DOT truck crashes on Route 8

NAUGATUCK - A state Department of Transportation worker was injured Monday when he drove his dump truck off Route 8 and down an embankment. Eugene Casivant Sr, 59, of Southbury, was taken to Waterbury Hospital where state police said he was being treated for minor injuries. State Police said shortly after 11:30 a.m., Casivant was traveling southbound on Route 8 near Exit 28 when he veered across the right shoulder, crash through the metal guardrail and then traveled down the embankment coming to rest against a tree just feet from the river. State police said they are investigating the crash and no charges had been filed Monday against Casivant.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/DOT-truck-crashes-on-Route-8-13500664.php

Global Teaching Prize finalist calls Bridgeport home

Melissa Salguero lives in Bridgeport but commutes each day to P.S. 48 in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the South Bronx where she teaches music. She has appeared on the Ellen Show, where in 2014 she was showered with instruments and a check to replace ones stolen from her classroom. Last year she won a Grammy as Top Music Educator of Year, thanks in part — she thinks — to a whimsical rap video posted on YouTube that exposed her unorthodox approach to education. “In the classroom I’ve made music with bananas and carrots to get the attention of students,” Salguero freely admits. A healthy dose of science and humor is usually thrown in for good measure.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Global-Teaching-Prize-finalist-calls-Bridgeport-13500514.php

2 Norwalk juveniles identified in Westport break-ins

WESTPORT-Police are expected to arrest two Norwalk teenagers for participating in a string of break-ins, burglaries, larcenies and car thefts that have plaqued the town during the holiday season. “We know where they are and they are being cooperative with the investigations,” Lt. Jillian Cabana said Monday. “Their arrests are forthcoming.” Once they are charged the two 17-year-olds would join Xavier Medel, a 19-year-old Bridgeport resident in being linked to the crimes. Medel appeared in Norwalk Superior Court Monday and is being detained on $250,000 bond following his arrest in connection with a Sandhopper Trail burglary and break-in Dec. 23. Lt.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/2-Norwalk-juveniles-arrested-in-Westport-break-ins-13500490.php

Police: Bridgeport man linked to numerous Westport crimes

WESTPORT - A Bridgeport man, charged with a home burglary, has been connected to several other burglaries, police said. Xavier Medel, 19, of Bridgeport, was arrested Dec. 28 and charged in connection with a Dec. 23rd burglary at a Sandhopper Trail address. Medel was unable to post his $250,000 court set bond and was transported to Norwalk Court on Monday morning for arraignment. Police said that with the assistance of the community, patrol officers and detectives worked over the holidays to link Medel to additional crimes committed in the town. Along the way, police said they were also able to identify two juvenile suspects. Both suspects are 17 year old males from Norwalk.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Police-Bridgeport-man-linked-to-numerous-13500427.php

Shelton’s Tickey leaves DeLauro for Bysiewicz’s staff

SHELTON-Rosa DeLauro’s loss is Susan Bysiewicz’s gain. Jimmy Tickey, DeLauro’s longtime campaign manager, will oversee business community outreach and economic development initiatives on behalf of Bysiewicz, the incoming lieutenant governor. Monday. He was one of five appointment announced by Bysiewicz Monday. The others are Juliemar Ortiz, a former New Haven Register reporter as her press secretary; Adam Joseph as her chief of staff; Cherie Phoenix-Sharpe as her general counsel and Samuel Carmody as senior advisor for legislative affairs.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Shelton-s-Tickey-leaves-DeLauro-for-13500414.php

Here were some of the top health stories of 2018

From disease-ridden mosquitoes to hospital mergers and acquisitions, health and health care were in the news a lot in 2018. Here are some of the major health stories that made headlines in the state (and, in some cases, beyond) in 2018. 1. The Flu: The 2017-18 flu season was a brutal one nationwide, and it was particularly rough in Connecticut. There were 154 flu-related deaths in the state last season, making it the deadliest flu season in five years. Those who died included at least three young children. Nationwide, more than 80,000 people died from flu last year.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Here-were-some-of-the-top-health-stories-of-2018-13500411.php

Some newness to education in 2018

The year 2018 will go down as another year of budget cuts for many public school districts in the state, but that’s nothing new. It is something Bridgeport has endured for years and which many other local districts are starting to get a taste of with state finances the way they are. Despite that, the year just ending brought the area new buildings, new leaders and a swell of student activism sparked by yet another deadly school shooting. The mass shooting took place in Parkland, Fla., on Valentine’s Day but it helped thousands of young people across the nation to galvanize and find their voice.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Some-newness-to-education-in-2018-13500328.php

Monroe library to host Puzzle Off

MONROE — From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, the Edith Wheeler Memorial Library, 733 Monroe Turnpike, will host its 6th Annual Puzzle Off in the Ehlers Meeting Room. Eight teams will compete to see who can assemble the most pieces of a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle. Teams consist of up to six people. Call or stop by the Reference Desk by Thursday to sign up individually, as a small group, or as an entire team. Lunch will be provided. There is a snow date of Saturday, Jan. 12. Call 203-452-2850 or email reference@ewml.org.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Monroe-library-to-host-Puzzle-Off-13500302.php

Trumbull’s Stern Village to get interior upgrades

TRUMBULL — Stern Village senior housing complex is getting a interior upgrade. Eversource Energy contributed $500,000 to the Trumbull Housing Authority through the state Housing Tax Credit Contribution Program. The program gives businesses an opportunity to invest in nonprofit housing programs by buying tax credits and applying them to their corporate taxes. Stern Village Executive Director Harriet Polansky said the $500,000, added to the $5.3 million Small Cities grant the complex received earlier in the year, would go a long way toward addressing the village’s needs. “Things are really rocking and rolling here,” she said.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Trumbull-s-Stern-Village-to-get-interior-13500231.php

Council President wants briefing from theaters developer

BRIDGEPORT — When Craig Livingston and other executives with New York City-based Exact Capital were eager to boast about their ambitious plans for the downtown — renovating a pair of historic theaters and building an 18-story residential tower — they participated in a press conference. “If you’re gonna do it, do it big,” Livingston, Exact’s managing partner, said last June while at the long-shuttered Majestic and Poli Palace theaters. “Eighteen stories is not really such a big building where we come from.” A year and a half later, Exact has missed its city-imposed deadline to come up with $56 million in financing.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Council-President-wants-briefing-from-theaters-13500156.php

Milford woman busted for credit card theft

MILFORD-Police arrested a city woman for allegedly stealing a wallet at a Boston Post Road business and then using the credit cards to make unauthorized purchases. Amy Goldbeck, 42, of Ridgewood Drive, is charged with fourth and sixth degree larceny, criminal impersonation and credit card theft. She was released on a promise to appear in Milford Superior Court on Jan. 22. After receiving the call police reviewed surveillance photos of the theft and identified Goldbeck. They then arrested her at her home.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Milford-woman-busted-for-credit-card-theft-13500146.php

Milford PD arrest Massachusetts man on kidnapping charge

MILFORD-Police arrested a 34-year-old Massachusetts man for kidnapping and assault a woman with a razor blade. Police were dispatched just before 8 a.m. Dec. 30 to Woodmont Road near the I-95 off ramp after a woman was seen walking away from a car. The car was stopped and the investigation led to the arrest of Carlos Rosario-Infante, of Holyoke, Mass. Rosario-Infante is being detained on $190,000 bond pending an appearance in Milford Superior Court. He was charged with kidnapping, threatening and assault all in the first-degree. Additionally police filed charges of disorderly conduct and possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Milford-PD-arrest-Massachusetts-man-on-kidnapping-13500133.php

Ansonia Police Commission to meet and discuss chief search Wednesday

ANSONIA-The city’s five-member police commission will begin discussing the search for both an interim and permanent police chief when they meet Jan. 2 at 5 p.m. in city hall. ‘It’s been such a long time since the commission has had to do something like this that we will need to discuss the procedures and process to follow,” said Michael Rinaldi, a commission member and retired Monroe police lieutenant. All this comes as a result of Chief Kevin Hale’s announcement late Friday that he is retiring Feb. 15 after serving 18 years as the chief and 29 years as a department member.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Ansonia-Police-Commission-to-meet-and-discuss-13500097.php

Bpt PD investigating downtown shooting

BRIDGEPORT-Police are investigating an early morning incident Sunday in which shots were fired and a person was injured. The shooting took place at 1:12 a.m. near 200 Main Street, near McLevy Green and not far from Tiago’s a popular downtown night spot. It could not be determined if the victim, who was taken to the hospital, was hit by a bullet or shredding glass. The case is being investigated as an assault with a deadly weapon.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Bpt-PD-investigating-downtown-shooting-13500112.php

Shelton gets grant to purchase open space in Pearmain Preserve

SHELTON — Shelton’s push to protect open space received some significant support last week thanks to an early Christmas present from the state of Connecticut. City leaders found out in mid-December they would receive a $187,500 grant from the state’s Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition program that is expected be used toward the purchase of more than six acres of land known as Pearmain Preserve. Mayor Mark Lauretti said the preserve includes a portion of an approved, but yet to be filed, plan for a six-lot subdivision. The acquisition means the subdivision would be three lots, instead of what had been originally planned for the site. Pearmain Preserve is 6.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Shelton-gets-grant-to-purchase-open-space-in-13500099.php

Man charged in Milford kidnapping

MILFORD - A Massachusetts man was being held in lieu of $190,000 bond after police said he kidnapped a woman and brought her to this area. Carlos Rosario-Infante, 34, of Holyoke, was charged with first-degree kidnapping, disorderly conduct, threatening, first-degree assault, and having a weapon in a motor vehicle. Police said on Sunday officers responded to a complaint of suspicious activity in the area of the Exit 40 off ramp from Interstate 95. When officers arrived, police said they found a woman walking south on Woodmont Road and away from a car that was heading north on Woodmont Road.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Man-charged-in-Milford-kidnapping-13500041.php

Bridge rehabilitation in Monroe could delay traffic

MONROE — The rehabilitation of the bridge on Route 34 over Boys Halfway Brook could jam up traffic in some parts of town over the next two weeks. According to a notice from the Town of Monroe, between now and Jan. 11, during the bridge replacement, the contractor will be allowed to maintain alternating one-way traffic, controlled by a temporary traffic light. The light is expected to be installed near Lake Zoar Drive In. The construction and change in traffic patterns could cause delays, and motorists are instructed to slow down in work zones. The construction schedule is subject to change, based on weather and man power availability.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Bridge-rehabilitation-in-Monroe-could-delay-13500017.php

Ohio man arraigned in Bethel woman’s murder

BRIDGEPORT -Brandon Roberts, a joker tattoo on the left side of his neck, stood before a judge Monday morning to faced charges in the murder of a young Bethel woman he met online. “These are very serious allegations,” said Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin Dunn as the 26-year-old Roberts stood staring at the courtroom floor. Superior Court Judge Eugene Calistro Jr. agreed and ordered Roberts held in lieu of $2 million bond. “There is a risk of flight and I find he has no ties to the community,” the judge added. He continued the case to Jan.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Ohio-man-arraigned-in-Bethel-woman-s-murder-13500007.php

4 known gangs in Bridgeport

Police said 18-year-old Tajay Chambers and three younger friends were out hunting a rival gang when they shot and killed 12-year-old Clinton Howell. Chambers and his friends never found members of the Blitz Gang, known as the “BGs,” and Howell was not affiliated with any gang, but Bridgeport has been home to several gangs of various sizes. Both Bridgeport Police and the Connecticut State Police have gang task forces, agencies that routinely cooperate on gang-related issues. “It’s alarming,” Bridgeport Police Chief Armando Perez said in 2017. “There’s a tremendous amount of guns out there. We have been taking them off the street — but they keep coming in.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/4-known-gangs-in-Bridgeport-13499974.php

Yes, there will be a Democratic state senator from Greenwich

Alex Bergstein joins the Connecticut Senate next week as a curiosity in the large new class of Democrats: She is a Greenwich Democrat, the first elected to the state Senate since the mid-term elections of 1930, when Republicans were wounded by a deepening Depression and an unpopular Herbert Hoover. One of nine freshman Democrats, Bergstein and her classmates offer an opportunity for a reboot of a frequently dysfunctional Democratic caucus, weakened by personal and philosophical conflicts and an evenly divided chamber. With a net gain of five seats, Democrats won a solid 23-13 majority in November.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Yes-there-will-be-a-Democratic-state-senator-13499965.php

Mayor tweets cow is loose in her town

It’s not the biggest news, but New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart did let her followers know something that is happening in her town. A cow is on the loose. She tweeted that cow was seen near the Plainville town line on Monday morning. “Oh boy... there’s a cow on the loose in #newbritain seriously.” she tweeted. City officials don’t know who owns the cow. To follow Stewart’s tweets, click here

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Mayor-tweets-cow-is-loose-in-her-town-13499703.php

Expect a mild, wet and windy New Year’s Eve

After a dry start to the day, rain will develop this the afternoon and and won’t end until ... next year. Those celebrating New Year’s Eve outdoors in places like Times Square will get a good soaking with wind-driven rain. Rain will be heavy at times this evening and into New Year’s Day. Temperatures will be above normal for this time of they ear with highs in the 40s for much of the region. That’s quite a difference from last New Year’s Eve when the low temperarture was 2 degrees in Danbury and 8 degrees along the Long Island Sound shoreline. Temperatures are expected to continue to rise into the 50s for most of the region tonight.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Expect-a-mild-wet-and-windy-New-Year-s-Eve-13499533.php

Getting There: 2019 Connecticut transportation predictions

Each year, I share my predictions for the coming months — and grade myself on last year’s crystal-ball gazing. Upon reflection, I was way too pessimistic last year, predicting fare hikes, service cuts and delays in new M8 car orders for Metro-North. I must have had some bad eggnog when I said the Special Transportation Fund lock box would be defeated. Bah, humbug. I’ll admit it: I was wrong. But I was spot-on in predicting more Positive Train Control delays, no movement on infrastructure investment by the Trump administration and potential problems for Elon Musk’s Hyperloop schemes. As for the year ahead, we have a good sense of where Gov.-elect Ned Lamont says he wants to go.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Getting-There-2019-Connecticut-transportation-13487745.php

How to Watch Sunday Night Football: Colts vs. Titans

NBC has you covered for Sunday night's Colts-Titans game.

from NBC Connecticut - Sports http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/sports/Sunday-Night-Football-Colts-Titans-503692191.html

New Haven man arrested after high-speed, long-distance pursuit

A New Haven man was arrested shortly after midnight Sunday after allegedly leading state police on a high-speed chase and hitting a Guilford police vehicle. According to state police, a trooper was conducting motor vehicle stops at Interstate 95 at exit 67 in Old Saybrook when he reportedly saw a vehicle driving at 93 to 94 miles per hour. The trooper allegedly pulled behind the vehicle and attempted to conduct a motor vehicle stop. However, police said, the car — driven by Jayronn Sessions, 28, of New Haven — accelerated at a high rate of speed, engaging the trooper in pursuit. The accused reportedly continued southbound on 95, traveling between 95 and 105, using all lanes travel.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/New-Haven-man-arrested-after-high-speed-13498946.php

Nature center to host New Year’s hike

Those wishing to get a jump on their New Year’s resolutions can participate in a free hike on the first of the year, from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center, 10 Deerfield Lane. The center’s ranger will conduct this brisk walk while participants learn a little natural history trivia along the way. Call 203-736-1053 to register. The hike will be canceled in the event of inclement weather.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Nature-center-to-host-New-Year-s-hike-13498841.php

Monroe to collect Christmas trees

MONROE — The Monroe Highway Department will bein collecting Christmas tress on Monday, Jan. 14. All residents wishing to have their trees picked up must have their trees at the curb by 7 a.m. Jan. 14. The Highway Department will comlease the collection on Feb. 1. Trees will not be picked up after this dates. Trees should be free of all accessories and should not be bagged. It is not necessary to call for an appointment. Residents can also take their tree to the Garder Road Landfill at 211 Garder Road free of charge on Fridays or Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Monroe-to-collect-Christmas-trees-13498760.php

Patriots Rout Jets, Earn First-Round Bye

For a ninth season in a row, the New England Patriots will have wild-card weekend off.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

from NBC Connecticut - Sports http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/sports/Patriots-Jets-Recap-December-30-2018-503685581.html

Mothers’ support group to meet in Trumbull

Bridgeport Hospital's Support Group for Mothers will meet from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday and at the same time Jan. 16, at Park Avenue Medical Center, 5520 Park Ave., Trumbull. The group provides a safe and non-judgmental place for expectant mothers and those with children under one year old to express their concerns, ask questions and resolve some of their anxieties related to motherhood. Facilitated by a certified lactation consultant, group participants will have an opportunity to share their thoughts and concerns.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Mothers-support-group-to-meet-in-Trumbull-13498576.php

Flu totals, deaths rising in state

Flu activity in Connecticut has “rapidly increased,” according to the state Department of Public Health and the death total from the contagious illness is slowly but steadily rising. According to the state, as of Dec. 22 — the most recent date for which statistics were available — a total of 527 people had tested positive for the flu. That’s a whopping increase from the previous week, when 347 people tested positive for flu. There also have been three flu-associated deaths in the state, up from two the week before, and 162 people have been hospitalized for flu.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Flu-totals-deaths-rising-in-state-13498562.php

Fed shutdown causing anxiety but few big impacts in state

As the partial shutdown of the federal government careens into its second week — and the new year — with no apparent end in sight, state and local officials, as well as social service organizations that rely on federal funding, are bracing for an impact yet to reach Connecticut with force. Connecticut, like most states, is protected from any immediate budget impact, said Chris McClure, a spokesman for the state Office of Policy and Management. But that doesn’t mean an extended government shutdown isn’t a big problem for the state. “The grants we receive are already appropriated and allocated, so we’re operating with money the Feds have already given us,” he said.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/politics/article/Fed-shutdown-causing-anxiety-but-few-big-impacts-13496895.php

Tax Law Changes for 2018 - Wednesday, January 9 at 6:30 p.m.

Join us with local tax expert Heidi Parchmann MSPA, EA to hear about tax changes for 2018 and what that means in this day and age.

from Newington, CT - News Flash http://www.newingtonct.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?aid=729

Brown Bag It With a Documentary - Bright Lights - January 8 at noon

Join us for a showing of the film Bright Lights, an intimate portrait of actress Debbie Reynolds and her relationship with Carrie Fisher and Todd Fisher.

from Newington, CT - News Flash http://www.newingtonct.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?aid=728

Kids Sewing Basics - Saturday, January 5 at 10:15 a.m.

Budding tailors in grades 3 - 6 learn the basics of sewing.

from Newington, CT - News Flash http://www.newingtonct.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?aid=727

Bridgeport homicides decline, but so do solved cases

BRIDGEPORT — Homicides in Bridgeport dropped to 11 in 2018, down from 23 the year before. But the percentage of those killings that police say have been solved also declined. At the close of 2017, 19 investigations into that year’s homicides had led to arrests or closed cases — a “clearance rate” for the year 82.6 percent. Another arrest was made in 2018, leaving 20 of the 23 cases closed. This year, however, detectives have made arrests in only four (36.4 percent) of 2018’s homicides — those of Francine Nyanzanika, Willie Nance, Emily Todd and Clinton Howell. Nationwide, the homicide clearance rate jumped up from 59.4 percent in 2016 to 61.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Bridgeport-homicides-decline-but-so-do-solved-13497718.php

Car mounts stone wall during Trumbull crash

TRUMBULL — A car ended up on top of a stone wall during a crash in town on Friday, officials said. Around 11:20 a.m. Friday, Trumbull firefighters from the Long Hill station responded with Trumbull emergency medical service personnel to the area of Madison Avenue and Saxony Drive for a report of a crash with injuries. The first units on scene said it was a one-car crash with a car on top of a stone wall. EMS personnel treated the driver of the car, fire officials said. There were no additional occupants in the car at the time of the crash. And while medical personnel checked on the driver, fire crews checked the area for any hazards caused by the crash.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Car-mounts-stone-wall-during-Trumbull-crash-13497636.php

Shelton resident goes from critical to stable after being hit by vehicle

SHELTON — An 83-year-old Shelton resident has gone from critical to stable condition after being hit by someone driving down Route 110 on Friday, police said Saturday. Around 5:30 p.m., police and emergency medical service personnel responded to Howe Avenue (Route 110) at Grove Street for a report of a crash involving a vehicle and a pedestrian, according to police. “The 83-year-old pedestrian from Shelton was transported to the hospital and was listed in critical condition,” police said. “The 68-year-old driver from Shelton remained on scene.” By Saturday afternoon, police confirmed the 83-year-old was in stable condition.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Shelton-resident-goes-from-critical-to-stable-13497548.php

Driver hospitalized after Route 8 crash in Derby

DERBY — Units were on scene Friday night for roughly an hour after a car went off the highway and crashed, sending the driver to the hospital. Units responded to Route 8 north near Exit 16 for a report of a crash around 7:40 p.m. Ultimately, two fire engines and four additional fire trucks from Derby responded to the call. Initial reports indicated the car possible rolled over. A photo from the scene shows the SUV wedged between two trees, balancing on its side. Fire officials said the driver was transported to Yale New Haven Hospital. It was unclear how serious the driver’s injuries were.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Driver-hospitalized-after-Route-8-crash-in-Derby-13497502.php

Police: man killed ex-girlfriend’s puppy

DURHAM - A local man was arrested after police said he beat his former girlfriend’s puppy to death and buried it in the backyard. Clinton Stewart, 38, was charged with cruelty to animals, sale of narcotics and use of drug paraphernalia. He was being held in lieu of $75,000 bond. Police said on Dec. 12, Stewart’s former girlfriend reported her puppy, Maybelline, was missing. Two days later state police found the dog’s mangled body buried in Stewart’s backyard. Police said they found 30 marijuana plants in Stewart’s home. Stewart was arrested on a warrant on Dec. 27.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Police-man-killed-ex-girlfriend-s-puppy-13497144.php

Highs and lows of the Bridgeport PD in 2018

BRIDGEPORT — The police department in the state’s largest city saw its share of ups and downs in 2018. Among the positive: the department added a Fusion Center to help keep an eye on crime and develop predictive policing measures, confirmation of acting Police Chief Armando Perez as permanent chief, and introduction of body and dashboard cameras to record police interactions with the public. But the bad included a veteran cop who was accused of abusing the department’s payroll and overtime system, and the sudden retirement of Perez’s right-hand man, who left the job after racist messages allegedly sent from him surfaced. In mid-February, Bridgeport police arrested Lt.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Highs-and-lows-of-the-Bridgeport-PD-in-2018-13496400.php

Lamont hires retired Hartford police chief to head public safety

Governor-elect Ned Lamont has nominated retired Hartford police chief James Rovella to run the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, which includes the state police, emergency management, the Homeland Security unit and the state’s forensic laboratory. Rovella, 60, retired earlier this year and took a job as head of the police force at the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection before being tapped by Lamont for the commissioner post. He succeeds Dora Schriro, who left last month after four years in the role. Lamont also appointed retired state police officer Regina Rush-Kittle as deputy commissioner of emergency management, and Stavros Mellekas as the state police colonel.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Lamont-hires-retired-Hartford-police-chief-to-13496195.php

FBI fingerprinting fee to increase on Jan. 1

Effective New Year’s Day, the price for fingerprint submissions through the FBI will be $1.25 more than the current fee. The current fee for FBI fingerprint record checks is $12. But come Jan. 1, 2019, the fee will bump up to $13.25. So anyone who applies for a permit locally that requires FBI fingerprint submission after Jan. 1 must submit payment that mirrors the price change. This change applies, primarily, to pistol permit applicants, local police said. Permits for pawn shop operation and purchaser of precious metals and stones would also require the FBI fingerprinting.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/FBI-fingerprinting-fee-to-increase-on-Jan-1-13496633.php

Conn. joins multi-state pact to tax auto emissions

Connecticut has entered into a landmark agreement with neighboring states to help battle climate change and reduce auto emissions by creating a new system to fund regional transportation improvements. The nine states and Washington D.C. pledged to spend the next year developing a cap-and-invest system in which the worst pollution emitters will pay into a pool that’s used to lower overall emissions. “Do not be fooled by the climate change deniers in Washington, climate change is real and if we do not take significant action now to reduce carbon emissions the harm to our economy, communities and the planet will be irrevocable,” said outgoing Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Conn-joins-multi-state-pact-to-tax-auto-emissions-13496406.php

New DOT boss has trained for the job for more than 40 years

Joseph Giulietti has walked every mile of the Metro North railroad track in his three decades working in Connecticut’s rail industry. After bootstrapping his way up from foreman and engineer, the 66-year old, former Metro North president sees commuter rail as a state’s economic driver. That belief will now drive his policy as Connecticut’s next Department of Transportation commissioner, where he will also supervise the state’s roads, harbors and airports. The choice of Giulietti is a sign of that rail is a centerpiece of Gov.-elect Ned Lamont’s plan for Connecticut’s revival.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/politics/article/New-DOT-boss-has-trained-for-the-job-for-more-13496476.php

Milford creates group to find answers to homeless population near library

MILFORD — An increase in the number of homeless people in and around the Milford Public Library has prompted the creation of a group to see what can be done to help. Patrons of the library reported a man camped out under the overhang at the rear entrance to the library, a tent pitched in Wilcox Park behind the library and a person who appeared to be asleep in a sleeping bag under the Fowler Pavilion, all within the past month or two. One resident said the increase in visibly homeless people has made people hesitant to use the library book drop at night or let their older children go to the library without adult supervision.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Milford-creates-group-to-find-answers-to-homeless-13496358.php

15-year-old charged with Bridgeport triple shooting

BRIDGEPORT — City detectives re-arrested the 15-year-old they say is responsible for the shooting of three people on Tuesday night. The teen was arrested on a warrant and charged with three counts of first-degree assault and weapons offenses, Capt. Brian Fitzgerald said in a statement Friday. Due to his age, the suspect’s name was not provided. Six shots were fired Tuesday in the area of 915 North Ave., the location of a gas station and convenience store. Three people were hit by gunfire, Fitzgerald said, and treated at St. Vincent’s Medical Center for non-life-threatening injuries.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/15-year-old-charged-with-Bridgeport-triple-13496336.php

UConn cannabis cultivation class could be nation’s first

Collect college credit for growing weed? The dreams of generations of potheads are coming true at UConn, starting in January. In the upcoming semester, UConn undergraduate students — hundreds of them — will study how to grow cannabis, though not necessarily the kind that can get people high. Professors believe theirs is the nation’s first university course on the horticulture of cannabis and several others in the industry could not identify another one. “It’s either rare or unique,” said Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies at the Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington D.C.-based advocacy group.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/UConn-cannabis-cultivation-class-could-be-13496317.php

Wave of dollar stores creates opportunities for some and problems for others

Shifting consumer habits may have led to the demise of several big-box retail chains, but they have also helped boost the presence of dollar stores nationwide, including in Connecticut. The top three dollar-store names in America — Dollar General, Dollar Tree and its subsidiary, Family Dollar — opened more than 1,800 stores last year. With 30,000 stores nationwide split equally among both chains, Forbes reported that the dollar store industry has surpassed the likes of Walmart, Kroger, Costco, Home Depot, CVS and Walgreens combined in the number of stores open.

from Business https://www.ctpost.com/business/article/Wave-of-dollar-stores-creates-opportunities-for-13496270.php

Funeral services announced for retired Shelton firefighter

Funeral services are planned for this weekend for the retired volunteer Shelton firefighter who died earlier this week after a battle with cancer. Christopher “Opie” Scott Skurat died on Tuesday at the age of 38, surrounded by his family and friends at Yale New Haven Hospital, according to his obituary. Skurat was born in Derby on Jan. 5, 1980. He lived in Shelton for most of his life before moving to Ansonia 10 years ago. He married Carla A. Skurat and they had two boys, Jake and Ryan. Skurat owned Country Cuts & Landscapes LLC and was retired from the Echo Hose Hook and Ladder Co. 1 in Shelton.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Funeral-services-announced-for-retired-Shelton-13496245.php

Connecticut to get $5.2 million in Wells Fargo settlement

Wells Fargo will pay $575 million under a 50-state settlement led by Connecticut and three other states relating to fraudulent mortgage and insurance fees, as well as the scandal in which millions of accounts were created without consumers’ consent, Attorney General George Jepsen announced Friday. The settlement is the latest in a series of steps by Wells Fargo, the nation’s third-largest bank, to resolve allegations of unfair trade practices first disclosed two years ago by federal regulators. It agreed to pay $1 billion in April to federal regulators and $65 million in October to New York. Connecticut’s general fund will receive $5.2 million under the deal announced Friday.

from Business https://www.ctpost.com/business/article/Connecticut-to-get-5-2-million-in-Wells-Fargo-13496217.php

Melba Street firehouse conversion to pizza palace still ongoing

MILFORD — The project is taking much longer than he expected, but Marty McCarthy still plans to turn the old Melba Street firehouse into a pizza restaurant. His goal is to have it up and running sometime in 2019. McCarthy bought the old firehouse on Melba Street from the city in 2015 for $180,000 and is in the process of overhauling it. When he bought the building, he estimated renovations would cost almost $500,000 before it was ready to open and begin serving up brick oven pizza and more. McCarthy owns the Fire Engine Pizza Company in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Melba-Street-firehouse-conversion-to-pizza-palace-13496166.php

Accused killer returning to Bridgeport

BRIDGEPORT - An Ohio man, accused of fatally shooting a Bethel woman by the city’s boat ramp, is expected to be arraigned here on Monday. Meanwhile, police said they are investigating Brandon Robert’s own claim that he shot another woman in Washington Park in June 2017. On Friday, detectives flew to Ohio to pick up the 26-year-old Roberts, who is charged here with murder, felony murder, first-degree robbery, using a firearm in the commission of a felony and carrying a pistol without a permit. Police said they expected to have him back in the city for arraignment in Superior Court on Monday.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Accused-killer-returning-to-Bridgeport-13496154.php

Immigrant crackdown targets Vietnamese who’ve lived in U.S. for years

Trang left the poverty and repression of Vietnam for a new life in Connecticut in the late 1980s, but soon ran into trouble. In his late teens, Trang fell in with the wrong group of youths and was arrested with several others for breaking into a home and burglarizing it. He served time in prison, but straightened out his life after he was released. Now married and a father with a steady job in the Hartford area, Trang is very likely to be deported to a country he has largely forgotten because of a change in federal immigration policy.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Immigrant-crackdown-targets-Vietnamese-who-ve-13496149.php

One-way street has Bridgeport community at odds

BRIDGEPORT — It was just the installation of a couple of new traffic signs. But the recent conversion of Yaremich Drive, off of Reservoir Avenue, to one-way despite opposition from the city’s traffic engineer has left the neighborhood and its community leaders bitterly divided. Supporters say the change made a narrow, busy street safer for those living on it, including some blind and deaf children, senior citizens, and students being dropped off by school buses. Critics claim the one-way designation is hazardous, was withheld from the non-politically connected until approved, and that it hurts a doctor’s office and a community garden.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/One-way-street-has-Bridgeport-community-at-odds-13496144.php

Ansonia Police Chief to retire in February

ANSONIA-Police Chief Kevin Hale, a lifelong resident of the city and brother of former State Sen. Gary Hale has announced he will be retiring in February after serving as police chief for 18 years. “It has been a privilege to serve as an Ansonia police officer for the past 29 years and an absolute honor to serve as the chief for the last 18,” Hale said in an emailed statement released late Friday. He said he is leaving to pursue a job in the private sector. Hale’s departure comes at a time when the city has just started the process of renovating the former Farrel corporate headquarters on Main Street into a new police station.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Ansonia-Police-Chief-to-retire-in-February-13496126.php

Delivery worker gets packaged

MONROE- It’s the mystery of the Christmas cheer. Police said a UPS driver called in to report that his helper was intoxicated, and he couldn’t figure out how it happened. When police arrived at the delivery truck on Melon Patch Lane they said the helper, Jeffrey Levasseur, was refusing to get out of the truck. They said Levasseur smelled strongly of alcohol. Officers eventually convinced Levasseur to alight from the truck and he stood against it swaying back and forth. Police said he denied drinking any alcohol and told them, “I work for UPS, it’s all good.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Delivery-worker-gets-packaged-13496074.php

Echo Hose extends training to Shelton community

SHELTON — For Heidi Aleman, the Echo Hose Ambulance Community Educational Center is a true gift. The center — on the former St. Joseph School campus on Coram Avenue in Shelton — has become home not only for the Echo Hose Ambulance Co. but also numerous programs designed to educate department members and the community. Aleman, the health technology department head at Emmett O’Brien Technical High School, and some 20 10th-graders learned the benefit of having such a facility recently when they attended the Stop the Bleed program, taught by Echo Hose Ambulance Co. members. “This facility is amazing for introducing them to emergency responders, introduction to EMT,” said Aleman.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Echo-Hose-extends-training-to-Shelton-community-13496054.php

Bridgeport man sought in Westport burglaries

WESTPORT-Police are searching for a 19-year old Bridgeport man who is wanted in connection with a series of burglaries in the Sandhopper Trail area. Police Lt. Jillian Cabana said a warrant has been issued for the arrest of Xavier Medel. She has asked that anyone having information on his whereabouts contact Westport police. Cabana warned that Medel is believed to be armed and is considered dangerous. Police believe he is responsible for a Dec. 23 burglary of a house and car at Sandhopper Trail. The victim told police that someone entered her unlocked car and home between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Bridgeport-man-sought-in-Westport-burglaries-13495885.php

State Police will be out in force through the New Year’s holiday

Those red lights you see traveling state roads this weekend may not be holiday lights. The State Police have assigned troopers to roving patrols as well as DUI checkpoints from today until Jan. 2. Their goal is to reduce the number of accidents that often occur during holidays and keep drivers and their passengers safe. They ask that all passengers wear seatbelts, signal while changing lanes or exiting and refrain from using cell phones while driving. Additionally they strongly urge no one drive after drinking alcoholic beverages or using controlled substances.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/State-Police-will-be-out-in-force-through-the-New-13495806.php

Disabled train delays Metro-North trains

A disabled train near the Botanical Garden in the Bronx is causing Metro-North delays Friday morning. In a 9:13 a.m. advisory, it said Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Line service is currently experiencing delays of 30 minutes due to congestion from a earlier disabled train in the vicinity of Botanical Garden. A see if your train is on time, click here

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Disabled-train-delays-Metro-North-trains-13495124.php

More than $3.5M in lottery prizes remain unclaimed

CT Lottery says there remains more than $3.5 million in prizes that remain unclaimed from winning lotter games this year. In all, there are eight game prizes totaling $3,580,787. The biggest prize - $3 million - is from a winning Mega Millions ticket that was sold Christmas morning at Avenue News on Farmington Avenue in Bristol. The winning ticket holder matched the first "white" ball numbers drawn, but missed the Mega Ball number. Because the ticket was purchased with the Megaplier feature added, the $1 million prize was automatically multiplied by three for $3 million. Like all CT Lottery games, all tickets expire 180 calendar days from the draw date.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/More-than-3-5M-in-lottery-prizes-remain-unclaimed-13495064.php

Cops: How to survive ‘most deadliest time’ on roads

New Year’s Eve is one of the most dangerous times of the year to be on the road. Specifically, between the hours of 6 p.m. on Dec. 31 and 6 a.m. on Jan. 1 It’s a time when far too many drivers are impaired after celebrating a new year with alcohol. Over the past five years, an average of 300 people died in drunk-driving crashes during the Christmas through New Year’s holiday period, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. According to the NHTSA, 37,133 people died in traffic crashes in 2017 in the United States, including an estimated 10,874 people who were killed in drunk driving crashes involving a driver with an illegal blood alcohol level (.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Cops-How-to-survive-most-deadiest-time-on-13495002.php

Skating Through Winter

by Karen DePauw

The centuries-old tradition of ice skating during the winter season began as a simple way to get from place to place. However, by the 1850s, better-designed skates and the increased interest in outdoor activities made ice skating a popular leisure activity. Skaters might be found on virtually any frozen body of water: small ponds, rivers, even town reservoirs.

Boys Playing Hockey, ca. 1896. This souvenir paperweight from the Connecticut State Building at the 1893 Columbian Exposition shows boys playing hockey on the old Garden Street Reservoir in Hartford – Connecticut Historical Society

Hartford Ice Rink Used Year-Round

Then, in 1869, Hartford built its first skating rink in the city to provide a safe place for its residents to skate. The rink was 80 feet by 200 feet and, according to a newspaper announcement in the Hartford Courant in July of 1869, could accommodate “five or six hundred skaters, all being required to move in one direction around the area.”

The Hartford rink offered more than just a place to skate without worrying about falling through the ice. Ticket prices were set moderately to accommodate skaters of various economic circumstances. And the rink also featured an area for musicians to play during the evening hours. The ice basin was designed to be emptied and covered in summer and autumn allowing for the hosting of large city meetings, or fairs. It could even be fitted with a floor for roller skating in the warmer weather months.

Skating Deemed Suitable for 19th-Century Ladies

Women, as well as men, enjoyed Hartford’s new skating facility. Throughout the 1850s and 1860s, more and more women were being encouraged to participate in outdoor activities. Ice skating, which was considered a healthy form of exercise much like dancing, was among the first activities deemed appropriate for ladies. Often, skirts were shortened slightly to reduce the risk of tripping, though ladies were sometimes advised to wear a longer skirt to and from the pond or skating rink to avoid showing their ankles. A veil was recommended in order to protect the lungs from cold air. Men teaching female friends and relatives to skate were encouraged to do so on quiet, secluded ponds so no one would see the ladies’ awkwardness and distress while learning the new skill.

Francis and Co. Trade Card. Late 19th century. This trade card shows a pair of skates made to attach to a pair of sturdy boots – Connecticut Historical Society

The first ice skates were merely a separate blade that attached to any solidly made shoe or boot with a series of buckles and clamps. Skates like these were used throughout the 1800s and only in the 1900s were skate and boot combined into one unit. The more secure and well-designed skates became, the more activities became possible. With a good pair of skates, one was no longer restricted to skating around in circles. In 1918 an ice skating carnival on the pond at Colt Park featured figure skating demonstrations and skating races with dashes, distance skates, and even a relay. Figure skating and ice hockey became increasingly popular in the 1900s; some talented skaters could now go on to become professional athletes. For most people, however, ice skating remains a source of pure winter fun.

Karen DePauw, formerly a Research and Collections Associate at The Connecticut Historical Society.

© Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network and Connecticut Historical Society. All rights reserved. This article originally appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News

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from ConnecticutHistory.org https://connecticuthistory.org/skating-through-winter/

Dan Haar: Malloy’s high-risk victory ride on the rails

It’s a long ride on public transit from central Massachusetts to Manhattan for Colin Schimmelfing, a recent college graduate from Northampton, now living in the city. He appreciates the new upgrades along the stretch down the Connecticut Valley to New Haven. Before that commuter line opened in June, he said, “My parents would pick me up in New Haven.” His friend Jessye Herrell, from Northampton, now Brooklyn, nodded in agreement as she rode the Springfield-to-New Haven rail Thursday afternoon. Up the aisle, Andre Shepley, a tech employee and grad student heading from his hometown of Springfield back to, yeah, Brooklyn, was in the same boat, er, train. Okay, great.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Dan-Haar-Malloy-s-high-cost-high-payoff-13494490.php

An emotional look back at justice reforms for Malloy, Lawlor

In an emotional final meeting of the commission that oversees criminal justice reform, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and his top crime policy aide, Mike Lawlor, touted the biggest accomplishments of the last eight years on Thursday — overall reductions in violent crime, arrests and prison populations. While these changes have led to the state’s reputation as a national leader on crime and corrections reform, Lawlor noted those who work in the system aren’t quick to brag about the successes. That’s partly because there is still so far to go. But both he and Malloy expressed optimism in the upcoming tenure of Gov.-elect Ned Lamont.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/politics/article/An-emotional-look-back-at-justice-reforms-for-13494292.php

Local escape rooms helping people escape their screens

At a time when most human social interaction is through a screen, the growing number of escape rooms in Connecticut appear to be bucking the trend. Escape rooms are adventure games where teams of friends, family or colleagues work together to find clues and solve puzzles to escape a simulated danger before time runs out. The popularity of the interactive experience has created a network of businesses that have appealed to different demographics in age and background. They are popular with both college students looking for a night out, with millennials and those slightly older and with corporations that use them for team-building.

from Business https://www.ctpost.com/business/article/Local-escape-rooms-helping-people-escape-their-13494276.php

Milford PD looking to ID suspect of car break-ins

MILFORD — Police are hoping to identify a man they say is responsible for recent car break-ins at the mall. The man was seen with a tan Ford Explorer with a black rear hatch. The suspect is wanted for recent break-ins to cars in the Connecticut Post Mall parking lot. Police described the suspect as a heavy set Hispanic man. The image of the man can also be seen on the Milford Police Department Twitter page at twitter.com/MilfordCT_PD. Anyone with information about the break-ins or who might be able to identify the suspect is asked to call 203-878-6551.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Milford-PD-looking-to-ID-suspect-of-car-break-ins-13494255.php

Cititrust building under new ownership in Bridgeport

Bridgeport’s Cititrust building is under new ownership. A letter sent to residents Thursday said that the apartment complex at 955 Main St. has been sold to a group of investors —CV DB LLC, Transmark DB LLC, CCEP II DB LLC, Bordentown DB LLC, UK DB LLC, and TEI DB Investors LLC. No transaction price has been listed yet. “(The) new owner has assumed all of the obligations under your lease accruing from and after this day, including any obligations to return your security deposit in accordance with the terms of your lease,” the letter, dated Dec. 27, said. Bridgeport-based Crestwood Management Group are the new property managers.

from Business https://www.ctpost.com/business/article/Cititrust-building-under-new-ownership-in-13494236.php

Bridgeport FD responded to 2 fires Thursday morning

BRIDGEPORT — When firefighters were clearing from the scene of a structure fire in the city on Thursday, a second fire came in and the fire units rushed to the area. The first fire was reported around 11 a.m. Firefighters responded to a structure fire on the third floor on Fairfield Avenue near its intersection with West Avenue. “A quick knockdown prevented the fire from spreading,” fire officials said. “Thankfully no one was injured.” As crews were clearing from the Fairfield Avenue fire, a second working fire was called in at Jax’s Auto Recycling on River Street. “A car caught fire on a lift, threatening the entire structure,” officials said.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Bridgeport-FD-responded-to-2-fires-Thursday-13494234.php

Second alarm called for fire at Bridgeport building

BRIDGEPORT — Firefighters are working at a fire near the intersection of Railroad and Myrtle avenues Thursday. The fire was called in around 4:52 p.m. A second alarm was called around 5:05 p.m. The fire is reportedly in an abandoned factory building, according to fire units on the scene communicating with the dispatcher. This story will be updated.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Second-alarm-called-for-fire-at-Bridgeport-13494052.php

Milford historian treasures pre-human artifacts

MILFORD — Tim Chaucer, who runs the Milford Marine Institute museum, has a historian’s love of old things. So when he got a call about five years ago from a Milford man who was getting rid of his grandfather’s collection of artifacts, some likely acquired during the years he funded Yale archaeological digs, Chaucer headed right over. The man who called Chaucer said the collection had gotten wet, and he planned to throw away the items that he couldn’t give away. Chaucer and his assistant spotted some interesting items right away, like three-legged pots dating to the 18th century.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Milford-historian-treasures-pre-human-artifacts-13494024.php

Developer for downtown Bridgeport theaters short on cash

BRIDGEPORT — Mayor Joe Ganim’s administration has confirmed that Exact Capital, the New York City developer chosen last year to renovate and reopen the Majestic and Poli Palace theaters downtown, the neighboring Savoy Hotel, and to also build brand new residential towers, did not meet Thursday’s deadline for obtaining financing. “Look, the project is alive,” Thomas Gill, Ganim’s economic development chief, said in an interview Thursday. But, Gill acknowledged, Exact is having trouble putting together the $56 million needed to move ahead with the first phase — the work on the theaters and the hotel. The residential towers, including an 18-story building, were to come later.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Developer-for-downtown-Bridgeport-theaters-short-13493951.php

A simple act of Congress, a local veteran’s triumph

Nicholas Quinzi is a problem-solver. When he enrolled at Sacred Heart University only to find there was no organization to support student veterans like himself, he started one by personally approaching students on campus to ask if they were also veterans. The result was the school’s first ever veterans service organization and a veterans resource center located on campus. When he struggled to rent an apartment because he couldn’t prove to landlords he was receiving a basic housing allowance — more than $3,000 a month — from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to pay for rent and basic utilities as a full-time student veteran, Quinzi, 33, picked up a full-time job at Lowe’s.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/politics/article/A-13493919.php

PURA chair Katie Dykes named DEEP commissioner

In naming Katie Dykes as commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Gov.-elect Ned Lamont has chosen a person who is well known at DEEP. Since late 2016, Dykes has been chair of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, which operates under DEEP’s umbrella. Prior to that, beginning in March 2012, she served as Deputy Commissioner for Energy at DEEP. Her background skews very much to DEEP’s energy mission - one of the department’s three. The others are environmental quality and environmental conversation, the core areas from the former Department of Environmental Protection from which outgoing Gov. Dannel Malloy created DEEP when he first came to office in 2011.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/PURA-chair-Katie-Dykes-named-DEEP-commissioner-13493643.php

Police investigating bones at Silver Sands

MILFORD-A number of bones discovered along the tide line at Silver Sands State Park have perked a police investigation. Police are attempting to determine if the bones belong to an animal or a human. They were discovered Thursday morning by a passerby. No further information was available immediately.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Police-investigating-bones-at-Silver-Sands-13493566.php

Police: alleged killer of 12-year-old confessed

BRIDGEPORT - Warned by his public defender not to talk to anyone - especially police, Tajay Chambers, the alleged killer of 12-year-old Clinton Howell, began to cry. Hours before police said he gave them a full confession, on video. On Thursday morning, the 18-year-old Chambers stood before Superior Court Judge Tracy Lee Dayton, staring at the floor. A detail of judicial marshals and state police in a half ring behind him. “You could see the remorse on his face,” April Barron, a friend of the Howell family, said later. “A young man is dead, another is facing the rest of his life in prison, nobody wins here.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Police-alleged-killer-of-12-year-old-confessed-13493535.php

Traffic stop leads to Milford drug arrest

MILFORD-A Sandy Hook driver stopped for an equipment violation found himself in deeper trouble after police uncovered marijuana and prescription pills in his car early Thursday morning.. Stephen Sabia, 42, of Farview Drive, Sandy Hook was charged with possession of narcotics, possession of less than a half ounce of marijuana and possession of controlled substance. Police stopped Sabia’s vehicle on Pond Point Avenue near Dawes Street shortly before 4:30 a.m. Thursday. During the investigation police found marijuana and more than 30 pain-killers for which they said he was not prescribed. Sabia was released on a promise to appear in Milford Superior Court on Jan. 22.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Traffic-stop-leads-to-Milford-drug-arrest-13493476.php

Aging population, flat home prices bring cost relief for housing

Connecticut homeowners have seen monthly housing expenses decrease, and fewer are spending what is considered a too-large part of their income on housing. But the same improvements haven’t been seen by renters, who are increasing in number. About 33.4 percent of housing units were renter-occupied in the five-year period ending in 2017, compared with 31.7 percent in the period ending in 2012. The American Community Survey combines data from the entire five-year period ending in 2017 into estimates. CT Mirror’s first story on this data looked at Connecticut’s growing commute times. Here are some takeaways on housing. 1.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/politics/article/Aging-population-flat-home-prices-bring-cost-13493225.php

Parts of Conn. have winter advisory, then heavy rain

Parts of northern Connecticut have some slippery conditions to deal with on Friday morning. The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for all of northern Connecticut from 1 to 7 a.m. on Friday. The advisory for such communties as Litchfield, New Milford and Torrington says mixed precipitation expected. Total snow accumulations of up to one inch and ice accumulations of a light glaze are expected with up to one tenth of an inch of ice possible. “Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions will impact the Friday morning commute,” the NWS says.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/weather/article/Parts-of-Conn-have-winter-advisory-then-heavy-13493070.php

Shake Shack is giving away free burgers this week. Here's how to get one.

Hollis Johnson/Business Insider Shake Shack is giving away free burgers during a promotion that starts December 26 and ends January 2. It's a buy-one-get-one-free deal, and all customers need to do is buy a Shack Burger using the restaurant's app with code "THANKYOU18" to get an extra burger for no additional cost. The chain is expanding rapidly throughout the US and internationally. Shake Shack is putting its money where its customers' mouths are. The chain on Wednesday announced in a year-end email to customers a new promotion for free Shack Burgers if customers follow a few steps. A Shake Shack spokesperson confirmed the offer to Business Insider.

from Business https://www.ctpost.com/technology/businessinsider/article/Shake-Shack-is-giving-away-free-burgers-this-13492947.php

Driver escapes intense vehicle fire in Westport

WESTPORT - The driver of a vehicle escaped safely before it burst into flames on Wilton Road early Thursday morning. Assistant Fire Chief Brian Meadows said the Westport Fire Department at 3:08 a.m. was dispatched to Wilton Road for a motor vehicle accident with vehicle fire and “unknown entrapment.” First arriving units found a single vehicle accident and confirmed the sole occupant was out of the vehicle. Engine Companies worked to extinguish the fire and overhaul the vehicle. Rescue 3 assisted Westport Police with providing patient care to the driver until the arrival of Westport EMS. Photos from the Westport Fire Department showed the vehicle fully-involved.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/policereports/article/Driver-escapes-intense-vehicle-fire-in-Westport-13492960.php

O'Donnell Reflects on Lessons From the Wolf Pack

Hartford Wolf Pack Winger Shawn O'Donnell is six seasons into his professional hockey career. His road to the NHL hasn't quite gotten him there yet, but he's had a lot of star-power help along the way.

Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

from NBC Connecticut - Sports http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/sports/ODonnell-Reflects-on-Lessons-from-the-Wolf-Pack-503533871.html

63-year-old missing from Shelton

SHELTON — A 63-year-old man was reported missing out of the city on Wednesday, according to Connecticut State Police. An alert sent out shortly before 10 p.m. indicated Paul Budd, a while male who is bald and has hazel eyes, was last seen Wednesday wearing a Patriots baseball hat, a military green parka, blue jeans and black shoes. Budd is 6 feet tall and weighs around 120 pounds. State police said Budd is believed to be driving a black Volkswagon jetta with Connecticut license plate AG20812. Anyone with information on Budd’s whereabouts is asked to contact Shelton police at 203-924-1544.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/63-year-old-missing-from-Shelton-13492522.php

Conn. troopers arrest 54 DUI drivers during holiday enforcement

Statistics provided by the Connecticut State Police showed a significant increase in driving under the influence arrests during its annual holiday enforcement in 2018 compared with 2017. Increased patrols by state police began at 12:01 a.m. Friday, Dec. 21 and will continue through 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. Troopers are patrolling roads and highways across the state, focusing on drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Troopers also enforced aggressive driving and additional driving violations. This year’s numbers showed there were 54 motorists arrested for driving under the influence. In 2017, there were 28 DUI arrests from midnight on Dec. 22 through 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 26.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Conn-troopers-arrest-54-DUI-drivers-during-13492485.php

‘Disturbances’ bring police to Milford, Manchester malls

MILFORD — After several “disturbances and altercations,” the mall in Milford closed at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, police said. But it wasn’t the only mall in the state to have this problem. Police had to respond to Buckland Hills Mall for similar problems. On the Connecticut Post Mall’s website, it said the Milford mall was closing at 7:30 p.m., “due to safety and security reasons. Please note cinema, department store, fitness center and restaurant hours may vary.” Hours listed online for the mall indicate it was expected to be open until 9 p.m. Wednesday. Police said officers helped mall personnel execute in an orderly fashion.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Milford-mall-closes-early-after-disturbances-13492406.php

Bridgeport cops on unrelated shootings: ‘these kids, they don’t care. It’s so disheartening.’

BRIDGEPORT — In one week, juveniles were arrested in connection with two unrelated shootings — one fatal, one not — that involved two minors from the same family. The fatal shooting on Willow Street on Dec. 18 left 12-year-old Clinton Howell dead from a gunshot to the chest. He was shot outside his home. Police said he was not the intended target. Four people have been arrested in connection with Howell’s death. Then, on Tuesday, three people suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a minor opened fire during an iPhone purchase that went bad, Police Chief Armando Perez said. A juvenile has been charged in connection with the triple shooting.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Bridgeport-cops-on-unrelated-shootings-these-13492308.php

Former Access Health CEO, state contractor pay to settle ethics violation

James Wadleigh, the former CEO of Connecticut’s health insurance exchange, Access Health CT, has paid a $5,000 civil fine for taking a job with a state contractor within one year of leaving his post, the Office of State Ethics said in a settlement released Wednesday. The ethics office also imposed a $5,000 penalty on Softheon, Inc., the Stony Brook, New York-based business where Wadleigh accepted employment. Softheon had contracted in late summer 2017 to provide Access Health CT with healthcare information technology services, with Wadleigh directly involved in the contract, documents released by the ethics agency showed.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Former-Access-Health-CEO-state-contractor-pay-to-13492271.php

State police: Avoid becoming an easy target for burglars

Connecticut State Police urges residents to avoid leaving empty boxes of new gifts in plain view by their garbages to prevent becoming easy targets for burglars. “In too many cases, residents make it easy for burglars to figure out which homes to target by putting boxes that identify their new gifts in plain view with their other garbage,” state police said. The agency said residents should make sure they’re not leaving boxes for new electronics and other items near their garbage pick-up locations for several days ahead of the pick-up. Instead, state police said, residents should break down any boxes and put them in your recycling bins the night before or morning of pick-up.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/State-police-Avoid-becoming-an-easy-target-for-13492183.php

Empty Toys R Us space could foster new businesses, experts say

Finding the right tenant for emptied Toys R Us stores may not be too difficult in southwestern Connecticut heading into 2019. It’s been more than six months since the demise of the big-box toy store company, which left cities nationwide with thousands of empty retail space, in many cases on prime locations that may grab the attention of potential developers, according to market observers. “I don’t anticipate (the empty retail space) being vacant for the entire year of 2019,” said Bruce Wettenstein, of Westport-based firm Vidal / Wettenstein. Following efforts to salvage its company, Toys R Us, like other big-box retailers, closed hundreds of locations nationwide.

from Business https://www.ctpost.com/business/article/Empty-Toys-R-Us-space-could-foster-new-13492134.php

‘Gang hunter’ arraigned in murder of 12-year-old

BRIDGEPORT - They were out hunting members of the “BGs” -the Blitz Gang. Police said 18-year-old Tajay Chambers, 16-year-old Alexander Bolanos, a 14-year-old and a 12-year-old had never met the members of the supposed rival gang. They had only traded insults on Facebook and Snapchat. Chambers later told detectives that he didn’t know Clinton Howell was only 12 years old and not a member of any gang when he fired a 9mm handgun at Howell and his cousin on Dec. 18, killing Howell. “I didn’t know he was 12 years old,” police said he repeated. On Wednesday afternoon Bolanos was the first to be arraigned in Superior Court in connection with Howell’s death.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Gang-hunter-arraigned-in-murder-of-13492082.php

Giving Fund: Local residents in need of financial help

As the winter continues, some area residents and families are in need of a helping hand. For the 10th consecutive year, the Connecticut Post has partnered with United Way to provide stories of those in the community in need of monetary help this holiday season. Donations can be made to The Giving Fund, a philanthropic partnership between United Way, LifeBridge of Bridgeport and the Connecticut Post. Coupons are provided in print for donations. Online donations can be made at https://bit.ly/2UWVaFx. As of Wednesday afternoon, 97 Connecticut Post readers have donated $19,078 to Giving Fund cases.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/givingfund/article/Giving-Funds-Local-residents-in-need-of-13492039.php

Lamont taps prisons chief from Utah with no face-to-face meeting

With the pick Wednesday of Rollin Cook of Utah as Connecticut’s next correction commissioner, Gov.-elect Ned Lamont won what criminal-justice officials say was a national recruiting battle for an up-from-the-ranks prisons official with a reputation as a reformer and innovative leader. Scott Semple, who is retiring as commissioner, said the Lamont administration has landed a corrections leader in great demand as incoming administrations in several states conduct national searches for executives with the skills to lead prison systems in a transformational era for penology and criminal justice.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Lamont-taps-prisons-chief-from-Utah-with-no-13492035.php

Shelton schools enrollment changes may mean boundary changes

SHELTON — This year, the city’s primary schools — those with students in kindergarten through fourth grade — welcomed 139 new pupils. While that represents an uptick of approximately 10 percent overall, district-wide enrollment is expected to remain relatively level over the next five years, with some schools posting increases while others experience decreases. Those were some of the results of a redistricting study recently conducted in Shelton by Cheshire-based engineering firm Milone and MacBroom. The firm’s principal planner, Rebecca Augur, gave an overview of the redistricting study at the Shelton Board of Education’s Dec. 19 meeting.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Shelton-schools-enrollment-changes-may-mean-13492001.php

Wandishioin earns Shelton’s monthly Innovative Educator Award

SHELTON — Amanda Wandishioin, a fourth-grade reading and literacy specialist at Elizabeth Shelton Elementary School, hyas received the Board of Education’s monthly Innovative Educator Award. The monthly award honors teachers who help students realize their potential as 21st century learners. In particular, Wandishion was cited for her use of Newsela, an online news resource, in student reading assignments. Newsela aims to “supercharge reading engagement and learning in every subject” via nonfiction articles that are automatically matched to a student’s reading level. Wandishion has built a reputation for innovation.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Wandishioin-earns-Shelton-s-monthly-Innovative-13491962.php

Shots fired during armed robbery in Bridgeport

BRIDGEPORT — Shots were fired during an armed robbery at a local laundromat Wednesday morning, police said. Though no one was injured by the bullets, city police are hoping the public can help identifiy the person responsible for the robbery, which happened around 6 a.m. at Laundry World at 93 Boston Ave., police said. “In the course of the robbery, shots were fired and perpetrators fled the scene,” police said. No one was hit by the bullets. Anyone who can help police identify the person in the photo is asked to call the Bridgeport police tip line at 203-576-8477. Calls can be kept confidential.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Shots-fired-during-armed-robbery-in-Bridgeport-13491817.php

Massive pension liabilities were Malloy’s ‘White Whale’

Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a longer story about Malloy’s handling of Connecticut’s fiscal crisis. It was Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s personal white whale. Two line items, buried amongst hundreds of others, rose from the pages of　the state budget to confound his plans year after year: required　contributions to state employees’ and teachers’ pensions.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Massive-pension-liabilities-were-Malloy-s-13491794.php

Jim Calhoun Hosts 20th Annual Food Drive in Hartford

Countless basketball players have passed through Connecticut because of Jim Calhoun. Once a year, Calhoun finds a way to say thank you to the state that has taken all of those players in.

from NBC Connecticut - Sports http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/sports/Jim-Calhoun-Hosts-20th-Annual-Food-Drive-in-Hartford_Hartford-503511502.html

UConn Men's Basketball Team Spreads Holiday Cheer

Even though many UConn men's basketball players are far from their hometowns for most of the year, they're still finding ways to share the holiday spirit with the community that has taken them in.

from NBC Connecticut - Sports http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/sports/UConn-Men_s-Basketball-Team-Spreads-Holiday-Cheer_Hartford-503511022.html

MLB Pitcher Gives Parents Surprise Christmas Gift of a Lifetime

Kansas City Royals pitcher Brady Singer gave his parents the surprise Christmas gift of a lifetime Tuesday. The heartwarming video has since been shared thousands of times on social media.

from NBC Connecticut - Sports http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/sports/MLB-Pitcher-Gives-Parents-Surprise-Christmas-Gift-of-a-Lifetime-503511292.html

Congressional delegation seeks Long Island Sound money

A Congressional coalition from Connecticut and New York State is asking President Donald Trump for money to improve Long Island Sound, saying the waterway’s health remains fragile and in danger. "If we consider the status quo acceptable, the Long Island Sound and the coastline we know will not be recognizable to the next generation," the U.S. Senators and House members said in a letter to Trump. "As a result, the vibrant business community and economic activity the Sounds supports will dwindle," they said. The lawmakers are seeking $20 million in the 2020 federal budget now being put together. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, joined U.S.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Congressional-delegation-seeks-Long-Island-Sound-13491536.php

Moore named senate chair of Human Services and Bonding committees

HARTFORD — State Sen. Marilyn Moore, D-Bridgeport, has been named senate chairs of both the legislature’s human services and bonding committees. Additionally, she will vice chair of the Committee on Children for the 2019-2020 legislative session. In a statement, Moore said Wednesday she was excited to get back to work on the Human Service and Children committees. Her main focuses, she added will be moving forward on legislation to provide a Medicaid reimbursement for low-income families and strengthening the 2Gen model which is designed to help disadvantaged, low-income families sustain themselves by ensuring that both children and parents receive services they need to succeed.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Moore-named-senate-chair-of-Human-Services-and-13491541.php

Two arrested in alleged home invasion

MILFORD — A clandestine social media message led to the arrest of a man and woman who reportedly broke into a West Main Street home Tuesday night and threatened the man who lived there. According to Milford police, officers were called to the residence about 12:10 a.m. Wednesday on a report of threatening with a firearm. When police arrived, they reportedly found Cassandra Vitale, 26, of West Haven and Sean Artis, 32, of New Haven, at the house with the alleged victim. Police said the victim, a man, told them that, about 10:15 p.m. Tuesday, Vitale entered his home with three men, in an attempt to collect on a debt that was owed to Vitale.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Two-arrested-in-alleged-home-invasion-13491489.php

Bpt PD seeking robbery suspect

BRIDGEPORT-Shots were fired during an early Wednesday morning robbery at Laundry World, 93 Boston Avenue Wednesday. Surveillance cameras captured the suspect. Police are asking anyone who can identify the suspect involved to please call the anonymous Bridgeport Police Tips Line number. It is 203-576-TIPS.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Bpt-PD-seeking-robbery-suspect-13491455.php

3 shot in Bridgeport Christmas night

BRIDGEPORT-Three people were shot near a gas station/convenience store at the intersection of Main Street and North Avenue, police said. Police have arrested a juvenile male in connection with the shooting. The juvenile male is the brother of one of the two juveniles arrested Christmas Eve in connection with the murder of Clinton Howell, a 12-year killed in a drive-by shooting Dec. 18, police said. Howell, who was not the target, had just returned to his Willow Street home from a store. Two juveniles and Tajay Chambers, an 18-year-old face charges in that murder. Although investigations are continuing into the two shootings, police do not believe they are related.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/3-shot-in-Bridgeport-Christmas-night-13491424.php

Seymour fire victim identified

SEYMOUR-A 30-year-old town resident and U.S. Marine Corps veteran has been identified as the victim in the Dec. 22 fire at the Balance Rock condominiums. Deputy Fire Marshal Timm Willis said Sean Ryan Lindsley was the victim in the fire that took place in apartment 17. The Chief Medical Examiner’s office said an autopsy conducted Monday was inconclusive as to the cause of the death. As a result they are conduct more tests which could take up to eight weeks for results. The cause of the fire also is undetermined as of this time, according to Fire Marshal Paul Wetowicz.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Seymour-fire-victim-identified-13491355.php

Suspect facing charges in Milford, Trumbull mall robberies

A man arrested in a New Haven shooting after a chase last Saturday is facing additional charges in armed robberies outside malls in Milford and Trumbull. On around 8 p.m. Saturday, New Haven Police officers responded to assist West Haven Police in pursuit of a motor vehicle and suspect wanted for the armed robbery from Milford. The pursuit continued through New Haven and ended in the Newhallville neighborhood with a motor vehicle accident involving the suspect’s vehicle and a West Haven police vehicle. A firearm was seized from the suspect’s vehicle.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/policereports/article/Suspect-facing-charges-in-Milford-Trumbull-mall-13491338.php

Don’t become a drunken driving casualty this New Year’s

Christmas might be over, but the festivities are far from over. New Year’s Eve is less than a week away, and it’s one of the biggest party days of the year. It’s also a prime time for drunken driving, and the National Insititue on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has some tips for keeping yourself, and guests, safe and sober at the holidays. Offer a variety of nonalcoholic drinks: Stock up on water, juices, sparkling sodas and other alcohol-free bevs. Nonalcoholic drinks help counteract the dehydrating effects of alcohol. Also, the other fluids may slow the rate of alcohol absorption into the body and reduce the peak alcohol concentration in the blood.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Don-t-become-a-drunken-driving-casualty-this-13491323.php

How much plastic is in your body?

J. Evan Ward knelt on a dock jutting into Eastern Point Bay at the eastern end of Long Island Sound and hauled up a floating cage containing oysters. These oysters came here from nearby Mason’s Crab Cove and serve as the resident population for lab studies that Ward, a professor of marine sciences, conducts at the University of Connecticut Avery Point. He studies these and other oysters and sediment gathered on boats operated by Norm Bloom and Sons of Norwalk. Oysters are master water filterers. A single oyster can filter up to 1.3 gallons of water per hour. They process much of what ends up in Long Island Sound. That includes the ever-increasing load of tiny pieces of waste plastic.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/How-much-plastic-is-in-your-body-13491316.php

Griffin Hospital raises $9,000 for Spooner House

DERBY-The annual Wonderland of Trees fundraiser at Griffin Hospital raised nearly $9,000 for Shelton’s Spooner House which shelters and feeds Valley families in need. The program is part of the Planetree-Person-Centered-Care Philosophy at the hospital which urges its various department to decorate three-foot artificial trees which are then raffled. The program has raised more than $56,000 during its eight years of existenc

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Griffin-Hospital-raises-9-000-for-Spooner-House-13491107.php

$3M Mega Millions ticket sold in Conn.

While there was no winner in the Mega Millions jackpot drawing Tuesday, a ticket worth $3 million was sold in Connecticut. The $321 million Mega Millions jackpot was the biggest prize ever offered on Christmas Day since the gane began 2002. The winning numbers are 2-8-42-43-50 with a Megaball of 6. The person who bought the lucky ticket decided to pay an extra buck for the optional Megaplier. And since the Megaplier drawn was 3, that $1 million prize was tripled to $3 million. “The Christmas drawing - only the fifth time in Mega Millions history the game was drawn on December 25 - produced 1,137,550 winning tickets at all prize levels.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/3M-Mega-Millions-ticket-sold-in-Conn-13491097.php

Cold, dry before unsettled weather returns Thursday

High pressure will be in control of the weather with dry conditions through Thursday, the National Weather Service says. Temperatures will be near seasonable levels during the day with readings in the upper 30s to lower 40s. Nighttime temperatures will generally be in the 20s and lower 30s. “A warm front approaches Thursday night and lifts north of the area on Friday. This will signal the return of unsettled conditions with rain for much of the area late Thursday night into Friday,” the NWS says. “The precipitation may begin as a brief wintry mix for portions of the Lower Hudson Valley and southern Connecticut late Thursday night.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/weather/article/Cold-dry-before-unsettled-weather-returns-13491067.php

Accident closes 2 NB lanes of I-91

A two-vehicle motor-vehicle crash has closed two northbound lanes of I-91 in North Haven Wednesday morning. The accident, reported at 7:45 a.m., is one of the few traffic incidents on the morning after Christmas. The two left lanes are closed between Exits 8 and 9. Delays are starting to build.

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Accident-closes-2-NB-lanes-of-I-91-13491056.php

A Godmother to Ravensbrück Survivors

By Kristin Peterson Havill for Connecticut Explored

Letters in the Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden archives are addressed to “Ma Chere Marainne” (My Dear Godmother). They were written to Caroline Ferriday by concentration camp survivor and French war heroine Jacqueline Péry d’Alincourt, who, along with other French, Polish, and Czechoslovakian political prisoners interned during World War II at the Ravensbrück concentration camp in northern Germany, described Ferriday as a generous benefactor, mother, godmother, and sister. Why did these women from across the Atlantic Ocean praise this part-time Connectican? What did she do to earn three medals of honor from the French government, including the Legion of Honor, the highest French distinction, awarded to those who have distinguished themselves through civilian or military valor?

Ferriday’s French Connection

Photo taken in France of Caroline Ferriday, from the cover of Jacqueline Péry d’Alincourt’s reminiscence of Ferriday given at Ferriday’s 1990 memorial service in Bethlehem – Courtesy of Anna Jarosky, Connecticut Landmarks

Caroline Ferriday (1902-1990) was the last owner of what is now known as the Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden, the Bethlehem property she bequeathed to Connecticut Landmarks in 1990. Her parents had purchased the property as a summer home in 1912 when she was 10 years old. Caroline lived in New York City during the winters and spent summers in Bethlehem, where she was particularly devoted to her garden and pursued her many philanthropic interests.

Ferriday was a lifelong Francophile. Her father, Henry McKeen Ferriday, having himself lived in Paris for several years as a child, evidently contributed to his daughter’s interest in all things French. This French connection led to her pivotal role in helping the post-War recovery of the Ravensbrück Lapins, survivors of the Ravensbrück concentration camp and its program of forced Nazi medical experiments.

During the intensifying buildup to World War II in the mid- to late 1930s, Ferriday volunteered at the French consulate in New York City, where she was privy to news of France’s developing difficulties. French General Charles de Gaulle, having escaped to Britain when the Nazis invaded France, in 1940 gave a BBC radio address that invigorated the resistance spirit of everyday people and gave birth to the Free France movement. By 1941 Ferriday had become one of the early American members of France Forever, the Fighting French Committee in America.

Supporting the French Resistance during WWII

A few years later Ferriday affiliated herself with the ADIR, or National Association of Deportees and Internees of the Resistance, founded in 1945 by female members of the French resistance who had survived their internment in the German camps. Ferriday became particularly moved by the energy of ADIR members Jacqueline Péry D’Alincourt, Genevieve de Gaulle, Anise Postel-Vinay, and Germaine Tillon, four women who had bonded as political prisoners in Ravensbrück.

Genevieve de Gaulle, the 19-year-old niece of General de Gaulle, immediately joined the war effort after her uncle’s BBC address to the French people. In July 1943 the Gestapo arrested her and six months later she was sent to Ravensbrück, where she remained as a special political prisoner for the remainder of the war.

Jacqueline Péry D’Alincourt, from a family of Breton aristocracy, was a young war widow in 1942. She joined the resistance that year after seeing a young Jewish child in a Paris train station with a yellow star pinned to her dress. One of her roles in the resistance involved finding accommodations for underground agents by renting hard-to-find housing in her own name. This activity led the Nazis to her when one of the agents she had helped was caught. She was sent to Ravensbrück in 1943 at age 24.

Anise Postel-Vinay, the daughter of a woman who took in refugees and whose knowledge of the German language proved to be an asset, was arrested for acts of resistance in August 1942 at age 20. Germaine Tillon, a graduate of the Sorbonne and a French anthropologist, was arrested for helping prisoners escape and for organizing intelligence for the Allied Forces. Betrayed by a priest, Tillon was captured at age 36 and deported to Ravensbrück, along with Postel-Vinay, in October 1943. They were designated as NN (Nacht und Nebel, or “night and fog”), political prisoners who were meant to disappear and never be heard from again.

These four women, however, did not disappear. All were later to have an impact on Ferriday’s life.

Concentration Camp Prisoners Subjected to Medical Experiments

Ravensbrück, located 50 miles north of Berlin, was a forced labor camp for women. Prisoners from more than 30 countries were forced to work under brutal conditions in agriculture, local industry, the production of armaments, and camp maintenance.

Our knowledge of Ravensbrück comes primarily from survivors. Tillon, for example, wrote an eyewitness account in a book published in 1973. Tillon described the remarkable camaraderie that formed among many of the prisoners.

Beginning in August 1942, the Nazis began a program of medical experiments on young Polish high school and university students imprisoned in Ravensbrück. The Polish population there was the largest of those from any country, and the Nazis considered Poles racially inferior. The experiments focused on young women in part because females tended to be the healthiest prisoners. The inmates used the name Lapins (rabbits) to describe the women being used for these lab experiments. The young women were subjected to up to six operations each, including having the bones and muscles in their legs broken, cut out, or otherwise damaged. Their wounds were then deliberately infected with bacteria. A total of 74 Lapins were subjected to these horrific experiments; 63 survived the war, largely due to the help of other inmates.

Word reached the outside world via notes passed at great risk by prisoners working in factories and hidden in correspondence with families. The plight of the Ravensbrück Lapins became a cause célèbre for a unified network of underground resistance. In the 1950s, Ferriday joined the effort to help the Lapins, whom she had learned about through her affiliation with the ADIR.

After WWII, Ferriday Pursues Aid for Ravensbrück Survivors

In 1958, 13 years after the end of World War II, Ferriday was among the first to awaken the American public to the horrors of Ravensbrück. Because Poland was behind the Iron Curtain, the camp was liberated by the Russian Army, not the American. And since it was a camp for women and not specifically devoted to the extermination of the Jews, the history of this camp was slow to emerge.

Benjamin Fermenz, a war crimes prosecutor, recalls his first meeting with Ferriday:

One day, in 1957, a very nice young lady, named Caroline Ferriday showed up at my office with an interesting plea. From her association with various anti-Nazi organizations, she had learned about young Polish women who had been shipped to the concentration camp at Ravensbrück where they were subjected to a host of medical experiments . . . Miss Ferriday knew that I had helped Jewish claimants, and she wondered if I would also come to the aid of the Catholic ladies from Poland.

Fermenz noted that Ferriday had already approached Norman Cousins, editor of the magazine Saturday Review, for help; Cousins had, she knew, arranged to bring a group of “Hiroshima Maidens” to the US for cosmetic surgery. Would he consider doing the same for the scarred young women of Ravensbrück?

Ferriday traveled to Warsaw in 1958 and acted as an emissary and liaison to meet with Polish officials and to gain the trust of the Lapins. She and Cousins, who had indeed agreed to help, contacted the Lapins, now in Poland, and arranged their trip to the United States for care.

Cousins wrote a series of three articles about the Lapins that appeared in the Saturday Review in 1958 and 1959. The stories captured the hearts of Americans and gave Ferriday credit for her motivating role:

Caroline Ferriday has an almost magical gift for inspiring confidence. Her first few days in Warsaw were not without their difficulties, but after awhile the project began to move. Then, at the end of the week, we received a cable saying that the Polish authorities were cooperative and gracious and that prospects were excellent.

“Our Dear Miss Caroline,” an unidentified woman among the group wrote, “you have won our hearts immediately through your kindness . . . We are moved by your dedication in our behalf.”

Ferriday returned to Warsaw a second time that year with Dr. William Hitzig, a prominent New York physician who also had aided Japanese victims of the atomic bomb for the Hiroshima Maidens project. Representing American doctors who had agreed to treat the Lapins if they came to the United States, Dr. Hitzig examined the women and assessed their medical needs.

The Ladies Arrive in US for Treatment

Of the 53 Lapins still surviving in 1958, 35 made the trip to the United States for a stay that lasted from December 1958 to December 1959. The Lapins, renamed the Ladies, stayed in small groups with host families in 12 cities from Boston to San Francisco. In addition to the medical treatment they received, Cousins wrote, “the most remarkable change in the group as a whole . . . was in the emotional and psychological regeneration of the Ladies.”

Caroline Ferriday and former Ravensbrück concentration camp survivors celebrating Christmas at Ferriday’s home in Bethlehem, Connecticut, 1958 – Connecticut Landmarks

Four of the women spent Christmas in Bethlehem, Connecticut, with Ferriday. This visit was described in a December 26 newspaper article:

Four women, who have seen more hell in their lifetime than a human mind can imagine are here today spending a quiet happy Christmas holiday in this village named after the town where Christ was born . . . On the table in the living room of Miss Ferriday’s large colonial home is a small Christmas tree that they brought from Poland. It is decorated in the traditional manner, with candies and paper ornaments and with an angel on top. The small tree symbolizes the hope that has kept all the Ravensbrück Lapins. . . .

In the summer of 1959 the Ladies gathered in San Francisco and began a cross-country tour. On their way to their final engagement in New York, they stopped in Washington, DC, where Cousins reported “a large number of Senators and Representatives was host to the Ladies at a special lunch in the Senate dining room” and they “gasped with delight when Senator Frank Carlson of Kansas called the attention of the Senate to their presence.”

As reported in the Congressional Record on May 19, 1959, Senator Edmund Muskie, whose father had emigrated from Poland, spoke before the Senate after the Ladies returned to Poland “paying particular tribute to Mr. Norman Cousins and to Miss Caroline Ferriday for the dedication and the interest they have given to this project, without which it would not have materialized . . . It is significant, I think, that even now a decade and a half after the end of the war, we are still far from having achieved substantial justice for these victims of some of the most inhuman actions on record.”

Two days after the Ladies were introduced to the Senate, with attention garnered from the US tour, the Ravensbrück Lapins Committee, which was legally empowered to act for the women, received a check from the German embassy to pay the medical costs for 30 of the women during their stay in America and was told “that the Federal Government was thoroughly and urgently examining possibilities of further relief.”

Ferriday continued to maintain relationships with several of the Ladies and other Ravensbrück internees, including Milena Seborova, the daughter of a justice of the Czechoslovakian supreme court, who was deported to Ravensbrück in 1941 when she was 25 years old. She was later decorated by her country with the Military Cross for bravery and by France and Norway for saving the lives of her fellow French and Norwegian prisoners. She suffered further when she was imprisoned after the war after rejoining the underground in the fight against Russian communists. Five more years of imprisonment and hard labor for this young woman took its toll. Because of her heroic acts while at Ravensbrück, the French ADIR survivors put her in touch with Caroline. Caroline wrote, “I feel like your mother in many respects. . . .”

Tributes to an “Incomparable Benefactor”

Caroline Ferriday died on April 27, 1990. Jacqueline Péry D’Alincourt attended her memorial service at Bethlehem’s Christ Church on April 28, 1990. In a 1991 copy of a small self-bound tribute she wrote, “In our first meeting our friendship was sealed. She wanted to know everything. She asked ‘What can I do?’ Every year she welcomed me to the lovely Connecticut home where she lived since 1913. Such was the incomparable benefactor of our association.”

Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden – Connecticut Landmarks

Genevieve de Gaulle, too, wrote a memorial tribute, hers appearing in the March/April 1991 ADIR newsletter Voix et Visages. She described Ferriday as “a sister to everyone. She helped us to gain recognition first, and then to compensate the victims of pseudo-medical experiments. She brought about this action with all her intelligence, all her generosity. . . .”

Visitors to the Bellamy-Ferriday House will see an autographed photograph of General de Gaulle and a certificate commending Ferriday for her service to the French cause. The typewriter next to her desk is a reminder of her lifelong correspondence with her international friends and her letters to various newspapers and officials that helped keep alive an interest in the plight of the Ravensbrück Ladies.

Kristin Peterson Havill is the site administrator of the Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden.

© Connecticut Explored. All rights reserved. This article originally appeared in Connecticut Explored (formerly Hog River Journal) Vol. 10/ No. 1, WINTER 2011/2012.

from ConnecticutHistory.org https://connecticuthistory.org/a-godmother-to-ravensbruck-survivors/