from Yale-New Haven Hospital, Middlesex Hospital, and the Alzheimer's Association-Ct. Chapter.

The series begins with a discussion on Alzheimer's disease. The session will be held on Monday, March 16th at 1:00 p.m. in the Killingworth Library meeting room. The ten warning signs of Alzheimer's will be presented and compared to normal age-related memory changes. Memory aids and remembering strategies will be discussed along with the importance of lifestyle in reducing memory loss.

The second program in the series, "Stroke: Improving Outcomes through Action" will be given by Brad Fowler, EMT-P, RT(R), at the Killingworth Library, Thursday, March 26, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. It will cover the risks and causes of strokes, along with their signs and symptoms and the importance of early recognition and transport. The program will present available treatment to reverse the effects of stroke and the individual's role in improving stroke outcomes.

Topics for subsequent programs are Women and Heart Disease, Managing Diabetes, Coping with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Dealing with Childhood Asthma. There will also be two additional Alzheimer's programs: Issues for Caregivers, and Brain Power-Reduce YOUR Risk. Dates for these will be out soon.

To the Editor:
by Annette Cook
This note is in response to Senator Meyers' letter about the bill requesting government to "draft a law by which church administration would be governed by a board of directors consisting solely of parishioners and not clergy" with clergy relegated to an advisory role only.

For those who may be unaware, many churches already exist with this type of operation, and they do so without federal, state or local government intervention.

Congregational churches are so named because they are truly run by the congregations. For example, we have a wonderful pastor at the Congregational Church in Killingworth - the Reverend Martha Bays. She is a member of the congregation and has a voice equal to that of each and every other member of the church. Read more

The last few copies of the 1981 Killingworth Library Cookbook are on sale at the library for the bargain price of just $5.00. The book contains nearly 100 pages of favorite recipes from longtime Killingworth residents including appetizers, breads, casseroles and desserts. Among the treats are such teasers as Hot Barbados Crab Dip, Swedish Green Potatoes (yes, Swedish not Irish), Soup Potage Chantilly, and Grandma Moore's Oatmeal Cookies. Come in and have a browse through the recipes and get your copy while the supply lasts. All proceeds from the sale of the cookbook benefit the library.

The Killingworth Republican Town Committee is having a St. Patrick's Day celebration on Saturday, March 14th, at 32 Wolf Hollow Lane in Killingworth beginning at 7:00 p.m. Irish food and spirits will be provided. The cost is $35 per couple with a portion of the funds being donated to the Killingworth Foundation. For more information, please visit the KRTC website at www.killingworthrepublicans.org or contact nancy_gorski@comcast.net.

The Connecticut General Assembly has been distracted by the introduction of a bill which would throw the state government into the governance of the Catholic Church. It appears that pastors of two Catholic churches in Fairfield County embezzled large sums of money from their churches with the result that several parishioners asked our Judiciary Committee to draft a law by which church administration would be governed by a board of directors consisting solely of parishioners and not clergy. By state law, the parishioner board would have the exclusive power to establish budgets and manage the financial and administrative affairs of the church. The pastor and bishops would be relegated to only an advisory role.

The bill has already created a firestorm of debate. One clergy opponent asked, "How can the legislature do this? Isn't this unconstitutional?" One supporter of the bill stated, "If parishioners don't stand up and take back their church, these things [embezzlements by pastors] will continue."

Remarkably, the co-chairs of the Judiciary Committee agreed to draft this bill and to present it for a public hearing. From the huge amount of calls and emails that my office alone has received, it appears that we will need the Hartford Civic Center to hold a public hearing on this bill!

Government intervention into church matters should be exercised, if ever, with great care and caution. In this instance, the state has appropriately intervened only in connection with the embezzlement crimes that have been committed, and one of the pastors is now residing in jail for a long prison term. Our state's criminal justice system is an appropriate governmental intervention, but a state dictate of the governance of a church is highly misplaced and a dangerous invasion of the separation of church and state doctrine.

It is predictable that the bill might be amended to apply to all religious establishments—both Catholic and Protestant Churches, synagogues and mosques. Horrors! I will debate and vote against any bill by which our state government seeks to control the administration of either the Catholic Church or any other religious organization.

First Selectman Richard Cabral will present the Board of Selectmen's $4,791,387.00 operating budget to the Board of Finance tonight for its review and input. The budget represents a 4% decrease from last year's budget. The BOS's capital budget is $1,677,000. It is essentially the same as last year and includes a request to issue short term notes for funding of the Wettish field project and "pre-funding" for the Reservoir Road Bridge project that will be repaid within the terms of the Federal Bridge Program.

Cabral and Selectmen Fred Dudek and Cathy Iino said while there were some increases in costs, most of the departments and funded agencies came in with a zero increase budget. The Board made small cuts across many areas in order to achieve a budget that would maintain or decrease the mill rate depending on the Region 17 budget component. They maintained the existing level of funding for HK Recreation and Youth and Family Services and were able to allocate money in reserve for capital projects.

The Board praised the hard work of Financial Director Gina Regolo for making the budget process smooth and extremely accurate. The Board of Finance will finalize the budget and present it to the town in late April and will hold its Annual Town Budget Meeting on May 18.

The Environment Committee of the General Assembly has unanimously approved a bill which would require the State Department of Public Health to notify the Chief Executive Officer of Connecticut's municipalities upon discovery by the Department that federal water contamination standards have been exceeded.

The bill was offered by state Sen. Edward Meyer, who is Senate Chairman of the Environment Committee, and was co-sponsored by State Rep. Deb Heinrich (D-Madison) upon discovery last fall that the state Department of Public Health had found water uranium levels of more than three times the federal EPA acceptable standard in a condominium community and two schools in Madison.

"The failure of the state to give notice to Madison of its discovery in 2003 of these high uranium levels is not acceptable and must hereafter require prompt state notice," Sen. Meyer said. "This bill will now go to the Public Health Committee, and I am very hopeful that it will be approved at that committee level and then sent to the floor of the Senate and House."

"It is common sense that the state should notify town officials when its public water supply is compromised. It is a shame that we have to legislate common sense," Rep. Heinrich said.

Uranium contamination in drinking water does not present a radioactivity issue but instead has been found to cause toxic effects on human organs, particularly the liver and kidney. These toxic effects are more harmful to children. Sen. Meyer explained that such effect is the reason why the students at Madison's Ryerson and Brown Schools have converted to bottle water until a more permanent solution can be found.

To the Editor,
by Tim Gannon
As a proud longtime resident of Killingworth (30 yrs.), I'm pleased to see a number of upcoming events that are about to take place in town. I'm referring to the upcoming cleanup, this Saturday the 14th, at the Parmelee Farm (formally known as the Bosco property), and the town road cleanup. These are two projects that I whole hearted support and I encourage any other Killingworth residents to get involved by helping out this spring.

Until last year, I have to admit, I had forgotten all about the purchase of the Bosco property, about 8 years ago. I remember then, walking the property on one of the open house days and thinking what a great place for hiking trails and many other activities. Thanks to the efforts of many people on the land use committee, things are starting to happen. Read more

HK Sports: The HK Girls Basketball team will play in the CIAC Class M state tournament quarterfinals at Middletown High School on Wednesday evening, March 11th at 7:45 p.m. versus the Berlin Redcoats. The game is the second game of a doubleheader.

Directions to the NEW Middletown High School are:
From Rt. 9 North and South:
Take Exit 15 (Washington St) off of Rt.9. Follow Washington St. 1 mile. Take right at traffic light onto Rt. 3 (Newfield St.). Continue 1.5 miles and take a left onto LaRosa Lane to Middletown High School.

The Killingworth Chamber of Commerce, inspired by Cathleen Adams' idea for a Killingworth Clean-Up Day, would like to help organize a community-wide event in April in conjunction with Earth Day week. Friends, neighbors, and community organizations are encouraged to "Adopt a Road" for beautification. We would like to invite any interested parties to meet for a planning session in the meeting room of the Killingworth Library on Saturday, March 14th at 3:00 pm. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to kcc_business@snet.net

The Municipal Land Use Committee and a dedicated group of volunteers are looking for extra hands to help with land clearing activities at Parmelee Farm (465 Route 81; just north of the middle school) this Saturday, March 14 starting at 9:00 a.m. High school students seeking community service hours credits are welcome. Please RSVP to Tim Elliott at 860.663.0925.

One of the MLUC's charges is to look at securing and preserving the 133-acre Parmelee Farm. The farm includes an 1835 farmhouse and two historic barns. The committee has already secured funds from the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation to conduct a feasibility study to explore the viability and potential reuse options of the structures. The New York Times recently ran a story, Saving the Barns, Before They Vanish highlighting the need to preserve the old structures.

If you haven't visited the property or haven't noticed the recent changes, please come out to help or just have a look around this wonderful town-owned property.

Since 1984, The Killingworth Evergreen Garden club has awarded scholarships to residents for the study of horticulture, landscape design, environmental science or related fields. Applicants must be high school graduates or adults planning to attend a two-or four-year program.

This year up to $1500.00 in scholarship money is available. Scholarship applications must be submitted by April 30th and are available at the Haddam-Killingworth High School Guidance Department or the Killingworth Library. For further information contact Chris Cronin at 860-663-4217.

Sunday: March 1:
• 12:32:57 Structure Fire, Route 148 .
Monday: March 2:
• 11:10:09 Automatic Alarm, Sugar Hill Road.
• 17:46:48 HAZMAT, Beaver Dam Road.
Tuesday: March 3:
• 13:46:14 Chimney Fire, Schnoor Road.
• 18:44:47 Medical Call, Route 81.
Thursday: March 5:
• 12:17:00 Fire Alarm, Clinton, Fairy Dell Road.
• 21:54:49 Structure Fire, Partridge Hollow Road.
Friday: March 6:
• 17:20:48 Medical Call, Route 81.

Agenda
Regular Meeting of the Board of Selectmen
Monday, March 9, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.
Town Office Building

1. Call to Order
2. Pledge Of Allegiance
3. Approval of Minutes of Regular Meeting held February 23, and Special Meetings of February 24 & 25, 2009
4. Visitors: Concerning Items on the Agenda
5. Tax Abatements & Refunds:
6. Vacancies:
    (A) IWWC - 1, (B) OEM - 1, (C) Public Health Agency-1 (D) Recreation -1 (E) Housing Partnership - 4 (F) Estuary Council of Seniors - 2 (G) Municipal Land Use - 2 (H) Open Space Sub Committee - 2
7. Appointments:
    A. Public Health Agency - Gary Mala
    B. Open Space Committee - Bruce Dodson
8. Old Business:
9. New Business:
    A. Charter Revision Report - Helen Mahoney
    B. Approval of 2009/10 Budget & Authorization to take to Board of Finance.
10. RJC Announcements
11. Selectmen's Concerns
12. Visitor Comments: General
13. Adjournment
Printable version

To the Editor:
Seeing two articles on this topic and noticing the increasing litter in our town prompted me to write with a suggestion for organizing an event. There are several Girl and Boy Scout organizations in town who look for activities of community service for the scouts. Additionally, the high school has community service requirements for graduation. Having said that, our town's young people would not only benefit from participating in a clean up effort by seeing first hand the effects of tossing something in the street rather than finding a trash receptacle, but also make a valuable contribution to our community, and satisfy various service requirements. I see it as a "win-win" and urge local troop leaders and youth group leaders to consider helping to organize an event, or events, as part of their spring activities. Like Ms. Adams, my family and many of our neighbors are willing to participate. I read Killingworth Today faithfully and look forward to seeing a response from our neighbors with the resources to organize an event!

Cher Trentini