Gov. Malloy promises more education funds – and bonus for new Alliance Districts

According to a statement made by Gov. Malloy on Feb. 8, 2012 a total of 130 towns will receive more ECS funding than they did in 2011-2012 and no town will see funding drop from 2011-2012 levels.

New, however, is the plan to make additional dollars available to something he calls Alliance Districts.

Alliance Districts will be groupings of the state’s 30 lowest-performing school districts.

Nearly $40 million will go to Alliance Districts – if they implement Gov. Malloy’s education reform strategies.

According to Gov. Malloy, an additional $4.5 million in competitive funding will be offered to all districts, with preference given to 30 Alliance districts, to fuel “ambitious innovations and deeper reforms.”

Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor commented, “The governor’s proposal acknowledges that resource constraints are one obstacle to many of our low-performing districts’ ability to improve their schools – while recognizing that increased funding alone will not improve student achievement…

“Rather, it is essential that these districts also embrace reforms rooted in best practices. The conditional funding model provides added resources and increased accountability. We look forward to working in alliance with these low-performing districts as they implement their reforms and elevate their achievement levels.”

Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman added, “I strongly believe that every child in our state deserves the opportunity to get a quality education, regardless of where they live. That is why one of our first priorities after taking office was to fully fund the ECS for all towns, and that is why we are making this targeted investment – to give that equal chance to children who happen to attend an under-performing school.”

Alliance Districts

Gov. Malloy’s proposal identifies the state’s 30 lowest-performing school districts as participants in a Performance Alliance between these districts and the State, which makes them eligible for significant increases in state funding.

To qualify for these funds, Each Alliance District must submit a reform plan that includes elements of “reform strategies” in the governor’s proposal.

The State Department of Education will review these plans and recommend which ones should be approved.

Alliance Districts can choose from these “reform strategies”:

• “tiered district interventions” for schools based on school-level student performance;
• additional learning time, including extended school day and year;
• career ladders for school personnel;
• a professional development system “informed by educator evaluations”;
• plans to ensure K-3 reading mastery;
• coordination of early childhood education services;
• creating a community schools approach by establishing “wraparound services” for students with links to health and social service providers;
• and other strategies as determined by the Education Commissioner.

Alliance Districts will have new funding phased in at the rate of 2.47 percent of the gap between what they currently receive in ECS funding and the new formula amount – other districts will receive 1.4 percent of the funding amount gap – according to Gov. Malloy’s statement.

Posted Feb. 19, 2012

Related link: More details about Gov. Malloy’s plans for Education Reform http://www.governor.ct.gov/malloy/cwp/view.asp?A=4010&Q=498746

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In Willington – Towns consider sharing cost of construction equipment

The nine towns in the Windham Region Council of Governments (WINCOG) have begun talks on a new project that could help save the towns money by sharing public works equipment.

A meeting Tuesday (Jan. 31) brought many of the public works directors and town management staffs together to brainstorm ideas.

WINCOG provides towns with a forum for intermunicipal discussion, coordination and decision­making and includes workshops on timely issues and occasions for such discussion and coordination.

Member towns are Chaplin, Columbia, Coventry, Hampton, Lebanon, Mansfield, Scotland, Willington and Windham.

The project could have the towns take advantage of the state Office of Policy and Management’s Intertown Capital Equipment Purchasing Incentive (ICE) Program.

Coventry Town Manager John Elsesser said a lot of equipment the towns were thinking of getting is “quite expensive.”

He said some of the equipment discussed Tuesday included a portable pothole patcher, a skid-steer loader, or Bobcat with special attachments, and portable lighting, among other items.

“A lot of ideas were thrown out and haven’t been finalized yet and some ideas may be added or dropped,” Elsesser said.

WINCOG Executive Director Mark Paquette said the grant offers towns a way to get the machines they need without carrying the full burden of the cost.

“Many of these towns would never be able to get these types of equipment on their own,” Paquette said. “This is a great deal with a great incentive.”

Selected proposals will receive a state grant of 50 percent, if at least one of the towns is a “distressed municipality/targeted investment community/public investment community.”

Windham falls under the “distressed municipality” description and Elsesser said he is looking forward to working with Windham.

Municipalities must provide matching funds and the state grant cannot exceed $250,000.

Coventry Director of Public Works David Gofstein said if scheduling the use of equipment is done right, there shouldn’t be any problems with availability among the towns.

“All of the towns would split the cost accordingly,” said Elsesser. He added that each town was asked to put a “placeholder” of $14,000 in their capital budgets.

“For $14,000, we can all get $250,000 of equipment,” he said.

Elsesser added this isn’t a new idea for Coventry; the town has shared a catch basin cleaner with Mansfield for almost 15 years.

Windham Mayor Ernie Eldridge, who wasn’t at Tuesday’s meeting, said he is all for sharing equipment with other towns. “Sharing is a great part of keeping cost down for our towns… Why would one town need $100,000 worth of equipment on their own?” he said.

Paquette said there will be more discussions about the idea.

“There is a strong incentive to get this significant savings,” he said, but they “still need to do some research on the whole idea.”

A decision should be made within the next couple of months. Final proposals must be received by the state Office of Policy and Management on or before May 1, 2012.

Posted Feb. 2, 2012 as edited by HTNP.com Editor Brenda Sullivan

Have a news item, event or Letter to the Editor you’d like posted on this news site? Simply send your information to editor@htnp.com and include your town in the subject line of your email. Please also include a phone number where you can be reached if there are questions. To keep up-to-date on local news, “like” us (HTNP News) on Facebook and follow us ( @HTNP) on Twitter!

Willington students on UConn Dean's List

The University of Connecticut recently distributed the list of students who attained the Dean’s List for the fall 2011 semester.

To make the Dean’s List, students must take at least 12 credits, finish the semester with a grade point average (GPA) that is among the top 25 percent of students enrolled in their school or college, and have no grade below a “C.”

The following edited list includes students from the HTNP.com general readership area. Some categories were grouped together where students listed their residence as a village within a town, i.e. Moodus (East Haddam, CT) and Storrs (Mansfield, CT) and therefore may not be in alphabetical order.

Also note that while many students on this list give their address as Storrs, it may be they are living on campus but, in fact, have a different hometown address.

While HTNP.com is happy to correct any errors, we are not responsible for any omissions or incorrect information, as this list was provided by the university.

STATE	CITY	FIRST NAME	LAST
CT	Andover	Emily	Boushee
CT	Andover	Kristin	Burrington
CT	Andover	Robyn	Caron
CT	Andover	Elizabeth	Rey
CT	Ashford	Rebecca	Banning
CT	Ashford	Emily	Baron
CT	Ashford	Rachel	Forbes
CT	Ashford	Stephanie	Gardner
CT	Ashford	Emily	Hanink
CT	Ashford	Stephanie	Kalinowski
CT	Ashford	Maya	Kalonia
CT	Ashford	Andrew	Kelly
CT	Ashford	Ghali	Lemtiri-Chlieh
CT	Ashford	Yichun	Lin
CT	Ashford	Roger	Marinelli
CT	Ashford	Claire	Nelson
CT	Ashford	Joshua	Paul
CT	Ashford	Destiny	Printz
CT	Ashford	Caleb	Rupert
CT	Ashford	Jennifer	Schoennagel
CT	Ashford	Agne	Sierkeviciute
CT	Ashford	Brandi	Stenglein
CT	Colchester	William	Bartol
CT	Colchester	Alexandra	Catarino
CT	Colchester	Ryan	Clauss
CT	Colchester	Jordon	Ford
CT	Colchester	Hillary	Gannon
CT	Colchester	Kandice	Goguen
CT	Colchester	Robert	Guarino
CT	Colchester	Kaitlyn	Larew
CT	Colchester	Lauren	Midgette
CT	Colchester	John	Mohrlein III
CT	Colchester	Justin	Morse
CT	Colchester	Ashley	Palma
CT	Colchester	Cara	Pianta
CT	Colchester	Cathryn	Ryan
CT	Colchester	Austin	Shea
CT	Colchester	Marissa	Stanton
CT	Colchester	Riddhi	Thaker
CT	Colchester	Rebecca	Uliasz
CT	Colchester	Mary Jo	Valenzuela
CT	Colchester	Mary Jo	Valenzuela
CT	Columbia	Matthew	Cavanagh
CT	Columbia	Emily	Curry
CT	Columbia	Ryan	Drager
CT	Columbia	Riley	Houle
CT	Columbia	Kevin	Hurley
CT	Columbia	Brigid	Keenan
CT	Columbia	Shane	Kelly
CT	Columbia	Melanie	Mather
CT	Columbia	Molly	Ray
CT	Columbia	Sarah	Ray
CT	Columbia	Sarah	Ray
CT	Columbia	Alison	Risley
CT	Columbia	Lauren	Roberts
CT	Columbia	Camryn	Santos
CT	Columbia	Jessica	Stonger
CT	Columbia	Madelyn	Briggs
CT	Coventry	Brien	Buckman
CT	Coventry	Meagan	Cairns
CT	Coventry	Sam	Cohen
CT	Coventry	Seamus	Connolly
CT	Coventry	Jessica	Dimock
CT	Coventry	Keri	French
CT	Coventry	Jacqueline	Garland
CT	Coventry	Harrison	Goodale
CT	Coventry	Omeed	Gousheh
CT	Coventry	Shane	Hickey
CT	Coventry	Mallory	Kozuch
CT	Coventry	Travis	Marshall
CT	Coventry	Amanda	Modeen
CT	Coventry	Robert	Powers III
CT	Coventry	Jessica	Pratt
CT	Coventry	Jessica	Pratt
CT	Coventry	Jason	Quint
CT	Coventry	Faith	Raymond
CT	Coventry	Jenna	Simmons
CT	Coventry	Kelley	Smart
CT	Coventry	Stephanie	Stroud
CT	Coventry	Anna Maria	Vromans
CT	East Haddam	Michael	Bellows
CT	East Haddam	Emily	Betts
CT	East Haddam	Brittany	Ciullo
CT	East Haddam	Macallister	Harris
CT	East Haddam	Megan	Novak
CT	East Haddam	Rachael	Pelletti
CT	East Haddam	Lane	Peterson
CT	East Haddam	Kayla	Rutland
CT	Moodus/ East Haddam	Michael	Augustine
CT	Moodus/ East Haddam	Jennifer	Barney
CT	Moodus/ East Haddam	Hunter	D’Addeo
CT	Moodus/ East Haddam	Theresa	Govert
CT	Moodus/ East Haddam	Allison	Olderman
CT	Moodus/ East Haddam	Amanda	Smith
CT	Moodus/ East Haddam	Devin	Smith
CT	Moodus/ East Haddam	Jeffrey	Ventres
CT	Lebanon	Casey	McCall
CT	Lebanon	Gabriel	Paun
CT	Lebanon	Stacie	Savage
CT	Lebanon	Brian	Seilhammer
CT	Lebanon	Samuel	Wentworth
CT	Mansfield	Spencer	Hamlin
CT	Mansfield	Arun	Hegde
CT	Mansfield	Charles	Jones
CT	Mansfield	Doris	Lin
CT	Mansfield	Seanna	McLaughlin
CT	Mansfield	Nicholas	Moskwa
CT	Mansfield	Sonya	Poulin
CT	Mansfield	Anna	Rozman
CT	Mansfield	Kaylee	Sawyer
CT	Mansfield Center	Kathryn	Becker
CT	Mansfield Center	William	Cassidy
CT	Mansfield Center	Christian	Pelletier
CT	Mansfield Center	Bethany	Scafidi
CT	Mansfield Center	Rachel	Stewart
CT	Mansfield Depot	Louisa	Sonstroem
CT	Mansfield center	Kailun	Sun
CT	MANSFIELD STORRS	Anne	Lee
CT	STORRS	Zhe	Li
CT	STORRS	Ran	Xu
CT	Storrs	Irini	Agaraj
CT	Storrs	Daniel	Allie
CT	Storrs	Christie	Attanasio
CT	Storrs	Anila	Bakullari
CT	Storrs	Michael	Basile
CT	Storrs	Melica	Bloom
CT	Storrs	Peter	Boutros
CT	Storrs	Kristin	Brady
CT	Storrs	Alison	Branciforte
CT	Storrs	Michael	Brannan
CT	Storrs-Mansfield	David	Bravo
CT	Storrs	Martina	Burn
CT	Storrs	Christine	Butler
CT	Storrs	Molly	Callahan
CT	Storrs	Cara	Callahan
CT	Storrs	Yan	Cheng
CT	Storrs	Lilian	Cheung
CT	Storrs	Chelsea	Cottle
CT	Storrs	Jessica	Cunningham
CT	Storrs	Shurui	Dai
CT	Storrs	Kayla	DeCristofano
CT	Storrs	Samantha	Desantis
CT	Storrs	Timothy	Doyle
CT	Storrs	Ainslee	Erhard
CT	Storrs	Ryan	Faroni
CT	Storrs	Andrew	Ferraiuolo
CT	Storrs	Shane	Feyers
CT	Storrs	Marisia	Fikiet
CT	Storrs	Emily	Francis
CT	Storrs	Andrea	Galanto
CT	Storrs	David	Galgowski
CT	Storrs	Monica	Garvey
CT	Storrs	John	Giardina
CT	Storrs	Georgina	Giddings
CT	Storrs	Marc	Gillig
CT	Storrs	Anna	Green
CT	Storrs	Dana	Haddad
CT	Storrs	Alex	Hayek
CT	Storrs	Nicole	Hodgdon
CT	Storrs	Jacob	Hodson
CT	Storrs	Amy	Holland
CT	Storrs	Sarah	Hoyle
CT	Storrs	Julianne	Hubbard
CT	Storrs	Felix	Irizarry
CT	Storrs	Darius	Jahandarie
CT	Storrs	Ruzena	Jata
CT	Storrs	Andrew	Jorgensen
CT	Storrs	Hannah	Kalichman
CT	Storrs	Milod	Kazerounian
CT	Storrs	Milod	Kazerounian
CT	Storrs	Melissa	Kuhn
CT	Storrs	Emily	LoTurco
CT	Storrs	Yuriy	Loukachev
CT	Storrs	Aysha	Mahmood
CT	Storrs	Grace	Malloy
CT	Storrs	Alan	Marcarelli
CT	Storrs	Conrad	Marcewicz
CT	Storrs	Shayna	Marmon
CT	Storrs	Stephanie	Martin
CT	Storrs	Adam	McNeiece
CT	Storrs	Amit	Mehta
CT	Storrs	Michael	Mei
CT	Storrs	Tian	Ming
CT	Storrs	Andrew	Moynihan
CT	Storrs	Daniel	Nadhazi
CT	Storrs	Brittany	Nkounkou
CT	Storrs	Kathryn	Nolte
CT	Storrs	Victoria	Nowak
CT	Storrs	Joslynn	Noyes
CT	Storrs	Cristobal	Ortega
CT	Storrs	Sean	Packard
CT	Storrs	Evan	Paradis
CT	Storrs	Rafael	Perez-Segura
CT	Storrs	Tiffany	Phillips
CT	Storrs	William	Pratt
CT	Storrs	Ellen	Pudney
CT	Storrs	Waleed	Qamar
CT	Storrs	Minerva	Ranjeet
CT	Storrs	Michael	Ratner
CT	Storrs	Juan	Romero
CT	Storrs	Alicia	Rozkuszka
CT	Storrs	Linda	Ruutu
CT	Storrs	Jun	Sakaki
CT	Storrs	Srivats	Satish
CT	Storrs	Brenna	Sellars
CT	Storrs	Vadim	Serebrinskiy
CT	Storrs	Amar	Singh
CT	Storrs	Shepherd	Stearns
CT	Storrs	Kelsey	Sullivan
CT	Storrs	Kelsey	Sullivan
CT	Storrs	Ryan	Sullivan
CT	Storrs	Peter	Surovic
CT	Storrs	Wendy	Turek
CT	Storrs	Elise	Ursin
CT	Storrs	Christine	Vogel
CT	Storrs	Kyle	Weber
CT	Storrs	Benjamin	Willis
CT	Storrs	Heather	Wilson
CT	Storrs	Xiling	Yan
CT	Storrs	Cheng	Yang
CT	Storrs	Andrew	Yellen
CT	Storrs	Benjamin	Young
CT	Storrs	Deric	Zhang
CT	Willington	Valerie	Anderson
CT	Willington	Annabelle	Atkin
CT	Willington	Michelle	Bashaw
CT	Willington	Cory	Charpentier
CT	Willington	Matthew	Coleman
CT	Willington	Christie	Czarnecki
CT	Willington	Lisa	Dauten
CT	Willington	Jacqueline	Evans
CT	Willington	Paul	Hills
CT	Willington	Katherine	Histen
CT	Willington	Michele	Huang
CT	Willington	Michele	Huang
CT	Willington	Adam	Hurwitz
CT	Willington	Christopher	Keefe
CT	Willington	Shalini	Khare
CT	Willington	Christine	Kohn
CT	Willington	David	Leduke
CT	Willington	Meagan	Lindsay
CT	Willington	Jiajun	Lu
CT	Willington	Yevgeniy	Lymar
CT	Willington	Colin	Macgregor
CT	Willington	Derek	Miller
CT	Willington	Alex	Minge
CT	Willington	Joel	Mulligan
CT	Willington	Sadie	Nazer
CT	Willington	Aaron	Nelson
CT	Willington	Max	Newlon
CT	Willington	Tara	Raymaakers
CT	Willington	Linda	Shaw
CT	Willington	Allison	Smith
CT	Willington	Jennifer	Stansfield
CT	Willington	Emily	Szkudlarek
CT	Willington	Christopher	Tomori
CT	Willington	Emily	Udal
CT	Willington	Darren	Vine
CT	Willington	Jusi	Wang
CT	Willington	Jesse	Williams
CT	Willington	Savannah	Williams
CT	Willington	Zachary	Woods
CT	Willington	Scott	Walsh
CT	Windham	Alexander	Marrotte
CT	Windham	Jordan	Stearns
CT	Windham	Nicole	Wilson
CT	Willimantic	Yiwen	Ding
CT	Willimantic	Andrew	Quinn
CT	Willimantic	Zihang	Zhou

CT	East Hampton	Andrew	Briere
CT	East Hampton	Kelly	Chasse
CT	East Hampton	Jason	Foberg
CT	East Hampton	Bridget	Galanto
CT	East Hampton	Christopher	Hanson
CT	East Hampton	Robert	Haswell
CT	East Hampton	Kayla	Perkins
CT	East Hampton	Tyler	Raddatz
CT	East Hampton	Benjamin	Simmons-Telep
CT	East Hampton	Nicholas	Vasquenza
CT	East Hampton	Anthony	Williams
CT	East Hampton	James	Winkler

CT	Hebron	Michael	Chapman
CT	Hebron	Erin	Duffy
CT	Hebron	Abby	Fromme
CT	Hebron	Michael	Hovey
CT	Hebron	Drew	Hund
CT	Hebron	Dana	Lovallo
CT	Hebron	John	Mango
CT	Hebron	Ethan	Sarnoski

Posted Jan. 31, 2012

Have a news item, event or Letter to the Editor you’d like posted on this news site? Simply send your information to editor@htnp.com and include your town in the subject line of your email. Please also include a phone number where you can be reached if there are questions. To keep up-to-date on local news, “like” us (HTNP News) on Facebook and follow us ( @HTNP) on Twitter!

Congressman Courtney introduces bill to curb student loan costs

Connecticut Congressman Joe Courtney today (Jan. 25) introduced H.R. 3826, legislation that would ensure that interest rates on certain student loans do not dramatically increase this year.

In 2007, Congress made an historic investment in higher education when it passed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act.

The legislation includes a provision that reduced the fixed rate on Stafford student loans for undergraduate students.

The College Cost Reduction and Access Act lowered subsidized Stafford student loan rates from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent over a four-year period, to ease the burden on thousands of students and their families.

However, without Congressional action, this act expires; loan rates will double later this year and cost students and families thousands of dollars, over time.

Courtney’s bill would eliminate the existing “sunset” and ensure that rates remain at 3.4 percent.

“A college education is key to success in today’s economy, but for many students, the spiraling costs of higher education are creating an immense barrier,” said Congressman Courtney.

“President Obama’s message was spot on last night when he said: ‘When kids do graduate (from high school), the most daunting challenge can be the cost of college. At a time when Americans owe more in tuition debt than credit card debt, this Congress needs to stop the interest rates on student loans from doubling in July.’

“This legislation will defuse that ticking time bomb, and help young people repay the student loans that have weighed them down too heavily for too long,” Courtney said.

According to the non-partisan U.S. PIRG (Public Interest Research Group), if Congress does nothing, borrowers who will take out the maximum $23,000 in subsidized student loans will see their interest balloon to an additional $5,200 over a 10-year repayment period and $11,300 over a 20-year repayment period.

Posted Jan. 25, 2012, as edited by HTNP.com Editor Brenda Sullivan

Have a news item, event or Letter to the Editor you’d like posted on this news site? Simply send your information to editor@htnp.com and include your town in the subject line of your email. Please also include a phone number where you can be reached if there are questions. To keep up-to-date on local news, “like” us (HTNP News) on Facebook and follow us ( @HTNP) on Twitter!

Volunteers are needed for CT Special Olympics swim meet

The annual Special Olympics swim meet is again in need of volunteers for the March event, according to event organizers.

Athletes from all over Connecticut and parts of Massachusetts are already signed up for the 33rd annual Windham Invitational Special Olympics swim meet.

Slated for Saturday, March 10,2012 the event starts at 8 a.m. with registration and is expected to last until about 5 p.m., at Windham High School.

Event organizers are looking for as many volunteers as they can get, said Melissa Henry, a first­time member of the event’s organizing committee.

The organization usually takes volunteers right up until the event starts, but registering early will help with distributing tasks.

“We try to get the word our early for volunteers,” said publicity chair Tom Piotrowski. “We like to have committed volunteers before the swim meet.”

Piotrowski and his son, Alan, have been volunteering at the swim meet for more than 15 years.

“Come with a positive attitude and the feeling that you are going to make this a special day,” said Piotrowski.

Volunteers can choose what they want to do on the registration form, which is provided online at the swim meet web site, http://windhaminvitationalswimmeet.weebly.com

The deadline for registration with the volunteer forms is Feb. 24.

Volunteering doesn’t have an age limit, but organizers try to match volunteers to athletes by their ages. Athletes are generally from 8 to 35 years old, Henry said.

“We’ve had middle school kids and even college students volunteer,” said Piotrowski. Safety volunteers have to be at least 21 years of age, he said.

“We usually need around 250 volunteers or so,” said Piotrowski. “We need people for pretty much everything.”

There are many different roles that volunteers can choose including, athlete buddies, pool area volunteers, food and refreshments, arts and crafts, awards and Friday night set-up with Saturday night clean-up

Piotrowski said volunteers will be kept busy throughout the day.

No training is necessary to be a volunteer, but on the morning of the meet, there is a registration and orientation period before everything starts, said Piotrowski.

Lunch will be provided by McDonald’s and volunteers will get a souvenir T-shirt, Piotrowski said.

Donations also help!

For those who would like to donate to the annual swim meet, they can do so by sending cash or a check written to Windham Special Olympics Swim Meet and sent to 39 Candide Lane, Storrs, CT 06268.

The Windham Swim meet is a nonprofit organization, said Piotrowski. “We need to raise around $7,000 to $ 8,000 for this event,” some of which comes from fundraisers leading up to the even.

The Special Olympics, itself, is a year­round program of physical fitness, sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

For more information and to get a volunteer registration form, visit the swim meet Web site at http://windhaminvitationalswimmeet.weebly.com or call Erin Figlock at (860) 670-2915, or Melissa Henry at (860) 933-4813 or Adrianne Levine at (860) 933-6388.

Posted Jan. 24, 2012

Have a news item, event or Letter to the Editor you’d like posted on this news site? Simply send your information to editor@htnp.com and include your town in the subject line of your email. Please also include a phone number where you can be reached if there are questions. To keep up-to-date on local news, “like” us (HTNP News) on Facebook and follow us ( @HTNP) on Twitter!

Local community events for the week of Jan 23 2012

Editor’s note: The DEEP Family Ice Fishing Class scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 28 in Coventry has been canceled, as well as the Derby (because of insufficient ice on the lakeTuesday Jan. 24, 2012

FOOT-CARE APPOINTMENTS – Mansfield

Mansfield Senior Center, 303 Maple Road, Storrs, will offer foot­care appointments with a podiatrist beginning at 9 a.m. Call Kathy for an appointment at (860) 429-0262.

CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION – Willimantic

The Willimantic Public Library, Main Street, Willimantic, will host a Chinese New Year celebration from 6 to 7 p.m. in the children’s department. Families are invited to attend a fun-filled hour that will include traditional Chinese stories, arts and crafts, games and sample Chinese food. To register, stop by the library or call (860) 465-3082.

LA LECHE LEAGUE MEETING – Lebanon

All local mothers and pregnant women are invited to a mother­to-mother breastfeeding support and advocacy group at 6:30 p.m. at the Lebanon Community Center, 872 Trumbull Highway, Lebanon. Children welcome. Info. (860) 642-6638 or (860) 423-2170. No cost.

Wednesday Jan. 25

ADULT HEALTH SCREENINGS – Mansfield

Mansfield Senior Center, 303 Maple Road, Storrs, will offer adult health screenings from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. with VNA East Nurse Mary Hess. Info: (860) 429-0262, ext. 4.

INTERFAITH SEWING AND SERVICE GROUP – Willimantic

First Congregational Church, 199 Valley St., Willimantic, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Projects: CWS – school bags and layettes, Nursing Homes – lap robes. Snow date: Jan. 26. Info: (860) 228-9658.

HOSPICE HOSPITALITY LUNCHEON – Chaplin

Hospice of Eastern Connecticut will hold its hospitality luncheon at the Pine Acres Restaurant, Route 6, Chaplin from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This is a social gathering of people who are successfully moving on with their lives after a loss. Group is open to the community. Info: (860) 456-7288, ext. 293.

Thursday Jan. 26

LIBRARY FUNDRAISER – Willington

The Willington Public Library, 7 Ruby Road, Willington, will host “Demarle at Home” library fundraiser at 6 p.m. Info: (860) 429-3854.

ROSS MILLER ON PHILIP ROTH, UPDATED – UConn

Ross Miller, who is writing the official biography of Philip Roth (with Roth’s cooperation), will update those who are interested on the progress of this project to be published by Houghton Harcourt. Roth’s talk at the University of Connecticut Co-op, 2975 Hillside Road, Storrs, is at 6 p.m. For more information, visit http://generalbooks.bookstore.uconn.edu/event/ross-miller-philip-roth-updated-0 or call (860) 486-5027.

NIGHTSONGS OPEN MIKE/SONGSHARE – Coventry

The Nightsongs Open Mike/Songshare will be held at the Song-­a-Day Music Center, 2809 Boston Turnpike (Route 44) in Coventry. Music begins at 7 p.m.; sign-up is at 6:30 p.m. Songwriters, music and spoken-word performers and the musically curious are invited to share music and discussion. This event is free and open to the public. Come and share songs, swap stories and enjoy the company of musicians. For more information, call (860) 742-6878 or e-mail inquiries@songaday­music.com

Friday Jan. 27

LEGENDARY PIANIST/COMPOSER AT JORGENSEN – UConn

Chucho Valdés, pianist and composer will perform at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, 2132 Hillside Road, Storrs, on the University of Connecticut campus at 8 p.m. Tickets/info: (860) 486-4226 or online at jorgensen.uconn.edu

Saturday Jan. 28

ICE FISHING CLASS AND DERBY – Coventry

Members of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Connecticut Aquatic Resources Education (CARE) program will conduct a Family Ice Fishing Derby at Patriot’s Park on Coventry Lake in Coventry from noon to 3 p.m. (weather permitting). A Family Ice Fishing Class is planned prior to the derby at the Patriot’s Park Community Center. The class will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. (with or without ice) and registration is required. The derby is free of charge and will be conducted by certified DEEP Fisheries CARE instructors. The DEEP Derby is sponsored by the Coventry Parks and Recreation Department. For registration and more information, call (860) 742-4068.

MOVIE – ‘DOLPHIN’S TALE’ – Willington

The Willington Public Library, 7 Ruby Road, Willington, will host the movie “Dolphin’s Tale” in the Community Room at 12:30 p.m. This movie is rated PG and runs for 113 minutes. Participants can also bring their own snacks.

MUSIC WORKSHOPS – Coventry

The Song-a-Day Music Center, 2809 Boston Turnpike, Route 44, Coventry, will present two music workshops, “Mountain Dulcimer Potpourri” and “The Songs of the Carter Family” from 2 to 4 p.m. Space for the workshops is limited. Call for reservations. Fee for each work­shop is $30. Info: (860) 742-6878 or go to www.songadaymusic.com

ARMY BAND CONCERT – Chaplin

The 102nd Army Band will perform a free concert at Parish Hill High School, Parish Hill Road, Chaplin, at 7 p.m. The band consists of several ensembles including a concert band, big band and a jazz combo. Info: (860) 455-9584.

LEGENDARY PIANIST/COMPOSER AT JORGENSEN – UConn

Chucho Valdés, pianist and composer will perform at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, 2132 Hillside Road, Storrs, on the University of Connecticut campus at 8 p.m. Tickets/info: (860) 486-4226 or online at jorgensen.uconn.edu

Sunday Jan. 29

WINTER TREK AT ALLANACH-WOLF WOODLANDS – Windham

Join naturalist Ken Metzler for a tour of the winter world at 1 p.m. Walkers will snowshoe if there is snow. EMS will provide snowshoes at half the regular rental price ($10) as available. Instruction will be pro­vided at 12:30 p.m. Space is limited, registration is required. Contact Richard Bunce at (860) 647-1455 by Jan. 22. Find information about Joshua’s Trust at www.joshuaslandtrust.org

LOOKING AHEAD…

Monday Jan. 30

WILLIMANTIC WHITEWATER PARTNERSHIP DRIVE

The annual meeting, fundraiser and membership drive of the Willimantic Whitewater Partnership will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. at Willimantic Brewing Co./Main St. Café, 967 Main St., Willimantic.

VOICEMAIL, THE OPEN MIKE FOR STORYTELLING – Storrs/Mansfield

VoiceMail, the open mike for storytelling, will be held at The Mansfield General Store, Route 195/Storrs Road, Mansfield Center, at 7 p.m. Come for the soup and chili bar and stories. Proceeds of free will donation benefit the Connecticut Storytelling Center. For more information, visit www.connstorycenter.org And visit Mansfield General Store on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MansfieldGeneralStore

Tuesday Jan. 31

SOCIAL SECURITY SEMINAR – Willington

Willington Public Library, 7 Ruby Road, Willington, will host a free Social Security seminar in the Community Room at 7 p.m. Come and get all the latest information and answers to all those important questions. Info: (860) 429-3854.

Wednesday Feb. 1

INTERFAITH SEWING AND SERVICE GROUP – Willimantic

First Congregational Church, 199 Valley St., Willimantic, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Projects: Hospital – red flag blankets, CWS – schools bags, hospice – quilted prayer shawl. Snow date: Feb. 2. Info: (860) 228-9658.

Friday Feb. 3

‘THE CITY DARK’ – E.O. SMITH – Storrs/Mansfield

E. O. Smith High School’s auditorium, Storrs Road, Storrs, is the location of a film screening of “The City Dark” at 7 p.m. Free. Info: (860) 208-7273.

Posted Jan. 23, 2012

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Local firefighter’s mission is to aid Sept. 11 responders now struggling with cancer

Currently, the Northeast Director of the Fire Fighter Cancer Foundation, Jim Preston, 52, has been a volunteer firefighter at the South Windham Fire Department for more than 16 years.

He’s also a supervisor at Home Depot.

And he’s a man on a “mission” – to help those who rose to the occasion on one of the darkest days in U. S. history – the firefighters, 9/11 responders, Ground Zero workers and family members who have been stricken with cancer.

While the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks immediately killed thousands at the World Trade Center in New York, as well as more in Washington, D.C. and those aboard Flight 93 in Pennsylvania, more of those who came to their rescue are dying as well, mainly due to cancer and other diseases associated with the environment of Ground Zero.

The Fire Fighter Cancer Foundation, which has grown internationally to Australia and England, is working now to provide air purifiers for the homes of sick 9/ 11 responders and others involved.

Preston, has worked at the foundation for more than eight months. “We are losing, sometimes, up to three (responders) a week,” said Preston.

More than 1,000 Sept. 11 responders have died since the cleanup ended, he said.

Preston joined the Fire Fighter Cancer Foundation when its President Cindy Ell asked him if he’d be interested, at a press conference in Boston. “I couldn’t say no. How can you?” Preston recalled.

Preston lost his first wife to cancer when she was only 27, and then his mother three weeks later to the same disease.

Now he is joined by Cheryl Preston, his wife of 20 years, in this different kind of rescue effort. “We try to find these people and find out exactly what they need,” Preston said.

The foundation will help with anything from legal advice to finding them cheaper, better medications, Preston said.

Preston admits to feeling guilty, even today, for not going to Ground Zero right away. At the time, he was working for American Ambulance Services and couldn’t leave Connecticut immediately.

Many of his coworkers left right away, but Preston waited for his days off to go.

When Preston arrived, it was already the first weekend after the attacks. With his wife by his side, Preston went to as many firehouses as he could.

“I was freelancing and doing whatever I could to help,” said Preston. “You could see it in their eyes. It was a heartbreaking thing.”

To each firehouse he went to, Preston left a letter titled “Heavens Fire Department” in which he tries to make sense of the horrible events.

“In heaven of course there is a grand department,” says one of the letters. “This department is staffed with our Brothers and Sisters from all over the world. God, the ultimate Chief, knew this would be a tough transition so he needed the very best, and he called the FDNY.”

500 purifiers needed

The foundation has a list of 500 responders who need purifiers. Each costs $500. Made by the MagneGrip Group, they are hospital grade. They can even sense toxic chemical fumes in the air and break them down.

“What we are doing is all worthwhile,” Preston said. “This may extend someone’s life.”

Preston has another goal, and that is to get the Zadroga Act amended. The controversial federal bill was supposed to improve services and protection for 9/11 responders, but lacks coverage for cancer.

“We need to get these people the help that they need,” said Preston. He noted the bill covers carpal tunnel syndrome, but not cancer.

“We never hear about that bill or the responders anymore,” Preston said. “We are only 145 miles from Manhattan. This is terribly frustrating.”

His message to those responders in the Northeast whom he hasn’t found yet is to just sit tight – Preston will find you. “To the people out there, we love you and we aren’t going to leave any of you behind,” he said.

However, for all the foundation’s work, they are losing men and women on a weekly basis. Purifiers won’t save their lives, but they may add more time.

Preston said he and his wife attend the funerals of those who lose their battle with cancer.

“She’s incredible,” said Preston. At the last funeral they went to, he said, Cheryl Preston pulled her husband aside and told him that she loved him.

“She said, ‘I’m so glad you didn’t go (that day),’” Preston said, tears in his eyes. “‘I know you feel guilty.’”

The next step for Preston is to keep spreading the word. He has a couple of conferences lined up in New Hampshire and Massachusettsto get more people involved.

For more information about the Fire Fighter Cancer Foundation, visit www.ffcancer.org

Also, donations can be mailed to Fire Fighter Cancer Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 2830, Wilmington, Del. 19805.

Questions? Call Jim Preston at (860) 617-7450.

Posted Jan. 22, 2012 as edited by HTNP.com Editor Brenda Sullivan

Have a news item, event or Letter to the Editor you’d like posted on this news site? Simply send your information to editor@htnp.com and include your town in the subject line of your email. Please also include a phone number where you can be reached if there are questions. To keep up-to-date on local news, “like” us (HTNP News) on Facebook and follow us ( @HTNP) on Twitter!

Applications now available for state's annual firewood lottery

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announces that applications for the annual state forest firewood lottery are now available.

Applications will be accepted until Feb. 1 2012. The Firewood Lottery will be determined using a random-number-generating process. “Winners” will be posted on the DEEP Forestry Website by March 14.

Firewood lots are generally offered during the warm months when forest roads are accessible.

Connecticut residents may apply for one Forest Products Harvesting Permit per household per year.

Firewood Program in State Forests

The annual firewood lottery provides Connecticut homeowners with a renewable, affordable, locally grown fuel source.

Firewood harvesting from State land helps achieve sustainable forest management goals, improve forest health, and offers fun physical activity for family and friends. (Henry David Thoreau is often credited with the saying that firewood warms you twice, once through the exercise of splitting and once in the fireplace.)

DEEP reminds all visitors that removal of any firewood from a state forest requires a permit.

Standing trees and downed wood will be sold to the lottery winners in designated two-cord lots for $60 by DEEP Foresters, as forest road conditions allow.

Most all permits will be issued before October 2012.

In addition, personal protective equipment (PPE) must be worn while cutting wood. The minimum requirements of PPE include: hard hat, eye protection, hearing protection, and cut-resistant chaps or pants.

Chainsaws have to be equipped with properly functioning safety devices, including a chain brake.

Cutters without PPE may have their Forest Product Agreement revoked and not be offered a woodlot the following year.

To submit an application

Applications may be downloaded and more information may be found at the State Lands Firewood Program Web site at http://ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2697&q=429464&depNav_GID=1631 or by calling 1-860-424-3630.

Applicants who do not receive a permit by lottery selection will be placed on an alternate list. Alternates may be offered permits at the discretion of DEEP Forestry based on supply.

Posted Jan. 20, 2012

Editor’s note: The cost for pre-cut firewood in Connecticut at this time appears to range from $160 to $225 a cord.

Related links: What is a cord of wood? http://www.snowservicesllc.net/

Listing of some CT businesses selling firewood http://www.firewoods.net/ne/CT.aspx

CT DEEP/Forestry listing of certified wood product sellers – look to right column for link to info about certification and the list (in PDF format). http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2697&q=322792&depNav_GID=1631

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