Guilford panel offers school upgrade options

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 28, 2008

GUILFORD — Two Guilford schools are in need of at least some repairs, and the price tag for construction could range from $28 million to $112 million, members of a community task force told the Board of Education Wednesday.

The meeting was the culmination of more than three years of investigation of the conditions at the district’s school buildings, especially Guilford High School and Elisabeth C. Adams Middle School.

The Community Task Force on School Facilities presented seven options to the board, including basic health and safety repairs at the two schools, an overall grade reconfiguration at several schools, and “renovate as new” projects for the high school and middle school.

The most expensive option would be to build completely new facilities, but task force co-Chairmen Mauro Rubbo and Mary Jo Kestner said that option would address all of the school district’s current infrastructure and educational program needs.

An architecture firm hired by the district put the cost of replacing Adams Middle School, assuming work begins in 2012, at $69.8 million. The cost for a new high school would be about $112 million.

For a house with an assessed value of $300,000, the presenters said, those figures would translate into $426 for the middle school work in the 2012-13 fiscal year, when the town’s debt load would begin. The new high school could increase taxes by $687 for a homeowner with a $300,000 house.

The basic renovations, which would cover health and safety concerns, have an estimated cost of $28 million for the middle school and $60.7 million for the high school.

The third major option, for a “renovate like new” project, would carry a total price tag of $59.7 million for the middle school and $93.7 million for the high school.

The task force also assumed that about 30 percent of the cost could be reimbursed by the state.

Board of Education Chairman William Bloss called Wednesday’s presentation an “unprecedented meeting” for Guilford.

“We have invested far less in infrastructure than comparable towns and part of that is not necessarily bad — we have been cautious,” Bloss said. “But we must make sure that caution does not become irresponsibility.”

In January 2003, Guilford residents defeated a $55 million proposal to renovate Abraham Baldwin Middle School and replace Adams Middle School with a new building.

The presentation included a timeline for construction that would set a referendum on the issue for December, with construction beginning in 2012. Bloss said Wednesday that the Board of Education will hold tours of the buildings and forums for public input.

The high school tour is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. March 19 with the public forum at 7:30. The Adams Middle School tour is set for March 27 at 6:30 p.m.

Guilford High may get new weight room

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 28, 2008

GUILFORD — A group of parents of Guilford High School students is hoping for the Board of Education’s approval to set up an athletic training room in an old portable classroom near the football field.

The plan has been presented to the board, which could vote on it March 10. Under the proposal, the school’s weight room would move from a space in the main high school building to the larger outbuilding.

The current training room is beneath the high school’s auxiliary gym.

The parents are offering to pay for the project, which would include donated services to make the building appropriate as a weight room and some new equipment.

Ron Nault, one of the parents working on the proposal, said the move would roughly double the size of the training facility. He estimated that the value of the donated services will be at least $10,000.

“The existing (training room) is small and crowded and booked all the time,” Nault said. “It’s a way to get a better facility there at the high school at no cost to the taxpayers or the Board of Education.”

Nault said that the initial effort would be to refurbish the building and transfer the high school’s weights and machines there.

“Now, two people can’t use adjacent machines because they’re so crowded,” he said. “The additional equipment would follow, but the additional space would be huge.”

Athletic Director Chip Dorwin said that the high school’s sports and physical education programs have outgrown the current fitness room.

“We’re very crowded and the environment is not real good,” Dorwin said. “It’s an interior room, so there are no windows (and) ventilation is not as good as what we would like.”

Dorwin called the proposal to move the facility “a great concept.”

Superintendent of Schools Thomas Forcella said the outbuilding where the parents hope to relocate the weight room is used as storage for custodial staff and the school’s drama program. He is looking into whether the existing weight room is large enough to store those items.

Forcella said he thinks the new weight room could go ahead “as long as the group that is looking to refurbish that area and make it into a weight facility understands that there’s the possibility that if we do have a project at the school, that that building may be demolished.”

The school district is looking into the possibility of replacing or renovating the high school. Nault said the parents are aware that the outbuilding could be removed during construction.

“With those (plans) being four years away or more, we would deem it worthwhile to go ahead with our plan anyway, even if this building gets torn down as part of a high school expansion,” he said. “Any equipment we purchase would obviously be reusable into the new facility.”

Board of Education Chairman Bill Bloss called the idea for a new weight room “a really nice thing.”

“We got that proposal (in early February) and are going to try to figure out how to do it,” he said.

$1 million in cash stolen from home safe in North Branford

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 27, 2008

NORTH BRANFORD — Police have arrested three East Haven men on charges that they stole $1 million in cash from a North Branford resident who hit a lottery jackpot more than 20 years ago and was keeping the winnings in a home safe.

Two of the men arrested are the grandson and son-in-law, respectively, of the alleged victim, and the third man is a friend and neighbor of the other two, police said.

The thefts allegedly occurred on Nov. 5, when other family members were at a confirmation party, and Thanksgiving Day, Detective Sgt. Ken McNamara said. The North Branford man, whom police are not identifying, noticed on Jan. 15 that the money was missing from a safe in his house.

The victim, who is in his 60s, won $1 million in the lottery in 1986 and received periodic payments of the winnings until 2006, according to police. He kept the money in bills of different denominations in the safe and was apparently saving it for retirement, McNamara said. The arrested men allegedly took the pins off the safe and pried the door open to access the money.

North Branford police have recovered about $219,000 of the stolen money, McNamara said.

On Sunday, North Branford police arrested Raffaele Iuliano Jr., 18; his father, Raffaele Iuliano Sr., 44; and Joseph Bernardo, 24. All three live on Oregon Avenue in East Haven.

McNamara said he believes the suspects may have spent some of the money on a cruise and home renovations.

Raffaele Iuliano Jr. and Bernardo were each charged with first-degree larceny, second-degree burglary, second-degree conspiracy to commit burglary, and first-degree conspiracy to commit burglary, according to police. Raffaele Iuliano Sr. was charged with first-degree larceny and first-degree aiding and abetting larceny.

Each man was released on $50,000 bail. The Iulianos are due in Superior Court in New Haven March 6, and Bernardo has a court date of March 7, according to police.

McNamara said that officers started looking into the Iuliano family because the relative whose money was stolen suspected them.

Some of the stolen cash was allegedly being stored at the house of a friend of the Iulianos. McNamara said the friend gave police about $118,000, and he expects that more arrests will be made in the case. Bernardo gave police about $101,000, McNamara said.

Structural issues delay Smith Library project

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 26, 2008

NORTH BRANFORD — The Edward Smith Library expansion has hit a snag as structural issues have come to light during construction, according to town officials.

The issues have delayed work on the project for a few weeks, Interim Town Manager Michael Paulhus said Monday.

Paulhus said that workers have found “unforeseen” structural issues with the existing foundation, as well as hard rock and ledge where the building is slated to expand.

“They’ve got to shore up some of those walls, and they’ve got to do what’s called underpinning in terms of the foundation,” Paulhus said. “We’ve got some issues with getting the rock and ledge out of there, but doing it in such a way that it’s not going to undermine the integrity of the existing foundation.”

In addition, a problem with the architectural drawings for the site held up some progress, but Paulhus said that concern has been addressed.

At this point in the original timeline, he said, construction should have progressed to pouring concrete for the foundation.

“We’re behind schedule now, so that’s of some concern to us,” Paulhus said. “We’ll have to watch it and monitor it closely, obviously wanting to deliver this project on time and on budget.”

Paulhus said he thinks additional costs, if there are any, will be covered by the contingency funds in the project.

Keith Goldberg, senior construction manager for PinnacleOne, the construction company for the project, said the work is now about three weeks behind schedule. But he added that he believes the construction team will make up the time during the remainder of the job.

The $5 million project is set to be completed in February 2009.

Goldberg said that workers Wednesday will start the underpinning, which will add support to the existing foundation. On Monday, he said, they are planning to start pouring the foundation.

Construction on the Smith Library began in November. The work will renovate the existing 4,500-square-foot building and add 7,300 square feet. After the Smith Library expansion is complete, work is scheduled to start on expanding the Atwater Memorial Library.

Guilford police moms find right balance between babies, bandits

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 25, 2008

GUILFORD — For police Officers Martina Jakober and Joanne Shove, there are certain challenges to being both cops and mothers with new babies at home.

Jakober decided to take an extra three months of unpaid maternity leave because, for one, she found that breast-feeding was not entirely compatible with law enforcement.

“It makes it very difficult to be wearing the bulletproof vest,” she said. “In police work you can’t just say, ‘I’m sorry, I know you’re under arrest, I’ve got to head back to the station and pump.’ ”

And after being out of the office for six months and off the road for about a year, she felt like she had a case of “baby brain”: “I had a difficult time the first week getting my bearings — trying to get my brain back into the laws and statutes and uses of force.”

In most small-town police departments, female officers are still something of an anomaly: about 6 percent of the officers in departments that serve a population under 25,000 are women, according to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Guilford, with a population of about 22,000, has four women on its 38-person police force, or about 10.5 percent of the department. Jakober, who is 31, was the first officer in the history of the department to take maternity leave, with Shove, 35, following soon after her.

Jakober’s son Mason was born on Aug. 3, and she resumed full-time duty at the beginning of this month. Shove is still at home with her daughter, Julia, who was born Jan. 23. She plans to return to work on April 17.

Both officers said they had strong support from the Police Department during their pregnancies and leave. A few months into the pregnancy, each woman moved to inside duty, handling reports and meeting with people in the police station. After taking three months off — which included two months paid — Jakober requested an additional three months of unpaid leave to stay home with Mason and her older son, McKael, 5.

Shove called Guilford’s police officials “phenomenal” in their response to her pregnancy.

“They were so accommodating, and it was like, ‘What hours do you want to work and what days do you want off?’ ” she said. “It took any of that added stress away and it helped me have a healthy pregnancy.”

Having worked in Guilford for about six years, Shove said she has found the department accepting of female officers. Before joining the force, she was a nursery-school teacher in Westport. Some of the male officers “tease you here and there,” she said, but the department is “pretty diverse, which is good.”

“I really see there’s a need to have women on this job,” she said. “I think we approach situations very differently than men do. I think sometimes our presence on a scene can kind of de-escalate the situation.”

Jakober said she decided she wanted to be a police officer when she was 8 years old. She started her career in the police department in Tucson, Ariz. With a force of 1,700 people, it was a very different experience from working in Guilford.

When Jakober became pregnant with McKael, she was working as an undercover narcotics officer in Tucson. The department had a light-duty maternity policy in place, so she transitioned out of the narcotics work early in her pregnancy.

After moving back to Connecticut to be closer to family, Jakober said she would have liked to have another baby sooner, but waited because Guilford did not have a policy set up for light duty during pregnancy.

Chief Thomas Terribile said the Police Commission passed a maternity policy a few years ago.

Jakober said that having two officers on leave or light duty puts a strain on the department, but there are often people out with injuries or illnesses.

“In my opinion, law enforcement is still kind of a man’s world and it’s still unusual to see (female officers),” she said. “It’s still unusual, I think, for a woman to have a family and be in law enforcement period, so the actual having a baby and the two of us at the same time have a baby, I think it was a shock for the department.”

Terribile said that in many cases the department tries to make accommodations for people to balance family and career, whether for male or female officers. He added that no one has taken extended paternity leave in the past.

“In today’s environment the wife works and so does the husband, so we’re always juggling that around,” he said. “I don’t know how they juggle it. I was lucky — my wife was a stay-at-home mom.”

Shove and Jakober used a combination of sick days and vacation to take some paid time off, as well as unpaid days. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act guarantees workers 12 weeks of unpaid leave after the birth of a baby.

Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., was the author of the act, which was enacted 15 years ago, and now is working to expand it to include eight weeks of paid leave. The legislation would cover paid leave for both parents for a birth or the arrival of an adopted child, as well as time for people to take care of themselves or sick relatives.

Jakober’s and Shove’s husbands also work in emergency services. Scott Jakober is a police officer in Clinton, and Mike Shove is a captain in Guilford’s fire department.

Martina Jakober works 3-11 p.m. in Guilford, while her husband works from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., so they switch off with child care. They also have family nearby when there are any scheduling conflicts.

The Shoves said they will probably have Julia in a daycare two days a week. Mike Shove works 24-hour shifts at the firehouse followed by three days off duty.

“It’s easy right now because (Joanne’s) home, but when she goes back to work, it will definitely be a challenge trying to juggle schedules,” he said.

Both families said that they did not seriously consider having one parent stay home full-time, for a combination of financial and personal reasons.

“In this day and age, it’s a two-income world,” Joanne Shove said. “As wonderful as I think it would be to be home, I think you need something for yourself, too — something that’s you and you’re not just mom the whole time.”

Scott Jakober described his wife as very committed to both her family and her career.

“She’s a great mother — she really is very dedicated towards the kids and sacrifices for their best interest and really puts them first,” he said. “She’s a very aggressive, very dedicated police officer. She knows her job very well and is very good at it.”

With two police officers for parents, many might consider it a safe bet as to what the future holds for 5-year-old McKael and 6-month Mason. Indeed, when his mother recently asked him, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” McKael immediately responded, “A police officer.”

House fire victim had ‘turned her life around’

By Rachael Scarborough King, Rachael Scarborough King
Feb. 22, 2008

GUILFORD — The woman who died in a house fire Wednesday on Stillmea­dow Drive has been identified as Barbara Higgins, according to the chief medical examiner’s office.

The cause of death was smoke inhalation. Assistant Fire Chief Wayne Vetre said the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Higgins had been living at the home at 40 Stillmeadow Drive for about a year, along with some other people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. Glenn Remmers, who owns the house, said it is his private residence and he rents rooms to friends or people who are dealing with addictions.

He also works with two non-profit companies, Lifelinx and Catapult Services, which provide services for people with drug and alcohol addictions.

Remmers said he and four others, including Higgins, were home Wednesday afternoon when the fire started.

He said he smelled smoke and went to Higgins’ bedroom, and when he opened the door “there was a wall of flames there.”

Although the house rules include a ban on smoking, drinking and drugs, Remmers said he believes Higgins may have been smoking in bed before taking a nap. He said he had never seen her smoking in the house previously.

“If we do find them smoking, we ask them to leave,” he said.

Remmers described Higgins as a “wonderful person.” He said she was originally from Stonington and was a waitress in Guilford. She had been “clean” for about six months, he added. Another resident had identified Higgins as being in her late 30s.

It is unknown whether Higgins still had family in Stonington.

“We are deeply upset by it — she was a much-loved person (and) she had turned her life around,” Remmers said. “She had so much to offer and it’s just a real sad situation.”

Seven people were living in the house at the time, including Remmers and his wife. He said the house is uninhabitable, and most of the residents are now staying at a hotel.

Guilford’s police and fire departments, as well as the state fire marshal’s office, are investigating the incident, Vetre said.

Guilford may create board before charter change vote

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 22, 2008

GUILFORD — Voters will decide in November whether to amend the town charter to create a public works commission, but the town may set up the commission before the official vote.

The Board of Selectmen agreed this week to continue work on an ordinance to establish a five-member public works commission, rather than waiting to see whether voters approve it as part of the charter.

The creation of the public works board was one of five recommendations recently put forward by the Charter Revision Commission, all of which will go to voters in November.

First Selectman Carl Balestracci said that the Public Works Department has seen a lot of growth in recent years and the selectmen “just want to get this (commission) in place as soon as possible.”

“In Guilford, public works does major work” like building roads and bridges, Balestracci said. “Because it gets involved with some major responsibilities like that and it’s only going to continue to grow, we just feel it needs the support of a commission to help with the long-range planning, to help with the policy making, to help advocate for it when it comes time for budgets.”

Balestracci added that it’s important to make commissions part of the charter because it creates more stability.

“When a commission is established by ordinance, it can always be disbanded by some future Board of Selectmen, but once it’s part of the charter, then there’s a great deal more permanence to it,” he said.

Fred Trotta, the chairman of the Charter Revision Commission, said the public works commission would be in charge of oversight issues, like budgets, personnel, union grievances and equipment purchases.

“In terms of the size of the budget, it’s certainly one of the larger departments. … Something like that probably should be looked at by a commission,” Trotta said. “The day-to-day running (of the department would be) left to the professionals.”

He added that he thinks it is a good idea to go ahead with the ordinance before the vote in November.

“I think we should have had a public works commission a while ago, so the sooner the better,” he said. “By doing it now, it helps to get these people in place to help craft the budget for the next fiscal year.”

The Public Works Department has 19 employees and its operating budget for the current year is about $1.8 million, officials said.

Most of the towns in Greater New Haven do not have public works commissions.

John Volpe, Guilford’s public works director, said he has not worked with a commission in his 30-year career, and he is waiting to see what decision the Board of Selectmen makes.

“If the members are people that have the department in mind and not their own private agenda, then it could work to the benefit of the department and the town,” Volpe said.

The selectmen will hold one public hearing on the public works commission, the date for which has not been set. After that, the board would approve or reject the ordinance and, if approved, appoint the five commissioners and two alternates.

Guilford police warn of rash of home break-ins

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 22, 2008

GUILFORD — The Police Department is investigating a string of break-ins that occurred in the past two weeks at five homes in town.

Police believe the five burglaries, which occurred at different homes across town, are related because of similarities in the style of forced entry and the kinds of items taken, Police Chief Thomas Terribile said.

In each case, the suspect or suspects broke into the residences through a rear door or basement window, he said.

The first incident was reported Feb. 13 on Little Meadow Road, Terribile said. Another break-in occurred Feb. 15 on Old Miller Road, and three break-ins were reported Tuesday at homes on Goose Lane, Wilburs Lane and East River Road.

Investigators have located one witness, a woman who called police when she saw someone entering a neighbor’s house through a rear sliding door. The witness described the suspect as a white male between 25 and 35 years old, who drove away in an older red sedan with stripes.

The burglaries occurred at different times of the day, according to police. The stolen items included jewelry and cash.

Police do not think the burglaries are related to another series of break-ins reported earlier this year. Terribile said detectives believe they have identified the individual responsible for those burglaries.

The department is asking Guilford residents to be alert and phone police if they notice any suspicious activities.

“They know who belongs at their neighbors’ houses,” Terribile said. “If they see a strange car in the neighborhood, certainly don’t hesitate to call us. The quicker we can get the call, the better chance we have of catching the person.”

Police are asking anyone who sees a suspicious person or activity to call the department at 453-8061.

Guilford may create board before charter change vote

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 22, 2008

GUILFORD — Voters will decide in November whether to amend the town charter to create a public works commission, but the town may set up the commission before the official vote.

The Board of Selectmen agreed this week to continue work on an ordinance to establish a five-member public works commission, rather than waiting to see whether voters approve it as part of the charter.

The creation of the public works board was one of five recommendations recently put forward by the Charter Revision Commission, all of which will go to voters in November.

First Selectman Carl Balestracci said that the Public Works Department has seen a lot of growth in recent years and the selectmen “just want to get this (commission) in place as soon as possible.”

“In Guilford, public works does major work” like building roads and bridges, Balestracci said. “Because it gets involved with some major responsibilities like that and it’s only going to continue to grow, we just feel it needs the support of a commission to help with the long-range planning, to help with the policy making, to help advocate for it when it comes time for budgets.”

Balestracci added that it’s important to make commissions part of the charter because it creates more stability.

“When a commission is established by ordinance, it can always be disbanded by some future Board of Selectmen, but once it’s part of the charter, then there’s a great deal more permanence to it,” he said.

Fred Trotta, the chairman of the Charter Revision Commission, said the public works commission would be in charge of oversight issues, like budgets, personnel, union grievances and equipment purchases.

“In terms of the size of the budget, it’s certainly one of the larger departments. … Something like that probably should be looked at by a commission,” Trotta said. “The day-to-day running (of the department would be) left to the professionals.”

He added that he thinks it is a good idea to go ahead with the ordinance before the vote in November.

“I think we should have had a public works commission a while ago, so the sooner the better,” he said. “By doing it now, it helps to get these people in place to help craft the budget for the next fiscal year.”

The Public Works Department has 19 employees and its operating budget for the current year is about $1.8 million, officials said.

Most of the towns in Greater New Haven do not have public works commissions.

John Volpe, Guilford’s public works director, said he has not worked with a commission in his 30-year career, and he is waiting to see what decision the Board of Selectmen makes.

“If the members are people that have the department in mind and not their own private agenda, then it could work to the benefit of the department and the town,” Volpe said.

The selectmen will hold one public hearing on the public works commission, the date for which has not been set. After that, the board would approve or reject the ordinance and, if approved, appoint the five commissioners and two alternates.

Fire kills woman at group home in Guilford where 7 lived

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 21, 2008

GUILFORD — A woman died in a fire Wednesday afternoon at a Stillmeadow Drive home where several people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction lived, according to police.

The fire started about 1:40 p.m., Police Chief Thomas Terribile said. Five people were home at the time, and four of them escaped without injuries.

Terribile said that, as of Wednesday evening, the Police and Fire departments had not yet identified the woman who died. He added that Guilford has asked for assistance in the investigation from the state police arson investigators.

“That does not mean we’re thinking it’s suspicious, but because it’s a death, we want to cover all bases,” Terribile said.

Guilford officials called in the state medical examiner’s office to perform an autopsy.

Terribile said seven people were living in the single-story house at 40 Stillmeadow Drive. The building is part of Catapult Services, a nonprofit company that helps people who are battling homelessness or drug, alcohol and gambling addictions, according to the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

The house is owned by Glenn and Laura Remmers, according to property records, and Terribile said that five clients also lived there.

He added that fire officials have “no idea on cause at this point,” and the fire destroyed a bedroom in the house.

Kevin Nolan, a resident of the house, said the victim was in her late 30s, and had lived there for about two years. He said that the residence is for “sober living.”

Nolan said he was home at the time of the fire, which occurred in a room that had several occupants.

“The room was filled with smoke and flames,” he said. “We tried to put it out, couldn’t put it out, so we called the Fire Department.”

He said he does not know what caused the blaze.

Nolan described the woman, whom he did not name, as “nice, polite — she always helped out around the house.”

Terribile said Guilford police and fire officials, and the state police, will continue investigating the fire.

Police academy for civilians begins March 20

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 21, 2008

GUILFORD — Residents interested in the inner workings of the Police Department can attend a citizen police academy starting March 20.

The program is open to anyone over the age of 16 who lives in Guilford, and is free of charge, Lt. Jeffrey Hocking said. The department has held the classes annually for about 15 years.

“The goal is just to offer a little more of an insight for citizens as far as what the department’s about, what we really do,” Hocking said. “We’re seen in the light of we’re stopping cars and who gets pulled over, and I think a lot of people really don’t understand that it’s a lot more complex than that.”

The academy will include nine two-hour classes that cover topics such as criminal justice, patrol policing, motor vehicle law and crime scene processing. Last year, Hocking said, the participants went through the same training about situations involving gun use that officers do to learn about making life-or-death decisions.

“It’s a real eye-opener for people,” he said. “They’re put in police situations and they have to make split-second shoot/don’t shoot decisions.”

At the end of the course, each student goes on a four-hour ride-along with a police officer.

Hocking said there are 30 places in the course, and a few people have applied so far. Residents can obtain the applications at the Guilford Police Department or online at www.guilfordct.com/police.

The program runs from March 20 to May 22, with one week off in April.

Police academy for civilians begins March 20

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 21, 2008

GUILFORD — Residents interested in the inner workings of the Police Department can attend a citizen police academy starting March 20.

The program is open to anyone over the age of 16 who lives in Guilford, and is free of charge, Lt. Jeffrey Hocking said. The department has held the classes annually for about 15 years.

“The goal is just to offer a little more of an insight for citizens as far as what the department’s about, what we really do,” Hocking said. “We’re seen in the light of we’re stopping cars and who gets pulled over, and I think a lot of people really don’t understand that it’s a lot more complex than that.”

The academy will include nine two-hour classes that cover topics such as criminal justice, patrol policing, motor vehicle law and crime scene processing. Last year, Hocking said, the participants went through the same training about situations involving gun use that officers do to learn about making life-or-death decisions.

“It’s a real eye-opener for people,” he said. “They’re put in police situations and they have to make split-second shoot/don’t shoot decisions.”

At the end of the course, each student goes on a four-hour ride-along with a police officer.

Hocking said there are 30 places in the course, and a few people have applied so far. Residents can obtain the applications at the Guilford Police Department or online at www.guilfordct.com/police.

The program runs from March 20 to May 22, with one week off in April.

Almost 2 dozen Guilford events OK’d for Green

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 20, 2008

GUILFORD — Nearly two dozen town events got the approval to use the Guilford Green this year at the Board of Selectmen’s regular meeting Tuesday morning.

But all of the four selectmen present said they have reservations about use of the Green and will continue to monitor the impact the events have on the town center.

The board had postponed decisions on this year’s events — including annual attractions like the Craft Expo, Shakespeare on the Shoreline and the Little Folks Fair — until an ad hoc committee reviewing use of the Green finished its work.

That committee recommended that the large-scale events continue on the Green, but each group should be required to have a site coordinator and put up a security deposit to cover any damage, among other recommendations.

Selectman Joseph Mazza said that he has “gone back and forth” on the question of whether to allow multi-day events on the Green.

“If these activities on the Green cause a lot of damage, then we need to review them — they should be reviewed on a year-by-year basis,” Mazza said. “I’m willing to give it another try, but with the understanding that these regulations are adhered to strictly.”

In 2006, the selectmen passed new rules for the Green that could have prevented large events from returning. The rules included requirements that tents be put up and taken down within two days of the event, and that workers not use stakes to secure the tents.

The ad hoc committee did not recommend the elimination of any rules, but said that some groups would have to request special permission to not comply with some rules.

Mazza said he thinks the town should do a better job of implementing the rules that are in place.

“We need to be very, very strict about enforcing our regulations,” he said. “We wrote the regulations and they look pretty good in principle, but we don’t enforce them.”

Selectwoman Veronica Wallace said she thinks that large events are an “inconvenience,” but they help the town economically.

“If you had asked me a year ago, I would have voted ‘no’ to have (the Craft Expo) on the Green,” Wallace said. “But after seeing several businesses close on Route 1, we can’t talk about economic development and promoting Guilford as a tourism (site) and as a place to come to, and not have the Expo on the Green.”

Wallace said she wants the site coordinators and town officials to ensure that only the permitted number of vehicles are allowed on the Green.

First Selectman Carl Balestracci said he thinks the Craft Expo is too big for the Green, and suggested that organizers consider another site for next year.

But Tracy Brent Calafiore, a member of the ad hoc committee, said she doesn’t think the Expo would be able to take place in another location.

“It would be a great loss,” Calafiore said. “(The Green) is the center, it creates the best ambience for the event, and there is not another location in town that really has that ambience.”

The Craft Expo is set for July 17-19, while Shakespeare on the Shoreline is scheduled to take place Aug. 7-10.

N. Branford narrows field in manager search

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 18, 2008

NORTH BRANFORD — The Town Council is continuing its search for a new town manager and will interview six candidates in early March.

Thirteen people applied for the position, including interim Town Manager Michael Paulhus. Former Town Manager Karl Kilduff left for a job in Darien in early January.

Mayor Michael Doody said the Town Council met in executive session recently to select candidates to interview on March 4 and 5. He said Paulhus will be one of those interviewed. Other applicants are from New York, Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Doody said the qualifications council members looked for in deciding who to interview included "general experience, similar towns, similar working conditions, similar projects."

"A lot of them have quite impressive résumés," he said.

The town has advertised the position with a salary of $100,000 to $130,000 per year. North Branford requires the manager to be a town resident, and Doody said he hopes the new manager will stay in the position for at least five to 10 years.

"Sometimes, they like to grow a little bit and might move on — that’s the trend you see," he said. "We’d like to see one stay permanently, but I don’t know if they want to be married to the town."

Kilduff was town manager for about six years.

Paulhus said at the Town Council’s last meeting and by phone recently that he is trying to stay out of the council’s discussions on replacing Kilduff.

"I’ve got a hands-off approach because I’m obviously an applicant," he said.

Doody said that he does not know if the council will choose a new town manager in March or simply narrow down the candidates and hold further interviews.

Gear Heads: Guilford High robotics team heavy into metal

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 17, 2008

GUILFORD — It was late in the evening on a recent school night, and Tom Schaefer’s metal shop at Guilford High School was still full of students, parents and others interested in robotics.

The group, members of the high school’s Apple Pi Robotics Team and their mentors, has been working 25 hours a week building its latest robot, which it will enter in the regional FIRST robotics competition in Hartford next month.

The robot, which consists of a metal frame about 5 feet high with a base full of wiring, won’t be able to speak, do math or clean the house. The goal, Schaefer said, is to build a machine with extendable arms that can carry a ball 40 inches in diameter around a ring and over a narrow bridge 6 feet off the ground, scoring points every time the ball passes a finish line.

“It’s supposed to be competitive, but yet not like a football game where it’s just all about winning,” Schaefer said, using the hybrid word “co-ompetition” to describe the atmosphere. In the regional competition, which includes about 80 groups, teams will vie with each other for points but will also have to work in groups to win.

At regionals last year, the team won the “Rookie All-Star Award,” earning members a trip to the national competition in Atlanta. The award is based on sportsmanship and exemplifying the spirit of the program, Schaefer said.

In its second year of existence, the team has about 35 students, up from 25 last year. Schaefer, who teaches automotive, power and energy and metal shop classes in his third year at the high school, is the team’s faculty adviser.

“We try to stress that it’s not really about the robot,” he said. “It’s nice to finish the robot, (but) really what it’s about is showing them how to work together cooperatively.”

While some of the students are contemplating careers in engineering or robotics, others participate by doing fund-raising, publicity or computer programming.

“The model for the team is to run it like a small business, so if you don’t have people who are into engineering, they do publicity,” said Camille Solbrig, whose son, Alan, is a member.

The team got started in 2006 when Al Bishop, whose grandson participated in the New Hampshire competition, got in touch with Shaefer. Bishop’s Orchards is one of the team’s main sponsors, which led to the “Apple Pi” logo: the mathematical symbol pi inside a drawing of an apple.

For the Hartford competition, the team had six weeks from receiving its kits and the instructions for the game — which all teams get the same day — until the event starts March 13. Usually, the students and adult mentors meet once or twice a week, but right now they are working several days a week from after school until 8 or 9 p.m.

The price tag for the team is steep, as far as student clubs go. Entering the regional event costs about $6,000, including registration and the parts for the robot. The team has an annual budget of almost $30,000, Shaefer said. With grant support from Bishop’s Orchards, NASA and the Guilford Fund for Education, and a donation of machinery from a Guilford graduate, the team has not had to rely on the school district for support.

Nick Tafuto, who graduated from Guilford High School last year and is a mentor for the team, said he thinks interest in the program will continue to grow. His younger brother, Louis, a freshman at Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School in New Haven, is also working on the robot.

Tafuto, who calls his former teacher “Schaef” and describes him as a “down-to-earth guy,” said Schaefer has gotten students involved in the car shop or metal work who might not have considered the courses.

“You actually learn a lot because it’s a fun class to be in,” Tafuto, 19, said. “Everyone takes it now — the most random person. You’ll be like, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen you work with your hands. Don’t hurt yourself, but it’ll be fun!’”

Team co-captain Madison Calhoun, a sophomore, said she got involved with the team last year because of her interest in science and programming. She said the group is a good way to work on leadership skills.

“I’m learning how to work with a group of people and how to help everyone work toward the same goal,” Calhoun said. “It’s not just building a robot.”

Many of the mentors in the program are parents, but Guilford resident Kevin Care contributes his expertise as the owner of the Metal Shop in North Branford. Care suggested a program for the high school students to build their own hot rod, and became involved with the robotics team instead.

“This is my way of giving back to the community a little bit,” Care said. “We’ve kind of lost the hands-on learning, how to use tools. I learned in high school how to become a mechanic.”

Speed cited in North Branford crash

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 15, 2008

NORTH BRANFORD — Police said a 17-year-old driver is lucky to be alive after crashing his car into a tree on Sea Hill Road this week, a few houses away from where a woman died in a car accident last summer that also involved a teenage driver.

Neighbors in the area said Thursday they are worried about the speed of traffic on the road, which is the main outlet to Route 80.

The single-car accident occurred at about 6 p.m. Wednesday.

According to police, the driver was traveling “unreasonably fast” on the 25 mph road and lost control of his Mercury SUV, skidding from one side of the two-lane road to another.

After narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with an oncoming car, the SUV hit the left curb and became airborne before crashing into a tree in the front yard of a home near the intersection with Beech Street.

The impact pushed the passenger-side frame of the car 3 feet into the front seat, according to the police report, but the driver was not seriously injured.

“If there was a passenger there, he or she would have died,” Detective Sgt. Ken McNamara said. “What saved (the driver) was the seatbelt.”

Police are not releasing the name of the teenager, who lives on Sea Hill Road, because of his age.

They said he was transported to the Hospital of Saint Raphael and treated Wednesday night for minor cuts and bruises.

At the time of the accident, the road was wet from Wednesday’s downpours and it was lightly raining, according to the report. Police could not determine a definite speed for the SUV, but issued the driver a misdemeanor summons for reckless driving based on the physical evidence and statements from the drivers of two oncoming cars.

The teen’s car was traveling west on Sea Hill Road down a hill, in the same direction as the driver in the crash last summer. In that accident, Joyce Bumpus died after another 17-year-old driver, to whom police issued a speeding ticket, hit Bumpus’ car from behind while she was backing out of her driveway.

Police said another fatal accident occurred on the same stretch of Sea Hill Road in 2000, when a driver lost control of his car and hit a tree.

Local residents said they often see drivers traveling well over the speed limit in the area.

“I watch my grandson here and I don’t even want to bring him out front,” said Elaine Carpenter, who lives across the street from the site of Wednesday’s accident. “It’s a dangerous road, and I don’t know how many people are going to get hurt or killed out here before they do something about it.”

Carpenter said she thinks putting speed bumps on the hill would slow down the vehicles.

“You can drive the hill and even if you don’t have your foot on the gas, if you’re just coasting, you get going too fast,” she said.

Lindsay Kuzia, who lives on Beech Street around the corner from the accident site, said she thinks it is mainly younger drivers who speed in the area.

“I think that the kids just need to learn to slow down and just calm down,” said Kuzia, 23.

Deputy Police Chief Michael Doody said the department will increase patrols in the area. He added that, once the winter weather is over, he plans to put a speed display unit on Sea Hill Road to tell people how fast they are driving.

“We’re going to have to sort of supplement it to send officers there during off-peak hours to try to control some of the speed,” Doody said.

Guilford budget calls for 6.8% increase

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 15, 2008

GUILFORD — Town officials presented a 2008-09 municipal budget to the Board of Finance Thursday night that included a 6.86 percent increase over current spending.

The town’s preliminary budget is $27.5 million, an increase of about $1.76 million over this fiscal year, First Selectman Carl Balestracci said. That figure includes the operating budget and debt costs.

Balestracci said the increases were spread throughout the budget, and included jumps in salaries, health insurance, utilities and capital spending.

The town is proposing a capital budget of about $972,000 for fiscal 2008-09 which includes $330,000 for two new public works dump trucks. Balestracci said that the town has in recent years reduced the capital budget to “dangerously low” levels, although he did not have the amount in the current budget immediately available.

“We’ve been putting off a replacement program for the large dump trucks for public works for several years, and we really can’t put it off any more,” he said. “One of the trucks just completely died on us this year and it can’t be fixed, so we’re at the point where we really have to begin a replacement program.”

The town also recommends the addition of four firefighters and one police officer, all of whom would begin in the middle of the fiscal year, and an increase in the budget for the Social Services Department, which is moving into a larger building.

“We prioritized the needs for new personnel and our priority was emergency services, hence fire and police,” Balestracci said. “We denied requests from several other departments for new personnel.”

The school district also presented a budget proposal at Thursday’s meeting, putting forth a $48.3 million 2008-09 budget that represents a 5.95 percent increase from the current year.

The Board of Education approved that budget at its Feb. 4 meeting.

The Board of Finance is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the budget March 4 and a workshop meeting March 6 before its next regular meeting March 17.

The town referendum, where voters may approve or reject the budget, is scheduled for April 8.

Board of Education Chairman William Bloss said Board of Finance members had some questions about the budget proposal Thursday night, but most discussion will happen in the public hearing and subsequent meetings.

“I would fully anticipate lengthier questions and thoughts at the first hearing, where we will again be available to answer any of the Board of Finance’s questions,” Bloss said.

Voters will decide on new structure of town government

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 14, 2008

GUILFORD — The Board of Selectmen voted Wednesday night to let voters decide whether the town should move to a representative town meeting form of government.

The board was split, voting 3-2 to send the issue to voters at the regular election in November. Selectmen Sal Catardi and Joseph Mazza dissented.

Selectmen also voted unanimously to put several other changes to the charter on the November ballot.

The Charter Revision Commission has been working for 18 months on its recommendations to change elements of the town’s charter. Members say the biggest change would be a move to a representative town meeting form of government, where residents would elect 25 people to handle issues that now come up at periodic town meetings, as well as some other duties.

Currently, all registered voters and taxpayers over the age of 18 can attend town meetings and vote.

While selectmen and Charter Revision Commission members have said they support the RTM proposal, there was disagreement about how the nominees for the body should be selected. The commission suggested a non-partisan system where candidates would have to obtain signatures from residents in their districts to get on the ballot.

But some selectmen said that they think the candidates should be appointed by the Republican and Democratic town committees. At a meeting last month, the board voted in favor of a partisan system, but sent the issue back to the commission for its final recommendations.

Catardi asked whether the board could approve the RTM while eliminating the commission’s wording on how the candidates would be chosen.

“It seems to me that you’re not rewriting (the recommendations) and there does not have to be language in here for how people get appointed or elected,” he said.

Town Counsel Peter Barrett said he thought that if the selectmen did not take an “up-or-down vote” on the recommendations, they would risk a legal challenge to the decision.

“I think it’s corrupting the integrity of what’s been proposed here,” Barrett said.

Fred Trotta, chairman of the Charter Revision Commission, said the question of whether RTM members should be partisan was a point of contention for commission members.

“If there’s one topic in the life of this commission that we’ve debated more strongly, I don’t know what it is,” Trotta said. “I think taking out that section — cutting and pasting — would essentially undermine the intent of what the charter commission did.”

The commission’s other recommended charter changes are: extending selectmen’s terms to four years from the current two; the creation of a public works commission; the elimination of the town treasurer position; and that people appointed to fill vacancies on a board or commission would fill out the remainder of the vacant term.

Guilford school board looks at 4 key building projects

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 13, 2008

GUILFORD — The Board of Education this week discussed four building projects that could go before voters for funding at the April referendum.

The proposed work includes a new roof at A.W. Cox Elementary School, new wells at Melissa Jones School, a reconfigured parking lot at Abraham Baldwin Middle School and a new ventilation system at Elisabeth C. Adams Middle School. The four projects could cost more than $6.25 million.

Board Chairman Bill Bloss said Tuesday the board discussed all of the options at its regular meeting on Monday, but did not take any action. He added the board has some serious concerns about proposing work on Adams Middle School at a time when the district is considering major construction to renovate the school overall.

“I think there is a real concern that it’s neither cost-effective nor practical to do serial work in the old Adams building,” Bloss said.

A facilities task force is currently meeting to review the options for renovating or replacing the middle school and Guilford High School. The original section of Adams was built in 1937 and has no central ventilation system, Bloss said.

“It’s not that the ventilation in that part of the building is inadequate, it’s that there is no ventilation in that part of the building at all,” he said. “It wasn’t designed that way, so the heating system is inefficient … (and) we also think that air quality at Adams is going to be something that needs serious attention.”

Bloss said the district’s “very preliminary numbers” put the cost of the ventilation work at $3.5 million, not including the price for portable classrooms some students would have to use during construction.

Superintendent of Schools Thomas Forcella said Tuesday the Board of Education will have to coordinate with the facilities task force before deciding whether to go ahead with repairs in the short term.

“Without knowing what the board is going to recommend in terms of any possible referendum or a major project at Adams, we don’t want to redo work that we might spend money on in a bond,” Forcella said.

The other projects, Forcella said, are fairly pressing. The roof leaks at A.W. Cox, and Bloss said the district is looking into obtaining remuneration from the manufacturer of the 14-year-old roof shingles that were supposed to last for 30 years.

“We don’t have much of a choice,” Bloss said. “We can’t wait for the litigation process to wind down before we fix the roof — we have to fix the roof and then in the meantime investigate and move forward with claims against the manufacturer.”

The price for the new roof is about $2.5 million, he said, but replacing two aging wells at Melissa Jones School is estimated at $50,000. The work at Baldwin middle school, which is aimed at improving traffic and safety, has a price tag of $205,000.

“These are not frills by any means, and these are the types of bond issues that really are just minimal safe operating requirements,” Bloss said. “These types of bonds have passed by overwhelming margins in recent years.”

Also at Monday’s meeting, the Board of Education approved a preliminary schedule for the 2008-09 school year that would create six early dismissal days throughout the year for professional development. The district recently implemented a new program using “professional learning communities,” where teachers meet in teams to work on raising student achievement.

“We have been told over and over and over that we need greater opportunities for collaboration and for professional development, so we’re trying to find time to do it,” Bloss said. “The only other way you can really do it is increase staff time beyond what’s already in the contract, and that would obviously have some potential issues.”

Guilford eyes more cops, firefighters

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 12, 2008

GUILFORD — Police and fire officials say they are seeing a rise in calls for service from town residents, and are asking for more staff members in the town’s 2008-09 budget.

The Police Department is looking for one additional officer and the Fire D epartment would like to add four firefighters, according to department heads.

The Board of Selectmen is still reviewing budget requests from the town’s departments, and is scheduled to present a preliminary budget to the Board of Finance on Thursday.

Police Chief Thomas Terribile said that a number of new and proposed developments in Guilford — including the recently approved “rock pile” shopping center and several residential areas — have him looking for more staff.

The department currently has 38 budgeted positions, including Terribile, but one of the spots is empty. In addition, one officer is on maternity leave and two are in the police academy.

It takes at least six months, including the police academy and field training in Guilford, before a new recruit can be on the road alone. New officers begin at a salary of about $46,000.

Terribile is hoping to fill the empty position and add another officer, to bring the total up to 39. He recently reduced the number of detectives to two from three, moving one person onto the evening patrol shift. Adding another officer would allow him to raise the minimum number of people on each shift, he added.

“Evenings lately can be very busy,” he said. “We’ve seen an increase over the last three years because of the development. Because of the increase in population, it’s stretched us a little thin.”

Terribile said the department gets calls about domestic complaints mainly during the evening shift, and those types of calls require at least two officers to respond to them.

The department has mainly seen an increase in what it refers to as the “middle sector,” Terribile said, between Route 1 and Route 80. That is currently one patrol area for the department, but Terribile is proposing to cut it into two sectors, one on either side of Route 77.

“One thing that’s nice about Guilford is we have that quality of life, and we don’t want to lower that at all,” he said.

With the Fire Department continuing a multi-year transition from a volunteer to paid staff, Fire Commission Chairman Joe Travaglino said officials want to add one firefighter to each of the department’s four shifts. That would bring the total number of firefighters to 24, from the current level of 20.

A first-year firefighter earns about $40,000 a year, Assistant Chief Wayne Vetre said.

Travaglino said the department currently has five people on each shift, and the hope is to eventually increase to eight. Last year, the town also added four firefighters.

“Each time we add, it increases the safety of the firefighters that are working,” he said. “It helps with the response time to multiple calls that we have.”

When there is more than one call at a time, Travaglino said, the department puts out a call to volunteer and off-duty paid firefighters for assistance.

There are about 60 volunteers, he said, but their availability has decreased in many cases. Travaglino estimated that Guilford relies on assistance from other shoreline fire departments about once a week.

“We have a very good volunteer force, but unfortunately with today’s economic conditions, when the calls are coming in, a young man, what does he do? Does he go fight a fire, or does he do his second job so he can have a few more bucks to take care of the things his family needs?” Travaglino asked. “Throughout New England, I think you’re finding that this is an issue.”

Guilford started transitioning to a paid force about four years ago.

The Fire Department saw about 3,000 calls for service in 2007, Travaglino said, up from about 2,700 in 2006.

The department is requesting about a $2 million budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year, which is partly offset by about $850,000 it takes in every year for ambulance service.

“Safety code calls for you to have so many people at a fire scene,” he said, “but at the same time, if you’ve got a call somewhere else and maybe someone’s having a heart attack or there’s a car accident and you need the ambulance … it becomes kind of unmanageable for the hierarchy of the department to get all these things covered.”

The Board of Finance is scheduled to vote on the town and Board of Education budgets on March 13. The town referendum on the budget is set for April 8.

Woman sues speeding driver over sister’s untimely death

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 11, 2008

NORTH BRANFORD — Nearly nine months after her only sister died in a car accident, Sandy Bumpus is still angry.

She stands at the bottom of the driveway where her sister, Joyce, was killed while backing onto Sea Hill Road, and yells at people to slow down.

“I am notorious at the moment in that neighborhood,” she said.

But Bumpus is not only upset over her sister’s death.

She feels that the criminal justice system has failed to impose any consequences on the driver, whom police determined was speeding on the 25 mph road when she hit Joyce Bumpus coming out of her driveway.

Sandy Bumpus said she was “devastated” when she learned late last year that judges had decided not to sign a warrant for negligent homicide with a motor vehicle submitted by the North Branford Police Department. Instead of arresting the driver, the department in December issued a speeding ticket for $156.

Now, Bumpus is suing the 17-year-old driver, Lauren Tropiano, and her mother, Deborah Tropiano, the car’s owner.

Messages left for comment at a residential phone listing for Deborah Tropiano were not returned. The Tropianos’ attorney, Cynthia Garraty, declined to comment.

Joyce Bumpus, who was 51 at the time of her death, was a social worker who had a private practice in her home and worked at the Connecticut Mental Health Center in New Haven. In addition to her sister, she was survived by a brother and three nephews.

Bruce Jacobs, a New Haven attorney representing Bumpus, said the wrongful death civil suit is in the “very early stages.” The suit does not specify a dollar amount, other than “not less than” $15,000.

“Our main concern is not necessarily what any individual did here, but that the system really has failed the victim,” Jacobs said.

On May 31, 2007, Joyce Bumpus was leaving her home at 253 Sea Hill Road when her car was hit from behind by an SUV driven by Lauren Tropiano.

After striking Bumpus’ car, Tropiano’s SUV continued forward until it snapped off a telephone pole. An investigation conducted by North Branford and state police determined that Tropiano’s car was traveling at least 42 mph when it hit the telephone pole after its initial collision with Bumpus’ car. Bumpus was moving at less than 5 mph, according to police records.

The police investigation determined that the “contributing factors” in the accident were speed and some line-of-sight issues, which included a curve in the road and bushes in a nearby driveway. According to the police report, Tropiano told officers the day of the accident that she hadn’t seen Bumpus’ car and couldn’t avoid hitting it.

North Branford police concluded there was probable cause for an arrest warrant, according to their records, and on Oct. 31, 2007, submitted a warrant for negligent homicide with a motor vehicle and reckless driving. Detectives said that two judges decided not to sign the warrant because of the line-of-sight questions, the cops said. Jacobs, Sandy Bumpus’ attorney, said a prosecutor told him that one of the problems was that there were no witnesses to say how fast Joyce Bumpus was pulling out of her driveway.

Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney David Strollo said that he cannot comment on the case.

Without the warrant, North Branford police wrote out a $156 speeding ticket for Tropiano, using 42 mph as the speed she was traveling.

Jacobs called the work of North Branford and state police “very thorough,” but added that there are some areas he thinks were lacking. One of those is that the police, according to records, did not try to determine how fast Tropiano was driving before the accident.

North Branford Deputy Police Chief Michael Doody said the formula police used to determine a minimum speed in an accident requires a fixed object, like a telephone pole, to assess the collision.

Jacobs said he also thinks police should have looked into whether Tropiano was on her cell phone at the time of the accident.

According to a police report, Tropiano had been in a single-car accident about five weeks earlier that involved a cell phone. In that incident, her 2001 Volvo veered off Totoket Road and struck a tree. Tropiano told officers, who issued her a warning, that her cell phone rang and she looked to see who was calling, causing her to drive off the road.

Sandy Bumpus said she often sees people driving more than 60 mph on Sea Hill Road.

“You could sit there from 6:30 until 9 o’clock (a.m.) and you could watch people drive Sea Hill Road like it’s Route 80,” she said.

Adult Spelling Bee award goes to ‘The Beelievers’

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Jan. 9, 2008

GUILFORD — A team of “just friends” bested state politicians, school officials, doctors, lawyers and librarians in the town’s second annual Adult Spelling Bee.

“The Beelievers” — made up of Jonathan Rubin, Jonathan Borak and Monte Kroh — earned bragging rights at the Guilford Fund for Education’s event by correctly spelling “vernissage”: a private showing or preview of an art exhibition, according to Merriam-Webster.

Hundreds of people, some of whom stood along the back of the Guilford High School auditorium, played along with the spellers. The bee was organized in six rounds with six or seven teams of three people in each round.

After that, the six winning teams played against each other to be “Best of the Hive.”

Residents Dee and Bob Jacob are planning to donate $3,000 to the Fund for Education in honor of the winning team.

Thirty-nine teams participated Friday night. Marian Breeze, a member of the Fund for Education, said that each was asked to contribute $200 as a registration fee, but some raised more than that.

The teams had a small dry erase board and 30 seconds to write down each word. Host Darren Kramer of WTNH-Channel 8 read the words and provided definitions for the groups.

Faculty from Guilford High School, including Principal Rick Misenti, made it to the final round of competition before losing on “dachshund.” But some people may stay away from Board of Education meetings after seeing how three board members spelled “boycott”: b-o-y-c-o-t-t-e.

“I’m sad to say this,” said Superintendent of Schools Thomas Forcella, ruefully eliminating board members Alan Meyers, Barbara Dudley and Louis Iorio.

The “Capitol B’s” team of state Reps. Patricia M. Widlitz, D-98, and Deborah Heinrich, D-101, and state Sen. Edward Meyer, D-12, lost by spelling a white vegetable as “cauliflour” instead of cauliflower.

Some words, including lyophilize (freeze-dry), septuagenarian (a person in his or her 70s), and tandoori (cooked in a clay oven over charcoal), drew “oohs,” gasps or guffaws of incredulous laughter from the audience.

Last year’s bee was the first major event for the Fund for Education, which started in 2006. The group supports school programs that aren’t a part of the district’s budget by making grants to teachers, students and nonprofit groups.

Breeze said that the group looks for innovation in education when deciding how to award grants.

“We find ourselves in a great position to be able to help teachers in ways that go outside of the public schools’ budget,” she said. The next deadline for grant applications is Friday, she added, and the group will probably announce the awards in May.

Forcella said that the Fund for Education is already making a difference in Guilford’s schools.

“It’s truly amazing what they’ve been able to do for our schools and how appreciative the Board of Education and all our schools are,” he said. “The grants that they provide really help our school district get to where we want to be.”

Meeting focuses on center’s fate

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 8, 2008

NORTH BRANFORD — Nearly 100 residents, many of whom were worried that the town might be preparing to sell the community center building, crowded the Town Council meeting this week.

Mayor Michael Doody told the crowd he thinks any deal to sell the old Town Hall property at 1599 Foxon Road could carve out the community center’s building, allowing development to take place around it.

In addition, he said, work could not take place for at least two years. The state Department of Transportation is planning to widen the road, Route 80, forcing the relocation of the Wall Field youth league facility. It will be at least two years before a new Wall Field on Route 22 will be ready to open, he said.

Interim Town Manager Michael Paulhus added that the town is awaiting a wetlands survey to determine how much of the roughly 5-acre property can be developed. He also said that he has heard some interest from buyers. In December, council members discussed pursuing a commercial, rather than mixed-use, development at the site.

Brian Lynch, a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission who spoke on behalf of the community center Tuesday night, said Wednesday that he found the meeting somewhat reassuring.

“We didn’t get any guarantees from the town that they were not going to pursue a sale — they’re still looking for buyers,” Lynch said. “What I did feel, though, is that there were some reassurances that nothing was going to be done as far as the sale of that building and the surrounding properties until a new community center was constructed.”

Lynch said the goal is for there not to be any lapse in time between one facility closing and another opening. He added that he thinks it would take at least three years to build a new center.

Doody said Wednesday that, while a new community center near the Police Department on Route 22 is part of the town’s long-term plan, he does not think work on that could start until 2014.

The town is working on construction at North Branford Intermediate School and the town libraries, both of which are bonded projects.

“I’m hoping it will stay in that building for a while,” he said.

Pamela Gery, the town’s recreation and senior center director, said Wednesday she would like the town to start looking into a new building.

“It is very important to be able to plan ahead, and I’m hoping that the one thing that we got out of the meeting is to say, ‘We may not have another community center tomorrow, but let’s start planning now,’” Gery said.

Lynch added that the community center could soon outgrow its space, regardless if the building is sold.

North Branford has had a community center for about four years, and it includes a fitness center, meeting rooms, education courses and summer camp. It generates income through the fitness program, covering most of its expenses.

Paulhus suggested at Tuesday’s meeting that the Town Council and Parks and Recreation Commission hold a joint workshop to talk about the redevelopment of the Foxon Road property. Lynch said that one of the goals in attending the meeting was to open communication between the two groups.

Tour points out Guilford school’s faults

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 8, 2008

GUILFORD — Principal Rick Misenti led about 100 people on a tour of what he called a “tired” and “antiquated” building at Guilford High School Thursday night.

During visits to classrooms, offices, the gymnasium and the cafeteria, Misenti pointed out problems with air quality, insulation, flooding and the lack of space. Only one of the six fans in the gymnasium’s ceiling is working, he noted. A boys’ restroom, one of three in the school, has only two stalls, one urinal and one sink. Several offices and a special education classroom are in converted closets.

“Because the building’s undersized, we’ve had to find every place we could to house our students,” Misenti said.

School officials say that two of the district’s buildings, Guilford High School and Elisabeth C. Adams Middle School, may be in need of major renovation or replacement. A community task force has been meeting for nearly four years to review the school facilities, and is scheduled to present construction options to the Board of Education Feb. 27.

Misenti said that the high school needs ongoing Band-Aid repairs, like roofing where there are leaks and new boards in the gymnasium where the floor periodically caves in because of “spongy” concrete underneath.

Superintendent of Schools Thomas Forcella said earlier Thursday that both schools need other work, but he thinks the district will hold off on decisions about those until there is a plan in place about large-scale construction.

“If a project passes for either one of the schools, you don’t want to go back in and redo work that you’ve spent a lot of time and money doing,” Forcella said. “It really has an impact on what maintenance projects we will do for the next several years because it just doesn’t make sense to do things twice.”

He added that major renovations on the schools would probably not begin for at least two years.

Both schools have security issues, with the administrative offices removed from the main entrances. The layout of the high school makes it easier in many cases for students to go outside the building to get from one class to another, which Forcella also highlighted as a safety concern.

And, at Adams, Forcella said that pressing maintenance issues include the persistent flooding in the school’s basement, which had to be evacuated earlier this year after officials found black mold there.

Guilford High School was built in the 1957 and most recently renovated in 1999. The main portion of the middle school is more than 70 years old.

4 nabbed in North Branford drug busts

Rachael Scarborough King; Register Staff
Published: February 6, 2008

NORTH BRANFORD - Police made four marijuana-related arrests in three incidents over the weekend. The biggest bust was on Saturday, police said, when officers arrested a local teenager they identified as a drug dealer.

Police said undercover officers with the department's underage drinking task force spotted a suspected drug deal in the parking lot of a liquor store on Foxon Road. They followed one of the cars as it left the business and pulled over the driver.

Police said the officers found empty plastic bags and wrappers on the floor of the car, after which they searched the vehicle. Police said 15 plastic bags of different sizes filled with marijuana, three bags filled with hallucinogenic mushrooms, an electronic scale and $558 were found in the car.

The driver, Stephen Zukowski, 18, was charged with possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of hallucinogens with intent to sell and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released on $500 bail with a court date of Feb. 14 in Superior Court in New Haven.

The same night, an officer pulled over a car for swerving on Foxon Road, according to police. Police said the officer saw two plastic bags filled with what looked like marijuana on the floor of the front passenger seat, and arrested the passenger, Davor Mukic, 18, of Guilford. Mukic was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia and released on a promise to appear Feb. 12 in Superior Court in New Haven. The driver was not arrested.

On Sunday, an officer driving on Clintonville Road on his way to work saw two cars swerving in and out of traffic and playing "chicken" by driving on the wrong side of the road, police said. When the cars crossed from North Haven into North Branford, the officer pulled them over. Police said the officer found a pipe with marijuana in it inside one of the vehicles.

Two 17-year-olds were arrested on possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, and were released on a promise to appear Feb. 13 in court in New Haven. The drivers, both 17, were charged with reckless driving.

Guilford board gets schools budget

Rachael Scarborough King; Register Staff
February 6, 2008

GUILFORD - After whittling down the proposed 2008-09 budget by $674,000, the Board of Education Monday night voted to send it on to the Board of Finance. The proposal is now about $48.3 million, down from the more than $49 million preliminary budget Superintendent of Schools Tom Forcella presented to the board last month.

The $48.3 million proposal represents about a 5.95 percent increase over the current package of $45.6 million. Forcella said that is the lowest increase the school district has presented to the Board of Finance in his three years as superintendent.

Forcella originally sent a budget to the Board of Education with a 7.4 percent increase over the current year, but board members set a goal of getting the increase under 6 percent, he said. The district held two public hearings on the budget last month.

Since the district came up with its prel iminary budget, Forcella said, its insurance provider has set its premium increases for the next fiscal year, which came in $326,000 under what the district had estimated.

"We had the luxury of having new numbers on our medical insurance," he said. "We're never quite sure, because we're self insured, on what the final cost is going to be…so that's about half of what we had to cut out of the budget."

The board also decided not to purchase two new trucks for snow removal and sanding, which would have cost about $134,000, and to cut $100,000 from funds for site improvements. The rest of the cuts came from "small items here or there within the budget," Forcella added.

Board of Education Chairman Bill Bloss said the board's priority in cutting from the budget was to maintain classroom programming. Board members discussed what to do about a technology upgrade program in the budget and ultimately decided to keep the proposal in its current form, he said.

"The reason that we got so far behind the curve with technology in the first place is the feeling that we could always do it next year, and that got us into a position where we were many years behind," Bloss said.

The board also increased funding to make a part-time speech pathologist position at the prekindergarten level full time. The preliminary budget included a number of personnel additions at all school levels, none of which were cut.

Bloss said that, while board members decided not to fund a carpet and tile replacement project for this year, they are aware of the facilities needs at many schools.

A facilities task force has been meeting for months to form recommendations on whether to renovate or replace Guilford High School and Elisabeth C. Adams Middle School.

"One of the reasons that we are in this situation that we're in at the high school and at Adams is that it's much easier to cut budgets for site improvements and maintenance than it is to increase class sizes, for example," Bloss said. "We think that we've got a good balance right now - we are not shortchanging maintenance, but we are also not interested in going back to the days when there were 25 children in a class."

The Board of Education will present the budget to the Board of Finance Feb. 14. After that, the Finance Board will hold a public hearing and two meetings to discuss the budget, and vote on it March 13. The referendum for the town to vote on the budget is set for April 8.

Guilford grand list rises nearly $1B

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff

GUILFORD — The town’s preliminary 2007 grand list shows an increase of nearly $1 billion from 2006, following the revaluation process.

Homeowners should have received their second revaluation notice this past weekend.Anyone who feels that his or her revaluation is inaccurate has until Feb. 20 to file an application with the Board of Assessment Appeals.

Town officials released the grand list Friday. The net taxable list—which includes real estate, motor vehicles and personal property—increased from $2.56 billion in 2006 to $3.475 billion in 2007.

The numbers are still preliminary because people can appeal the new valuations for their homes. Officials calculate the town’s tax rate, the amount of property taxes people pay per dollar, by dividing the amount of money the town has to raise in taxes into the grand list.

The Board of Selectmen held a workshop Friday to begin discussions on the 2008-09 budget. So far, department heads have submitted their budget requests, which the selectmen are now reviewing.
Finance Director Sheila Riegelmann said the jump in the grand list is due to the revaluation, a process that Guilford goes through every five years. From 2005 to 2006, she said, the grand list value increased by about $36 million.

This year, the overall list went up about 36 percent and real estate values increased about 38 percent, Riegelmann said. But she added that most residents should not see big tax increases, unless their assessment rose by much more than 38 percent.

“If someone’s property went up 60 percent for whatever reason, they’re going to see an increase more than they would in a normal year,” she said. “Taxes go up every year because our budget goes up every year.”

First Selectman Carl Balestracci said the town is hoping to keep the budget increase at about 5 percent this year. He added that priorities include staffing for the Police and Fire departments and equipment for the Public Works Department. The Police Department has requested one additional officer, while the Fire Department is looking for four new employees.

“I think most of the selectmen prioritize emergency services first and then other departments after that, because one of the main priorities is to cover the health and safety and welfare of the citizens,” he said.

Balestracci said the selectmen will have another workshop meeting before presenting the budget to the Board of Finance on Feb. 14. The referendum at which town residents can approve or reject the budget is set for April 8.

After that, the finance department will set the official tax rate.

“This is going to be a particularly challenging year because, as a growing town, we have departments that need more personnel,” Balestracci said. “On the other hand, it’s a very difficult year for taxpayers. They have the same problems that we do as a town — their utilities are going up, the price of gas is going up … so (we’re) being sensitive to all of that and still budgeting for enough money to cover the needs of the town.”

Volunteers stump for Clinton, Obama

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — Volunteers for the presidential campaigns of Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama held get-out-the-vote events in the Fair Haven neighborhood Saturday, three days before Connecticut goes to the polls in the Democratic and Republican primaries.

Both groups in Fair Haven, a heavily Latino section of New Haven, featured Spanish-speaking volunteers and coordinators.

For Clinton’s campaign, state Rep. Juan Candelaria went door to door with other supporters, while the Connecticut Latinos for Obama group held its New Haven kick-off event.

About 40 Obama supporters met in the Noche Mia facility on Grand Street, which was bare Saturday but will now become the candidate’s New Haven headquarters. Members of the local Latino community spoke about why they are campaigning for the Illinois senator.

“Sen. Obama fought on the streets of Chicago with Latinos — fighting for jobs, fighting for justice,” Alderman Joe Rodriguez said. “He has been fighting for Latinos and he’ll continue to fight for Latinos when he is the president of the United States.”

Kica Matos, New Haven community services administrator and one of the group’s organizers, said that part of the impetus in having an official Latinos for Obama group was the discussion about whether Latinos will vote for a black candidate.

“There were a lot of people that were saying that Latinos would not support Barack, and so we thought it was important to express in the most vocal way possible our support for him,” Matos said.

She added that she thinks people in the Latino community are backing him for many different reasons, but some of the main ones are his positions on health care, education and immigration reform.

Norma Rodríguez-Reyes, vice chairwoman of the New Haven Democratic Town Committee, told the group that she is a “fresh convert” to Obama’s camp.

“Hillary is a woman, so we as women are very excited about that, but Obama knows where we’re coming from,” she said. “What I’m hoping will end up is a good Obama/Hillary ticket — preferably Obama on top and Hillary as vice-president.”

A group of about 20 people, including college students and Fair Haven residents, also met on Grand Street to support Clinton. Holding signs reading “América con Hillary,” they broke into pairs to knock on doors and encourage people to vote for Clinton on Tuesday.

John Williams, a constituent outreach coordinator with Clinton’s campaign, said the goal in the days before the election is to make sure that supporters vote on Tuesday. He added that the efforts weren’t aimed only at Latino voters.

“We’re just looking to talk to voters in general and we’re very grateful for the support of the Latino voters we’ve seen so far,” Williams said. “I think it just speaks to the nuts and bolts that Sen. Clinton’s been talking about in general — working families that are trying to get ahead.”

Candelaria, whose district includes the Fair Haven area, spoke to the group in English and Spanish. Clinton is a person that knows the “problems that affect our community (and) understands our community,” he said in Spanish.

“I think what she has to offer (Latinos) is what she has to offer to every American,” Candelaria said, mentioning universal health care as a key element. “The Latinos and the minorities are the ones who are suffering because they cannot afford health care.”

In the run-up to this week’s Super Tuesday, when voters in more than 20 states will cast primary ballots, Connecticut has unexpectedly become a locus of political activity. Both Clinton and Obama will visit the state on Monday. Clinton’s schedule is not yet set, and Obama will hold a rally in Hartford. Sen. John McCain, one of the top contenders for the Republican nomination, will also speak at Sacred Heart University today.

‘Sopranos’ star Bracco makes stop in state to promote wines

By Rachael Scarborough King

NEW HAVEN — Shoppers stocking up on necessities for today’s Super Bowl festivities had a brush with celebrity Saturday as “The Sopranos” star Lorraine Bracco visited Amity Wines and Spirits to promote her wine label.

Bracco was scheduled to meet with fans for three hours Saturday afternoon. When the event started at 2 p.m., about 50 people were waiting in line to see her and have her autograph bottles of wine, cookbooks and photos.

The wine label, New York-based Bracco Wines, has been in the works for about three years, and the eight Italian varieties have been available for 1½ years, Bracco said.

When she worked as a model at the start of her career, she said, she lived in France for 10 years, where she developed a taste for European wine.

“It’s a lot of fun and I like it — it’s something different,” she said. “I didn’t sell makeup or hair products and perfumes, and it was something I felt suited my personality.”

All of the wines come from Italy, and Bracco traveled there to select them herself.

“It’s definitely my palate, it’s my decision in what we buy, so there’s a little pressure in that,” she said.

Bracco holds similar signings about once a month, she said, and this is the second is Connecticut. Gino Pisani, who distributes the wine in Connecticut, said Bracco is a “pleasure to work with.”

“She’s very engaging, very down to earth,” he said. “This is not just a hobby for her — this is serious.”

Bracco also was scheduled to have dinner at New Haven’s Café Goodfellas Saturday night. One of her most famous roles is that of mob spouse Karen Hill in Martin Scorcese’s 1990 movie “Goodfellas.”

Bracco recently filmed two episodes of the new NBC series “Lipstick Jungle,” which premieres Thursday.

School board to seek new food, facilities pacts as unions rally against Aramark

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — The school district announced Friday that it will go out to bid for food and facilities management, the same day that local unions held a rally against current provider Aramark.

The Board of Education has contracted with Philadelphia-based Aramark to manage its food and facility services since 1994. The contract has an option to extend through the 2008-09 school year, but officials said they will look for a new contract starting July 1.

At Friday night’s rally inside First & Summerfield United Methodist Church on College Street, union leaders called on the school district to “fire Aramark.” Speakers listed a variety of complaints against the company, saying they do not believe it has the interests of New Haven’s schoolchildren at heart.

“The food is crap,” said Cheryl Barbara, a cook at High School in the Community. “You walk into our coolers, and you’ll see chicken tenders, chicken nuggets, chicken patties. ... Years ago, we used to cook from the heart.”

Attendees at the rally, who numbered in the hundreds, included members of Connecticut Council 4 Local 287, a custodians’ union; Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union Local 217, which serves school food staff; and Service Employees International Union. Members from other cities, including New York and Hartford, also spoke at the rally.

Superintendent of Schools Reginald Mayo said in a statement about the district’s decision to go out to bid that “by and large, (the district) has not had any complaints about Aramark.”

Mayo added, “We are sensitive to the concerns that have been raised and we will open up the process. ... A key issue will be cost effectiveness.”

Kristine Grow, a spokeswoman for Aramark, said by phone Friday night that the company is providing high quality, nutritious food in the public schools. She added that the campaign against Aramark — which is part of a nationwide effort — has more to do with disagreements about how to enroll union members.

“The allegations that you’re hearing from the union, they’re not at all about New Haven public schools or about the children — they are more about the union’s agenda,” Grow said. “It’s really about organizing goals, about organizing workers into the union.”

Grow said that Aramark has invested money in the school system and the community over the years it has worked with the schools. She added that participation in the schools’ meal plans has risen year after year.

Will Clark, the school district’s chief operating officer, said by phone Friday that the Board of Education is going out to bid “to test the market and determine what the best services would be.” The district has two contracts with Aramark, for food and facilities, and both will go out to competitive bid.

“We’ve obviously extended their contracts and we’ve had a long relationship with them and that would not have been so had we not been satisfied with the overall services,” Clark said. “But again, these contracts contain the option to go out to bid and test the market for a reason.”

The national leaders of union Unite Here!, Bruce Raynor and John Wilhelm, spoke at the rally. A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-New Haven, read a statement supporting the effort.

Wilhelm said that the unions are engaging in a nationwide push against Aramark.

“This is wonderful coming together here in New Haven with all of these unions and all these community groups, but it’s just as important to join with people in Philadelphia and New York and Detroit and all over the world because we are dealing with a worldwide company,” he said.

Raynor added that the main issue from the union’s perspective is the deficit in the district’s food services budget.

“They produce deficits for schools and profits for themselves,” Raynor told the crowd. “They have lied to New Haven — they promised income.”

Grow, the Aramark spokeswoman, said that Aramark is working with New Haven to reduce the deficit, but could not comment further on the issue. She added that it is too early to know whether Aramark will bid for the contract, but “Aramark very much wants to continue its relationship with the New Haven public schools and we believe that our track record demonstrates that we are an excellent choice.”

Use, protection of Green at issue in Guilford

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Feb. 1, 2008

GUILFORD — The town can protect the historic Green and still allow some large-scale events there, a committee that has been reviewing use of the Green told the Board of Selectmen Thursday night.

The selectmen held a workshop Thursday to review the ad hoc committee’s recommendations. Members of the permanent Guilford Green Committee also attended, and some disputed the claims of the ad hoc committee members.

The ad hoc committee presented selectmen with its draft recommendations in October. They include requiring a site administrator and security deposit for all events, and reducing the number of cars and trucks allowed on the Green.

Selectman Sal Catardi said at the meeting that the town already has rules addressing some of the items, although the rules are sometimes not enforced.

In 2006, the selectmen adopted rules that could shut out some longtime events, such as the Craft Expo and Shakespeare on the Shoreline. Concerns about the changes led to the creation of the ad hoc committee. It is not recommending any rules be eliminated or changed, but some events would need to apply for exemptions to certain rules.

Many residents consider the Green the center of civic and cultural life in the town. Green Committee member Lucy Farrar said she thinks the number of booths and length of events should be limited.

“Guilford is known for its Green, for the picture of the Green with the grass and the trees and the churches around,” Farrar said. “The picture that you see is not a Green that is covered with activity.”

Several ad hoc committee members said that the annual events bring many people to the town who contribute to local businesses, although the amount of traffic may disrupt some businesses.

Guilford Art Center Director Jean Perkins said that she does not think the Craft Expo will take place if it is forced to move to the Fairgrounds, a less picturesque location. The current rules require tents to be set up and taken down within two days. The Art Center will apply for special permission to not follow some of the rules.

Balestracci said he thinks the number of events should be somewhat reduced. He added that the board will probably hold a special meeting to discuss the rules.

“More and more people want to come to Guilford Green and have events, and we just can’t,” he said. “One event a weekend is more than enough for the summer.”